Alma
1) Name: Alma Velo Gjini
2) Lives in: Koukaki, Athens, Greece
3) From: Lushnjë, Albania but I moved to Athens in 1997.
4) Occupation: home cleaning
5) First three jobs: For my first job, I worked for a woman who cared for cats assisting her. Then I worked at a shop ironing all day long. And next, I was a careworker, staying in a hospital caring for an elderly woman who I had worked with before.
6) Zodiac sign: Tauras
7) Enneagram: Type 2, The Helper
8) What you love about Greece: Everything! I am able to have a good life here. I am from a village in Albania where life was very difficult. In Athens, I’ve been able to build a good life for myself and my family. I love the homes here, the life style including the tempo where I can sit and have coffee with friends and walk through beautiful parts of Athens. For me, Athens is like a paradise, a dream.
9) Something most people don’t know about you: After I had my second child, I fell into a a deep depression. It was a very difficult time as I had just moved to Greece, and I was unable to talk with my family in Albania for 3 years as they didn’t have a phone (and this was before the internet and email..). Moving felt like a a huge shock. But while it was a difficult period, it also taught me how strong I am and how much I can overcome. It was also a time when the Greek people helped me a lot. They were kind, warm and generous with me, and I am very grateful for that.
10) Where we are most likely to find you in Lynn’s Kundalini Yoga? While I haven’t tried Kundalini Yoga yet, you will find me helping Lynn maintain the Acropolis Roof Deck space and helping her with her Airbnb apartments.
11) Top tip to fight climate change? I’d ask people to be more mindful of garbage and to work hard to keep the city clean. I remember Athens in 1990s when there were flowers around and it felt much cleaner. Now you can see trash all over. I’d also ask people to recycle more.
12) Anything else you’d like us to know? I plan to never leave Greece! I have worked hard to build a life here, and I am very grateful to be living here with a beautiful family.
And I am very happy to have a wonderful family.