αντίο Ελλάδα: Goodbye Greece!

Watching the sun set on our last night!

As I sit here on this huge plane destined for Philadelphia, I am 100% in complete denial that I am writing my last post on this wild, crazy trip of a lifetime. As a senior, this was my last summer as an undergrad and I wanted to do something exciting and take advantage of the last time I would have to study abroad. This time next year I will be having a panic attack, trying to find my way in the real world but for now, I am going to live in the present and hold on to the memories I have made in the past 6 weeks as tightly as I can. I don't want to forget even a moment of it.
Studying abroad in Greece was one of the best academic decisions I've made my whole college career. I definitely couldn't have financially or emotionally gone on this trip without the support and encouragement from my family and close friends. Because of my amazing support group, I am able to sit here and reflect on what has been the greatest six weeks of my college career. No class, lecture, paper, project, test or textbook has taught me as much as Greece has. You cannot put a price tag on the value of immersing yourself in another culture and learning the ways of life in that country.
This trip was nothing like what I expected, yet it was everything that I needed. I had no idea I would find a family within our UNF group, or immerse myself so much in a foreign culture, or that I would learn so much about myself and my passions while on this trip. I don't think you can ever fully imagine how much a trip like this can change your life and outlook on life. 
I honestly cannot find the words to summarize how much this trip changed my viewpoints, opinions and overall outlook on life. It's hard to describe to people who weren't there the cultural influences that Greece and the people I met there have had on me. I know I am going to struggle explaining all of my experiences to my friends and family, so please be patient with me. I already know that I am a victim of reverse culture shock, because it has happened every time I have left the country. When you leave the comfort zone of America and temporarily become part of another culture, your eyes are opened to things in America you didn't notice before, and you can't unsee them. It's a hard concept to understand unless you have experienced reverse culture shock before.
This trip has brought me so much joy and a hunger for learning. Every single day in Greece I learned something new. We explored a different part of Greece every day, seeing something new every day, even if it was just trying out a new restaurant or finding a great place for coffee. Everyday I challenged myself whether it was trying to converse in Greek, attempting to tackle directions, try a new recipe or going for runs on the huge hills in our neighborhood. I enjoy the thrill of unknown things. I have no regrets on this trip, every experience, every person I met taught me something. I did everything I wanted to do on this trip. 

It's quite hard to explain the enthusiasm and excitement that Greece has given me. I'm usually very good with words but I sit here dumbfounded as to how I can fully explain all that I've learned and describe my experiences to people back home. I can already tell how hard it is going to be to adjust back to life in America (and not just because of the time change). Sitting on this plane, it's already weird being able to understand everything that is being said around me. I'm used to the foreign chatter of Greek and I began to enjoy not always understanding the background noise. Even though I can understand what everyone is saying now, this feels foreign (if that makes any sense). I am having to stop myself from saying the easy words in Greek that we used on a daily basis such as kalimera, yasas, parakalo, efxaristo, nay, or ohxi (good morning, hello, please, thank you, yes, no) and switch back to English. As much as I want to jump off this plane and make my way back to Greece, I know that all good things must come to an end. But this trip is one that I won't soon forget. 
My piece of advice for any students: STUDY ABROAD. It may be expensive and can seem scary and daunting at times but you will never regret it. Also, even if your professor doesn't make you blog or journal, you should do it. You think you will remember every single experience and feeling, but you won't. I'm so thankful to have this blog documenting the majority of what I experienced in Greece.
Lastly, I just want to send a sincere thank you to everyone who took the time to even look at my blog! It means the world to me that I have family and friends who care enough to read about my experiences. And now, I am done. Done with my blog and done with traveling an amazing country (for now). If I didn't already know this about myself, now it's for sure: I am addicted to traveling. I love it, I crave it. And I can't wait to see what adventure is next! 
Adio! 

It's been real Greece. Thanks for a wild ride.

Skee-yeee (ski yee)

This might be my favorite blog post yet. Let me warn you that unless you were a student on this trip, this post will probably make no sense to you. It actually might confuse you. This is mostly for my own sake, a list of our inside jokes, funny experiences and bonding moments that I will forever cherish. Our eclectic mix of personalities, sense of humor and backgrounds proved to be a perfect match somehow. I wouldn't trade my days and long nights spent with this group for all the gyros at Taco Bell! 
-Skee-yee: the call of the UNF group
-That one night in Santorini (ahem Nick). Becoming twins.
-Maggassss
-soccer games at Ocktoberfest (those BOGO towers though)
-listening to an unhealthy amount of Disney songs
-The Family: my twin (Nick) and mom (Erika) and then everyone else
-dadgumit, shucks, shoot, hot dog or any of my other sayings
-bless your heart
-presious.gr

-malakas
-Shawn: because Mark doesn't look like a Mark.
-Also, Tex.
-methismenos
-Chris! 
-on-point
-Lily panins: east at your own risk
-story telling on the bus
-watermelon ninja (best idea ever)

-K-dog's famous "caption this" pictures

"Fixed it"

Micah is on-point.

-never making it to potlucks on time
-Taco Bell (I think I miss it already)
-too many selfies to count
-plenty of Frozen references: let it goooo

-photobombing
-"Confidence is key when you skee-yeee." -wise words from Nick
-bus karaoke
-turn down for what (nothing, we turn down for nothing)

-thelo ena leftko krasi parakalo (or beera)

American Attitudes

As I am working on my final paper for Dr. Kaplan’s class, one of the essay prompts inquires as to whether there are any habits or attitudes of mine that have changed since the beginning of this trip. Um, yes. There are probably about 20 that I could elaborate on but to save you from reading a two-hour-long blog post, I’ll stick to explaining one thing that really bothers me now that wasn’t so obvious to me before.

This trip has caused my attitude about Americans to change, and not necessarily in a positive way. I have had endless opportunities to talk with the Greek students at Deree (our college) and I am constantly amazed at how intelligent Greeks are. Every single student I have talked to is knows at least more than one language. Areti has studied English, Italian and French. Analia knows English, French, German and a little bit of Spanish. Kiara speaks Italian and English. I would go on but I think I’ve made my point.

Greeks seem to push themselves way more in the academic world than Americans do. During my conversations with Greeks students, I often found myself mesmerized by their intelligence and poetic way of speaking. It amazes me that they can learn so many languages while American college students struggle to even learn Spanish. And it’s not that American students can’t learn languages, we just assume that everyone else will know English. My frustration with this assumption reminds me of an excerpt from Dinner with Persephone, a book we had to read for class. “Being able to rely on the dominance of English may affect English speakers’ ability to approach and imagine other cultures- as if they were rich children, who have inherited such an enormous trust fund that they can choose whether or not to go to work” (pg 5).

We seem to expect everyone around the world to know how to speak English so we do not have to push ourselves and expand our knowledge by learning a new language. This really frustrates me about our American culture and I am just as guilty as the next person. I didn’t really learn anything in my high school Spanish classes because I always just assumed I could survive with English. Of course, this was also before I discovered that I have a passion and addiction to traveling so I had never really expected to leave the safety and comfort zone that is America. My trip to Guatemala had me kicking myself for not learning more Spanish during high school so I was inspired to take Spanish when I returned. But for the majority of students that I know, most of them cannot speak any other languages (except for a small amount of Spanish from high school).

And it’s not just college students, Americans in general have the mindset that we are the superior language and everyone else should take the time to learn our language. Gah, this just drives me crazy. Why should one language be dominant over another? Heck, we even took many Greek words and made them “American.” Each language has a history behind it and I wish that our culture could see how arrogant we can seem when we always assume that the other person will know our language.

Based on my interactions with multiple storeowners, waiters, and other Greeks I can tell that most Americans visitors or tourists do not take the time to learn even basic, survival Greek. I would say the majority of the time, that whomever I was talking with showed genuine surprise at the fact that young American college kids would take the time to try to learn their language. The key word here is try. This language is hard! There’s no “I” sound, the few Greek letters that are also in the American alphabet make different sounds and I cannot pronounce the deep throat-ey sound that some Greek words contain. Add in my slight Southern accent and in my opinion I butcher some of the conversations I try to carry on. If nothing else I’m sure it’s entertaining to the Greeks to hear my attempt anyways!

Learning a new language is a good way to embarrass yourself, but that’s just another way to grow! Using Greek has definitely taught me how to laugh at myself. When I get back to the States, my family and friends should probably be warned: I will most likely be using “Greeklish” (a combo of Greek and English) for a while, but maybe I can teach yall a thing or two! And we can start a new trend of expanding our language repertoire. 

Smoking or Non-Smoking?

The cultural difference that bothers me the most is the viewpoint and attitude on smoking. Greeks smoke everywhere, all the time. According to Drake in the text Cultural Dimensions, “Greeks smoke more than anyone else in the EU, and there is no such thing as a nonsmoking section. Going out to restaurants or clubs can be tough on people with allergies to smoke or asthma as everyone will be smoking.” Now I know exactly what he means. It does not matter whether you are walking down the street, watching an outdoor movie, in a restaurant or shopping, someone is bound to be smoking a cigarette. This is quite an inconvenience if you have any type of asthma. For the most part, I “outgrew” my asthma, meaning it doesn’t really act up anymore, but cigarette smoke is one of those things that still agitates my lungs a little bit. In America, there are laws and regulations to restrict people from smoking in restaurants and in most public places. Almost every American store and restaurant has “no smoking” signs posted and even some college campuses are smoke-free. The Greeks don’t even seem to know there are such things as “no smoking” signs.

 
Examples of the Greek smoking habit are everywhere you turn. During a group lunch, the Greek woman at the table next to us smoked at least five cigarettes over the course of our meal (it could have been more but I think I lost count), with the smoke drifting right to us. While some people might enjoy a nice smoky smell with their afternoon meal, I am not one of those people. When we were volunteering for the service project, the Greek student Kiara rolled and smoked three cigarettes within an hour. It is not just the fact that Greeks smoke everywhere, they smoke constantly. It is hard to understand why Greeks smoke so frequently, seemingly without any regard for their health. According Kiara, a reason for this is that there are nearly zero visual advertisements about the cons of smoking cigarettes in Greece. The tobacco and cigarettes do state that this product could potentially kill or harm you, but that is about all the warning there is. In America, we are shown the negative side of smoking with the advertisements about losing your voice, hair, teeth and visuals of what the tar in your lungs looks like. Greeks are not presented this side of smoking; they simply smoke because it is pleasurable in the moment. Kiara relates the smoking habits back to the Greek mentality of being carefree and more laid-back. Greeks live for the moment, live in the moment. The future is not of concern because if you think about the future you are wasting the moment you should be enjoying right now. So if you want to smoke, then smoke. It doesn't matter what might happen to your body later. Americans are more conscious of the damages that smoking can have on your lungs, so the percentage of people who smoke is lower.  

There is really no way to adapt to the massive amounts of smoking and the only way to avoid it is never to leave the safety of your room (clearly not an option!). I just had to accept the fact that Greeks are going to smoke, regardless of my preferences. It can come across as rude and inconsiderate if you look at it from an American viewpoint, but after realizing that it is just a natural Greek way of life I know that it is just natural for Greeks to enjoy a cigarette anywhere and anytime.

The Perfect Travel Companion

Sometimes you meet people who you could just listen to all day. They have a mesmerizing voice, a fascinating outlook on life and just radiate this inexplicable quality that is contagious. It makes you want to be around them and just listen.

Vasillies is a friend of the Kaplan’s and he accompanied us on almost every weekend trip we took. He is Greek and grew up in Greece but then he moved to the States where he now lives with his family.   

This man shared nuggets of wisdom throughout our weekend trips that could become famous Greek proverbs. Vasillies just has a way of stringing words together in a poetic and meaningful way. I found myself gravitating towards him on our weekend trips because I always wanted to hear his thoughts about the site or ask him to share what knowledge he had of the site. I wish I could have recorded everything he said just so I could go back and listen to it again and again. Vasillies speaks with purpose and is very inspiring. And the thing is I don’t even think he knows the influence he had on our group. Throughout our trip I heard multiple students mention how something Vasillies said encouraged or inspired them, and one student even said that Vasillies changed his life with a nugget of wisdom that was shared.

When we visited Delphi we stopped by a beautiful monastery and I stuck near Vasillies for most of that site visit, which resulted in greatly expanding my knowledge about that particular monastery. It’s one thing to walk around a historical site, it’s another to have your own personal tour guide translating the Greek inscriptions and explaining the significance behind different aspects of that site. The monastery had a calming, peaceful effect on me and it was just so enchanting. The majority of us ended up sitting on the edge of a building and gazing out over the olive trees scattered across the valley. This is where I had my favorite conversation with Vasillies. We were sitting next to Mark and Vasillies said something that completely sums me up, without even knowing it. Trust me when I say that I wouldn’t be able to give his original words any justice, I tried to type it out and then deleted it. But what he said actually left me speechless (and let’s be real that doesn’t happen very often). Since I am falling short of finding the right words to explain what he said, I guess it is just one of those moments that lives on in my memory. He reminded me that it’s important to find yourself, know who you truly are and learn to be comfortable with yourself. And Greece is the ideal country to do exactly this, find yourself.

Vasillies was the perfect travel companion addition to our group and I am truly grateful to have been lucky enough to have met such an inspiring man. 

Lily, Erika, Vasillies and I after our trip to Delphi

Service Project 101

Today we woke up bright and early, ready to be the first UNF group to participate in a Greek service project. We walked to the food bank, where a local group of volunteers collects all types of food and toiletries for over 3,000 families that can't afford to provide for themselves. This large number of people that need help only accounts for those around Aghia Paraskevi (the neighborhood we live in), not all of Athens. That number would be much, much higher.

Ready to serve!

We split up into groups of 4, along with a volunteer and a Greek student. Sarah K., Eric, Micah and I headed to the Bazar close to our dorms, loaded with tons of fliers to pass out to the early morning shoppers. The Greek student in our group Kiara taught me how to say "Helping is important" in Greek so I had something to say as I was passing out flyers. The reactions of the shoppers was similar to what would happen in the States. Some people accepted the fliers and looked at it or asked us a few questions, others just took the flier (and probably didn't even read it), and of course there were those who just walked straight by us, ignoring the fact that we existed.

Although I have done a variety of service back in the States, for some reason this experience changed how I view things. I will always take someone's flier because I know how it feels to have people walk right by you and ignore you. I will at least read it, or look over it to see what it is that is being promoted or advertised. Also, after talking with Kiara I am motivated to at least donate one or two things when I see a food drive. One Greek woman stopped and conversed with us about how we shouldn't be doing this at this point in the month. According to her we should wait until the end of the month when everyone receives their pension and paychecks. That way people are more willing and able to donate if they have any money left over. She told us that she barely even had enough money to provide for herself, so while she appreciates what we're doing, she said she wouldn't be able to donate. After she walked into the store, Kiara mentioned that this is a common excuse used. Yes, it may be true that some people truly do not have the means to donate because they are barely scraping by. However, is it really impossible to donate even a bag of flour or a box of pasta? Both of which are extremely cheap to purchase. I think a lot of times we feel that in order to make a difference we have to give a large amount of money or assistance when in reality every little bit helps. When Kiara made this point of how cheap just a few items are, it really inspired me to make a conscious effort of trying to donate more whenever I see a need. Even if it's just a little bit, I can give up a coffee or a meal out in order to help someone else. This is something I really want to hold myself accountable too, so friends and family feel free to remind me of this!

Kiara, me and Sarah with some of the donated items!

During our time passing out fliers, we also got to talk a lot with Kiara about Greek ways of life. Anytime I am spending time with a Greek student I take full advantage of this time to ask all of the questions that I have about life in Greece.

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but Greeks smoke cigarettes. A LOT. All the time, everywhere. I'm beginning to think I might become a victim of second-hand smoke! (kidding). Why is the attitude toward smoking so different here? In the States there are numerous anti-smoking ads and commercials, but Greeks don't really seem to care that smoking is ruining their health. Are the people just not aware of the effects smoking can have on your body? Kiara told me that cigarette companies do have to put warnings on the packages, saying that this product can possibly kill you...but the main difference comes in the visual idea of smoking. In the States we see tons of commercials that show the effects smoking can have on your body (i.e. CDC commercials, pictures of what a smoker's lungs look like) but here there are no visuals so the effects aren't as easy to visualize. Age doesn't seem to be a factor, I've seen kids who look maybe 14 smoking on the sidewalk, up to the old men who sit around in cafes smoking with each other. Women smoke, students smoke, waiters smoke (while they are working), store owners smoke...the list goes on but you get the point. Also, there are no "smoking-free" zones. I mean there are, but it's more of a suggestion to not smoke inside closed public areas like restaurants. Kiara mentioned that no one really enforces the "no-smoking" rule so if you ever wanted to quit smoking it would be extremely hard to get away from it.

The smoking habits in Greece reflect the attitude here, much like other things I've mentioned. It seems that a lot of what we witness from an outsider's viewpoint all connects together to form the country that is Greece. Greeks live for the moment, live in the moment. The future is not of concern because if you think about the future you are wasting the moment you should be enjoying right now. So if you want to smoke, then smoke. It doesn't matter what might happen to your body later. If you enjoy smoking a cigarette, then do so.The carefree attitude is contagious (don't worry mom, I'm not picking up a smoking habit!) and makes me wish I could adopt this spirit of the Greek life.

Culture Report: μουσική (music)

For kiria Kaplan's class, we each chose a topic of Greek culture to explore and research. My topic is contemporary music in Greece and I was a little surprised by what I found out. It wasn't a topic I could Google (I tried) so I used my resources and interviewed my Greek friends and RA's. Who knows the music that young people listen too better than locals my own age?

There are basically two different groups of people (musically speaking). One half listens to popular American and European songs, pretty much whatever is popular in the States is popular here as well. Currently, 15 out of 20 songs in The Greek Top 20 are by American and European artists. Some of the Top 20 songs include "Wiggle" by Jason Derulo, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic and "Summer" by Calvin Harris.  
The other half of young Greeks listen to Greek pop songs. Greek pop is considered very trashy (not so different from some American songs) and is sometimes called skilos, which literally means dog in Greek. Here's the link to a song that is popular in Greece right now called "Fotia me fotia" (fire with fire) by Panos Kiamos. You can hear Middle Eastern influence in the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9LMmqvjTF0
There is also a smaller third sub-group that enjoys Greek reggae music, which sounds very similar to the reggae in the States. Compared to the trashy Greek pop, reggae has nice life concepts, with deeper thinking and meaning. Leonidas Balaphas sings the song "Extinguisher." You can listen to it in the link below! It's very beachy and makes you wanna be on island time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liml4sCCKho

For the most part, everywhere we go plays American pop music. From restaurants and cafes to tourist shops and loud iPods on the public transportation, you can hear American music everywhere. I was surprised at the popularity of our music all the way over here. My favorite version of American music can be found in the cafes, where they play the slow, acoustic versions of songs like Disturbia, Poker Face and Ladie's Night. It's the perfect "chill" vibe for the laid-back feel of the cafes here.
Most Greeks my age don't enjoy listening to the "traditional" Greek music. It's not very popular among the young crowd and we don't really hear it played too many places we visit either. The only place I've noticed traditional Greek music playing is at a few very traditional tavernas we've been to. It doesn't seem to be as prevalent in modern Greece as it has been in the past.

Lastly, I was curious as to whether the National Anthem is used in Greece in similar events as back home. It's pretty much the same, being played at national festivities, schools and sporting events.

Aegina: Land of the Pistachios

Wake-up call: 6:30 to load up on a bus at 7:15 bound for the Greek island of Aegina. We took a small high-speed boat to the island and headed straight for the Temple of Aphaia, which is still pretty well preserved for being built in 510 B.C.The temple was built for worship of the Greek goddess Aphaia, who is said to be the daughter of Zeus.

Erika and I enjoying the picturesque view of the Saronic Gulf from the top of the temple.

After a visit through the small museum of the temple, we were free to explore the island for the rest of the day! The majority of our group headed out in search of a beach to enjoy some swim time before meeting back up for lunch at a water-side taverna. We found the perfect spot, secluded from the usual tourist traffic on the beach. You better believe that before diving head first into the gleaming blue water, I thoroughly checked the area for sea urchins- and there were plenty of those little suckers everywhere. I carefully dodged around them for a much needed dip in the cool ocean.

Private Beach: Ospreys Only

Instead of letting the sea urchins get the best of us, we decided to search them out and see if we could crack one open. Apparently the locals enjoy eating the inside of the urchin and we thought it sounded like an adventurous idea, until we actually opened one and saw what it looked like. Ewww.

There was a Greek guy swimming near us who was just cracking them open and eating them like candy! Instead, we headed to a traditional tavern for a group lunch. We had spicy cheese dip, Greek salad, amazing meatballs, stuffed zucchini, moussaka and of course watermelon for dessert. For our last remaining hours in Aegina we walked around, exploring the local shops and buying pistachios. Aegina is known for their locally grown pistachios and although I don't usually enjoy them, I have to say they are quite tasty! I even ventured out and tried pistachio gelato. We ended up back at the beach, playing around with a volleyball and just enjoying each others company. Sometimes, it's the simple times like this when we live most like the Greeks. Nowhere to be, no rush, not worried about time or money; just enjoying the company of our friends and enjoying time well spent. Before heading back to home sweet Athens, we watched the sunset over the docked boats and darkening waters.

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