My Journey Abroad in Athens, Greece - A Reflection

My Journey Abroad in Athens, Greece - A Reflection

I’ve always wanted to study abroad- it didn’t matter where, when or what I studied, I just knew that it was something I had to do before the end of my college career. But as the years passed, I knew I was going to miss my chance if I didn’t act soon. Luckily, I saw an opportunity to go abroad this year, with fate and my educational goals lining up to create the perfect combination. And this is how I ended up in Greece for my last quarter, completing my last class for graduation, rediscovering my passion for art, and exploring a city, country, and continent that I had never been in.

Studying abroad in Athens was a big change in culture for me. I had never been overseas before, and I did not know what to expect living and learning in another country for an extended period of time. I remember stepping into the grocery store for the first time, looking for something to eat, but being completely overwhelmed by not being able to read any of the labels. I thought, am I really going to starve for 5 weeks, reduced to eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and whatever else I can recognize? I felt really out of place, out of my element. I did not really know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect to be so thrown off by the culture shock. Like walking on the bumpy and cracked sidewalks of Athens, I felt unstable and off balance.

Luckily, that didn’t last too long. Over time, I began to get more comfortable with the city. I started walking confidently down the street to our classroom, crossing between cars with no hesitation. I even developed some habits, like going to the local gym a few times a week and going exploring with my fellow classmates. Shopping was no longer a big deal. Although I could not pick up the language, I began to recognize a few phrases and implemented them when I could. 

For a while, I felt like I was really in a rhythm. Go to class, visit and ancient site or two, have dinner at a local restaurant, rinse and repeat. I was learning so much about history, about Greek life, and about my own views of the world. 

As I became more immersed in the Greek culture, I began to recognize the immense pride that the Greeks had for their city, and I could see the beauty of the deep history that permeated every aspect of Greek life. There were times when as a class, we would travel to some interesting architectural sites and do some sketching, spending time studying ancient sites and learning about them. Through this lens, I began to rediscover my passion for drawing and capturing the beauty in everyday places as well as structures of a grander scale. The backdrop of Athens made it easy. Sometimes I would walk down the street, streets that I take every day to get to class and notice a detail that adds so much vibrancy to the city. Whether that be a piece of graffiti in the alley way, or the view of the Acropolis at night from the top of the Olympic stadium, the life of Athens gave me the inspiration to continue drawing long after my classmates had stopped, after my last assignment was finished, and even after I was on a plane back home. My creativity was sparked and my passion for drawing reinvigorated. But that was not the only aspect of my artistic journey that was reignited. 

As I said, I’ve never been abroad before and have never really experienced any other kind of learning besides your typical US college experience. But what I learned studying abroad in Greece was that being able to see and be in the environment where some of these amazing historic events or buildings once stood really solidifies the learning process and gives the information a whole new dimension and layer that you can relate to. I mean, people talk about it all the time, and it makes sense, but experiencing it gave me a true understanding of the value and the weight it actually holds. As a theater major for example, it was a dream come true and one of my most cherished experiences to learn about ancient Greek theater and then see a Greek play in one of these ancient sites. Since the fall, I had been preparing for this amazing trip to Greece, reading numerous Greek plays, studying these works of drama, developing and embodying an iconic Greek character, and performing in a show that melded all these experiences into a finished product. But even all that could not prepare me for the emotion I felt as I hiked up the hill and saw the stage for the first time. As I navigated through the crowds to find a spot on the warm stone steps and settled in, waiting for the sun to dip below the mountains, I listened to the buzz of the audience and imagined what it must be like to be backstage, warming up and preparing to stand in the middle of a huge stadium and speak the words of artists from thousands of years ago. And as I sat there, taking in the grandness of it all I was reminded of why I wanted to become an actor in the first place and I was inspired to continue in my artistic journey with the goal of one day standing on that stage myself.

To conclude, I honestly don’t know why anyone would not want to study abroad. Learning something in the place where it all happened, where you can see it and experience it is the best and dare I say, most magical way of learning something. As for Greece, as highlight of my educational and travel journey, I cannot wait to go back.