I have been in Greece for a little well over a week and a half, nearly two weeks. I had planned on blogging earlier though between inconsistent WiFi and non-stop excitement it was hard to find time! In addition to this, it has been my first time out of the United States, much less across the Atlantic.
Greece has been nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. From landing in the Athens airport, it has been an entirely alien experience. It’s easy to think and say that there are other cultures, languages, and peoples outside of your walls. It is an entirely different thing to be airdropped in without the ability to read the common vernacular in search for a water bottle. While that might sound anxiety-inducing (which it was in the moment), it does do wonders to improve your ability at understanding the world around you.
The people and food have both been a wonderful part of my journey, with one of my favorite moments from the trip so far being a conversation I had with a man in Nafplio. We spoke about language and what it means to know a language. He grabbed onto my shoulder and we floated in the crisp blue water of the Mediterranean and said, “They say the more languages you speak, the more human you feel.” This moment has resonated with me throughout the trip as we talk to more and more people (and I struggle to pronounce Greek).
The locations and class itself has also been amazing. As of writing this we only have 3 more sites for class to go to, but thinking back on it before finishing assignments, I think Epidaurus or Sounio was my favorite. Here we saw the equivalent of an ancient hospital, though while it was my favorite site for class, it was far from my favorite place in the country. Such is currently a tie between the verdant hills of Arcadia and the calm coasts of the Argolid.
As we close in on ending the class, I will keep in touch. So far Greece has fundamentally changed me as a person, but I am very interested to see how this develops as we begin to draw class itself to a close.