Two cases for citizenship: What does it mean to be a Greek?

A summer ago, I was in a fancy shop on Ermou Street in Athens. I was on the hunt for a birthday gift for my cousin. In the store were two gorgeous and welcoming women, both wanting to assist me on my quest. One was white. One was black. Both spoke pristine Greek. They seemed to be good friends.

I engaged them and was struck by the black woman and her command of the language. (And for the record, I am equally struck by the same if Greek is spoken by an Asian person or by anyone else who is not Greek.) Immediately after the words left my mouth, though (and I wish I had a butterfly net to catch them before flying into the air), I asked the black woman where she was from. She cocked her head to one side, looking at me as if I was crazy. (Not crazy, but stupid and insensitive.) She smiled broadly as she said: "I am from here. I am Greek."

Well, of course she is Greek. She...