Girl Gone Greek

Rachel Hill is single and in her thirties. Since her mother died, she has had an unstoppable wanderlust, 'Dromomania', her father, John, calls it. She is under pressure from Kirsty, her domineering older sister, to conform to Kirsty's idea of family life. Rachel, however, knows her life will never be settled until she discovers what it really means to be Rachel.

Rachel arrives for an interview at a Governmental department somewhere in Europe. Thousands have applied for a new post, and the shortlist is down to only a few; Rachel among them. She is asked what she has found in her life that qualifies her for her perfect job. Rachel's story happens in double narrative flashback.

Past story: With Kirsty badgering her to 'settle down and be normal', Rachel is looking for a job. She takes up a four-week course, to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL). Although she finds the work tough, she is a determined woman and passes. She is accepted for a teaching job in a small village in Greece. With her father's blessing, she travels to the village, ready to prove to herself that she can make a difference - somewhere.

It's a culture shock, and she realises quickly that she is a small fish in a foreign pond. Through her work, Rachel meets a variety of Greek characters, all of whom have an influence on her development. The wild and outrageous Kaliope shows her the city way of life. Mrs Stella, the principled principle of the language school nurtures Rachel in her own ways. Her students, including Konstantinos, a 16-year-old youth whom Rachel mentors as he, in his own subtle way, mentors her. Rachel settles into the job, discovering that there is more to it than teaching; she challenges her students to look at life in a wider context and, thus, comes to realise what has been missing from her own life: That her destiny lies in helping others to shape their futures. She wonders if she could stay abroad for longer. Kirsty will not approve, but does that really bother Rachel?

Rachel comes to understand what it means to live in another culture. She is able to absorb the values and principles of the country. More comfortable in this way of life than in her previous one, she becomes qualified to the next level, a qualification that will allow her better job prospects abroad.

She is not unaware of what this means to her ageing father and to her sister. Kirsty continues to disapprove, but John can see how Rachel is curing her Dromomania. In fact, it is not Rachel who is doing this, but the country and its people that are changing her. Rachel has fallen in love, but not with a person; with a country and its culture.

Rachel realises that there is a world of possibilities out there for her if she can stand up to her sister. Because of who she has met and what she has experienced in Greece, she is finally able to do this. Changed by her experience in Greece, she is interviewed (in the current narrative story) for the new post in Cultural Communications at the UN. She is successful. Thus, she is able to find her place, in Greece, and will be a position to help shape Europe, just as Greece has helped shape her.