Nearly eight months ago I turned in my application to the Wang Center for a religion class going to Greece for J-term. At the time I just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere. This is my senior year at PLU and I haven't studied away before this January. Travelling is one of the things that I know I want to do in my life, so studying away for a month seemed like the perfect way to experience an extended trip to a different place. I didn't have any particular preference for where I went on this trip, I just had to take a course that would count as one of my remaining GURs.
Leading up to our departure, I was looking forward to visiting a new place and experiencing a different culture. I didn't really know what to expect when I got to Greece, I just knew it wouldn't be Parkland.
Arriving in Athens is still such a blur. After 13 hours of flight time and about an hour on the bus from the airport I was a bit groggy and my brain was struggling to take in all the new information it was being given. We received our apartments for the two weeks we would be staying in Athens and as a class set out to tour the city with professor Finitsis as our guide. I was impressed by everything that I saw, but wasn't fully able to comprehend or take it in at the time.
Over the next two weeks, as my brain regained it's ability to focus and I took in more of the culture and the city Athens became a home away from home. Just as we had settled into Athens, it was time to hop on a flight to Rhodes. It was much easier to adjust to life in Rhodes having spent two weeks in Athens, although the differences in life were visible. Our time in Rhodes felt like a vacation from Athens, and returning to Athens a week later felt like returning home. Having only half a day to spend in Athens before heading back to the airport for our long journey home was like being given only a single Pringle. I wanted more.
I grew accustomed to the long conversations I had with classmates while we sat in cafés early into the morning hours. I miss seeing the Acropolis when I look at the skyline. I want to walk down the street and grab a gyro for lunch or a pastry for breakfast.
There are many things that I learned about Greek culture over the last few weeks. But I learned just as much about myself during that time. I also formed a highly unique relationship with my classmates on this trip. In most classes, you are lucky to know everyone's name by the time the course ends. We became like family, as though we had known each other for years.
If I have to choose one thing from all that I have learned to take away from this experience, it would be to take things as they come and to enjoy life as it happens. The Greek culture is very laid back. Schedules rarely matter and people take things slowly and savor them. This is something that I would like to incorporate into my own life. Worrying too much about schedules and deadlines doesn't allow for life to happen in-between appointments. Spontaneity can't be scheduled and the greatest life experiences can't be planned, they simply happen. I didn't choose Greece, it chose me, and I wouldn't change my experience for anything.
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