Allison the Greek

Anonymous What happens to us when we venture into foreign lands? Do we change in some fundamental way? How do we change? What about that foreign land makes us change?

These are the questions our professors have been asking us since before the class even began. They are questions I have been quietly thinking about ever since my arrival in Greece. I strongly believe knowledge of my identity is crucial to leading a happy, successful life. But is my identity different now from what it was three weeks ago?

Allison the American. Allison the Greek. What's the difference? I think the answer to this may lie in how my actions and opinions have changed over the past several weeks. For example, Allison the American would rarely be out-and-about at 1:00 AM on a school night. And when I say rarely, I really mean "never". Granted, our class schedule is a little different here in Greece. Instead of dozing through chemistry at 8:00 AM (sorry, Dr. Lytle), I start class at 11 and I'm usually wide awake for it. Even so, staying out late has never been part of my lifestyle. And yet when you come to Greece, you realize being out late at night is one of the coolest ways to experience the country.

However, my enjoyment of Greece's nightlife seems like a rather shallow change in my identity. How else has my time here changed me? I think one critical way in which I've changed is how I perceive life outside the U.S. Being in Greece has made me realize how narrow my worldview really is. I can sit at PLU and read online news sources or Time Magazine or National Geographic, but I can't truly understand the world until I've seen it. It has been life-changing for me to come to Greece and realize the world doesn't revolve around America. At times it seems like it does, especially when you see Athenians wearing Yankees caps or reading Twilight, but the reality is their lives do not revolve around the U.S. Maybe it seems silly that I've finally come to this realization, but I think it is important nonetheless. All Allison the American can think about is how the world will affect America. Allison the Greek realizes not everyone else in the world feels the same.