Class in Athens!

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This week my topic of discussion is Academics! I’m excited to dive into this one because things here in Greece are very different when it comes to school. There are both good and bad differences, but all in all, it’s just different!

I am taking four classes here: Interpersonal Communication, Educational Psychology, The American Experience in Fiction, and Survey of World Civilizations. These classes are all very different from one another and I very much enjoy that fact! Class sizes here I think tend to differ depending on major or the specific course. I have one class where there’s 26 of us, one where there’s only 8, and the other two range between 10-15. Some of my roommates, however, are in psychology and science courses with big lectures of 30-40 students, so it really depends! That being said, one of the major differences between the States and Greece is attendance. Attendance here is not as strict as back home. I think technically you get 9 free absences before your grade starts to go down, whereas at MLC I believe it is just 1 or 2 absences! And I think this is partly because of the class/teaching styles here. All of my courses are pretty much lecture based, and homework is not given everyday. I have a few big projects and papers to do throughout the semester that are due in December, but otherwise, the expectation is to show up, pay attention, take notes if you would like, and do your best on the midterm and final. Participation in class plays a greater role in grading here also because of the lack of assignments. I personally really enjoy this. I am more motivated to learn when I do not have to worry about a bunch of busy work assignments and due dates!

I have some great professors here as well! They are very understanding and mostly look for a positive attitude and openness to learn. They are not hesitant to remind you that grades are not everything, and a lot of times their best students have been C-D students and not A-B. Good reminders!

All that being said…absences are VERY common. Fridays, almost no one comes to class! It’s silly. Sometimes my 8 person class has only 2 people, or my 26 person class will have 15 and its so, so common. Or, the biggest difference to me is how students here roll up to class with nothing! Only the American study abroad students come to class with computers to take notes. A lot of Greek students don’t even come with a pencil!

Overall my academic experiences here have been pretty different from what I’m used to at MLC, but I love the different challenges that come with communicating with students from another culture and seeing what their every day school lives are like!

I have some pictures here of the campus and also some pictures of some of my lunch meals from the caf! The caf at ACG is amazing! I love all of their meals here:)

Better by the Dozen:)

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I’m excited to tell everyone about this week’s topic! My living situation here at ACG is a pretty cool one:) I live with 11 other girls all from different parts of the US. We have a great 12 person apartment that shares a kitchen and a pretty awesome balcony that overlooks the neighborhood! Coming here, I was very nervous about who I’d be living with. We were not notified ahead of time how many girls we’d be grouped with, or any names of the girls we’d be grouped with, so we all came in blind. However, as we slowly arrived it was clear I got very lucky with my group:)

12 girls sounds like quite a bit, but it’s actually a TON of fun! Our dynamic is very friendly and balanced. We love to have “family dinners” where we all eat together or bake something and chat if we have the time. All the girls are also super supportive! If anything is wrong, someone is always there to help in any way they can. We encourage each other to go outside our comfort zones with the knowledge that we won’t be a lone, and as a result, my adjustment time here has been very smooth and I’m so very thankful for each and every one of them.

I was initially also worried that I would never take any trips outside Athens while I was here because I am horribly afraid of going places by myself haha! But the crazy thing is, within 2 weeks of knowing these girls, it’s hard to remember not knowing them. I presently have booked a trip with 6 girls to Italy for Thanksgiving! Things I never thought I’d do, I am doing with their help and it feels amazing to be so blessed. Things also tend to be very spontaneous in our apartment so you might think you’re going to have a boring night and the next thing you know, there are 10 people standing in your door asking if you want to go see live dancing in the square and eat gelato…who’s going to say no to that!?

Another cool thing about living with so many girls, is that while we all come from very different backgrounds, I do share a similar faith with a few of them. It’s nice to get a few reminders of my savior from people close to me while I’m living in such a secular place. I had felt pretty alone in my faith up until getting to know them! We are going to be trying different churches around the area on Sundays for some different experiences as well, so I am excited to see how Greek church services differ from my comfortable small-town WELS ones, and to be able to do it with some friends! God really is good:)

I wish I had a picture of all 12 of us, but I just realized we haven’t taken one yet! So attached are some pictures from a few adventures I’ve gotten to take so far with a couple of my roomies<3