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Choosing what to write about this week was very exciting. And it just so happened that the day before this, some of my roommates and I were having fun chatting and making a list of some of the things we missed about life in the U.S and some of the other goofy or serious differences we have noticed throughout the semester. I have decided to share some of these differences with you guys!

I’ll start with some of the silly things.

• One of the first things we all noticed when we arrived and were attempting to move in while being seriously jet-lagged was that there is no such thing as fitted sheets here. You know the ones with the cinched corners that always make you feel like you’re trying to put a shower cap on a refrigerator when trying to make your bed? Yeah, they don’t have those here! A blessing you would think, but no! What we wouldn’t give for a fitted sheet. You have to tuck a regular sheet on the mattress and let me tell you, it comes untucked almost every night.
• Another silly difference is the use of sidewalks. And roads for that matter. We were informed when we got here that pedestrians have no rights. And it’s true! Walking outside is sometimes a war-zone. You have to act confident and just move and hope that cars don’t hit you because they will not slow down or stop even if you’re there first. Also, people park wherever they want to. On the sidewalk? Yep. In the middle of an intersection? Believe it or not, yes. In front of you while you’re walking….yes that too. You get used to it. It’s a little comical. Another thing to look out for while walking on the sidewalk is other foot traffic. Greeks don’t move over for you. If you are on the sidewalk and they are on the sidewalk, they will run you over if you do not move. The same goes for the Greek pigeons. These pigeons have Greek attitudes and they also will not move for you. The trickiest is when you are trapped by a Greek pedestrian on one side, and a Greek pigeon on the other…then you have to choose between getting mowed down by a person or stepping on a pigeon. Choose wisely. (it’s a harder decision than you would think!)
• Ah! This is a big one. You cannot flush toilet paper here. Ancient pipes? I’m not really sure. But in the dorms, in public, at school, anywhere…no flushing allowed. It’s a little gross. One of my favorite Christmas presents will be American toilets. No joke!
• Next is a theory that my roommates and I came up with early in our time here. It was stifling hot when we arrived and all throughout September, October, and most of November, you would be drenched in sweat immediately after you stepped outside. But not the Greeks! I do not remember seeing any sweaty Greeks. It was very confusing. Especially since we all looked like we hopped in a lake. So the theory we came up with, tied to another observation, was this: Greeks exclusively drink only coffee (this was an observation. Exaggerated a bit.) No water whatsoever. So they are in a state of perpetual dehydration which is why they don’t sweat. They have nothing to sweat! We figured this is also why there are no public drinking fountains and approximately 2 total public restrooms. (All an exaggeration of course hehe:) But it seemed accurate.
• Next up. The accordion child. Yes, the instrument. There is ALWAYS a child with an accordion on the metro. With a little cup for coins. It’s very impressive in all honesty. I can barely play the piano.

 

Moving on to some differences concerning college age Greeks to American college age kids!

• Restrooms on campus are seemingly just for chatting, and doing makeup.
• Everyone is always talking on the phone. In between classes, waiting in Iine for lunch, eating lunch…it always seems very important too. Hmmm.
• There’s more PDA here…they really don’t care haha! Very awkward.
• They dress WELL. No backpacks…Prada purses, designer sunglasses, slacks…all name brand things. I wear jeans a lot and feel like I’m from a farm.
• They come to class and leave class whenever they so please with just their phone, a coffee, and a pack of cigarettes!

And lastly just some other differences!

• Daylight savings time ends a week earlier and the clocks move back at 4am instead of 2am. (Also no one told us when this happened so that was a confusing day hah!)
• All businesses except for a few restaurant are closed on Sundays.
• Lots of power outages.
• Sometimes the Metro just stops and the lights turn off for a few terrifying minutes. But then everything is fine again.
• Random American businesses: TGI Fridays, KFC, Cinnabon…it’s a little bit weird not knowing any of the names of restaurants and stores and then a random TGI Fridays pops up.

 

Our list is much longer, but those are few of the bigger differences that I have gathered with my roommates while on this adventure! Some things I miss about home, and some things I’ll definitely miss about being here as the end of my trip gets closer and closer:) I’m very thankful for every second of it so far.

Here are some pictures from my latest adventures! Including a Friendsgiving that my apartment put together:)

I cannot believe I am already at the halfway point…that it absolutely crazy to me! It’s flying by so much faster than I anticipated. I guess time flies when you’re exploring:) I have so many thoughts on my experience so far and it’s funny because most of them still have to do with me pausing throughout my day and remembering that I am in a different country because some days feel so normal already ha! That being said, I am very proud of myself for doing this and coming here by myself and I’m so glad I did. The people I’ve met both American and from other countries including Greece have been amazing and I get sad when I think about ever leaving them. It’s funny for me to reflect on my first few weeks here as well because I remember thinking that the days crawled by, and I missed home, and normalcy, and 15 weeks was FOREVER to be away. And now that I’m half way through I believe it’s going to be over much too fast. I think that this is an opportunity I will forever be grateful for taking and the memories and lessons that I’ve learned here already and have yet to learn are valuable ones that I can take back with me for the rest of my life.

The format of my daily schedule looks very different here than when I’m at home, and because of that I’ve had lots of time to work on my personal goals which I’m so thankful for as well! I’ve been journaling for the memories, and gone outside of my comfort zone more times than I can count, whether that be traveling 30 minutes down town where I can’t read any signs or trekking somewhere on foot by myself where I also can’t read any signs! Group work in classes, and the school experience in itself has also been an adjustment! I have made so many friends in my classes from other countries it’s so cool. I have two friends from Serbia, one from Germany, and one from Switzerland so far besides my Greek friends:) Learning about Greek culture from the school has also been very enlightening and fun during my weeks here. ACG holds lots of little events aimed to celebrate and inform students about Greek life and culture, as well as to make us feel at home! (They are having Halloween activities this week!) But overall I’m most proud of my progress on my spiritual goal. It’s so normal at MLC to be surrounded by our Lord with chapel and our Christ-driven teachers and friends, but here it is more secular, and so consciously being able to make the choice to stay connected to Christ in my everyday life has been an eye-opening experience too. I have wandered outside of the WELS bubble! Honestly one of the things I miss most is singing hymns with a congregation. I can’t wait to do that when I get home.

All those things being said, there a few areas I would like to improve in the second half of my stay here. Now that I am a little more confident in my independent abilities, I would like to continue to push my comfort zone and see how far I can go! Both of my big trips are planned for this half (one of which is a solo trip!) so I will get booted outside of my comfort zone more than a few times I’m sure. I would also like to try more of the Greek culture personally, like learning how to cook some of their food or asking and learning about some family traditions that my friends have in their homes. A big new goal for me this half is actually also going to be speaking more in class. Thus far, I’ve been pretty quiet unless I’m 10000000% sure of my answer, but in discussions and such I want to add more input this half instead of just listening and kind of voicing my opinions to myself or friends after the class.

I think what’s surprised me the most about Greek culture is their together-ness and pride for tradition. If you want to see something you’ll never see in America, go down to a square at 11 o’clock at night and there will be music and like 70 people of all ages (2-102) in giant circles doing traditional dances. It’s like watching the end of the Grinch movie where they all sing “Fah who Doraze”. And every time I see this, I wonder when they are taught to dance that way. It is not easy, and it does not look easy either, and yet everyone knows how, and I think it’s so cool that that is something that is passed down from generation to generation so that some night in a square you can come together with fellow Greeks for a good time. It’s amazing!

I think what I’ve improved upon most about adjusting to the Greek culture is to never assume. People tell you Greeks are loud and use their hands, but you don’t really understand this until you see it in person. And at first I thought everyone was mad all the time. They sounded mad, and looked mad, and even though I was warned that this is just how they are, it still looked like anger to me! But! It really is not the case. They are expressive, and if you get yelled at, it might be a compliment, you never know!

I am beyond excited to see what adventures the second half of my abroad experience will bring me, and I do hope to improve upon my goals and get the most out of my remaining time here! I’ve attached some pictures from when my parents visited me this past week. It was so good to see them:)