Archive for category: Greece 2023

My Greek adventure is wrapping up quickly, and in a few short days, I’ll be back home in Wisconsin. In my last moments, I am soaking up the Greek sun, studying for my final exams, enjoying quality time with people who have become good friends, and visiting all my favorite places for the last time. Furthermore, it is the perfect time to reflect on my entire experience in my last blog. 

As I look back on the last four months, I realize I have grown tremendously during this study abroad experience. I am most proud of overcoming my worries, fears, and anxieties of living in a different country halfway around the world by myself. One of the goals I created before leaving for Greece was to develop self-confidence and independence. I truly believe I have accomplished this goal by being intentional about going out of my comfort zone. Almost every day, I experienced something new. I learned how to navigate the little and big things of living in Athens, like public transportation, the language barrier, shopping, restaurant/cafe culture, Greek holidays, and school. I successfully traveled to places in Greece independently. I had challenging conversations with people about God, which has helped me become more confident in sharing my faith with others. When I showed my family around Athens and other parts of Greece a couple of weeks ago, I realized how much I have grown personally and how the city and the culture have become a part of my own. 

Becoming more independent and confident has come with developing new habits and mindsets during this experience that I would like to continue in my life in the U.S. Some daily living routines I have really enjoyed in Greece are cooking, yoga, and journaling. I have been more intentional with my time here, but at the same time, not worrying about time at all. Prioritizing my time with what’s important has helped me slow down and be fully present. One of those priorities is spending quality time with people. Additionally, when I return to the U.S., I want to keep experiencing new things and traveling. There are so many places to visit, new things to try, and people to meet at home and in our country. I’ve realized from talking with people abroad how little of the U.S. I have actually experienced. I have the travel bug now, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose it. Most of all, I have developed the habit of being in God’s Word and prayer during my morning breakfast, which I have not been very consistent with before studying abroad. Starting my day with God has made all the difference. 

Overall, I am very satisfied with my experience, but there are a couple of things I wish I did differently or did more of. One is developing friendships with more Greek people. I met many Greeks at ACG, in the community, and while traveling. I had many meaningful conversations where I learned much about Greece and other worldly perspectives. However, I became good friends with just one, Athina, a student in one of my classes, whom I wrote about in a previous blog. I wish I had stayed connected with more of the Greeks I met at church in Agia Paraskevi. Also, it would have been beneficial to put more effort into learning Greek phrases before arriving. Since most Greeks know at least a little English, it was easy not to take advantage of the opportunity to communicate with the little Greek I do know. 

Studying abroad is an experience that I highly recommend students consider. By planning ahead and being intentional, an individual can grow tremendously and make the most out of new experiences. I thought about studying abroad in Greece in high school, but I seriously looked into the possibility during my freshman year at MLC. Mrs. Kassuelke guided me through helpful ISA resources and all that must be considered to study abroad. I moved around my program plan at MLC to save the courses that would transfer from the college in Athens to MLC for a semester abroad. I also intentionally saved money for studying abroad early. Being intentional is one of my biggest pieces of advice while being in the study abroad semester. If you live and study in a different country without being intentional, you will gain little growth. If you feed yourself with God’s Word, set goals, increase your knowledge about the culture and country, put yourself out of your comfort zone, and reflect on your experiences, you will gain much more. 

Even though I came to Greece alone, I was never alone. There is nothing like studying abroad to make you realize God’s omnipresence. He’s in the incredibly kind Greek who helped me, an utterly lost foreigner, find my way when they could have pushed me away. He’s in the successful and safe traveling to new places throughout the semester. He’s in the breathtaking sunsets emerging from the mountains I look at daily from my apartment’s balcony. He’s in the study abroad students I met at the beginning of the semester who wanted to start a weekly Bible study together. He’s in the Christians I met at a church who love and serve Him, and sing familiar hymns in Greek, which make me tear up a little. He’s in the family and friends from home who check in on me and point me toward Him when I feel homesick and lonely. God’s hand was evident as he provided and remained in control of all things. 

I can’t count the number of times I have said, “God is so good” this semester. Even in the lowest times, God comforted me with his abiding love and eternal promises. The day before I flew to Greece, I was told my mom had been diagnosed with cancer. That night was an emotional and spiritual battle for me. I had no desire to study abroad anymore. Thankfully, my mom found out a few days later that it was stage one cancer. She still had a long journey of appointments, surgery, and treatments ahead after that. God’s unfathomable timing was evident again as my mom was able to visit me in Greece a few weeks ago because her treatment finished about a week before traveling. Hugging my mom felt like the best feeling in the world. God is so good. He listens to my prayers. Even though I may not understand, His thoughts and ways are always higher than mine. 

It is now time to say goodbye to the country, culture, and people I have grown to love. Greece will always have a piece of my heart, and I know that someday I will come back to visit it. As for now, I pray the impact of this study abroad experience will continue to positively influence my life forever. Thank you, God, for the tremendous blessings you have given me! 

And thank you for taking the time to read my blogs! I pray you enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

God’s blessings to you always!

Morgan

Throughout my study abroad experience, I have intentionally sought opportunities to make connections with Greeks. Some of these connections have been one-time conversations. Others have developed to be conversations that happen more frequently. Either way, I have learned more and more about Greek culture from each of these interactions. 

My strongest relationship with a Greek is with my friend, Athina, a student in my psychology course. She was born in Athens and had been living here her whole life. I had my first conversation with her on my first day of classes at ACG. We introduced and talked about Giannis, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks (my one Greece-Wisconsin connection, of course). From then on, we started talking before and after our class each day. Our conversations are never very long because I have a class right after our class together, but they are always nice. We often talk about the content of our psychology class. She is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about psychology as a whole. It is her major, and her career goal is to become an experimental cognitive psychologist. She also tells me about her other classes, her job as a professor’s assistant in the psychology department, her family, her thoughts about events happening at ACG or in the news, and more. She asks about how my classes are going and where I’ll be traveling next. Recently, we went out for coffee at a local cafe in Agia Paraskevi to have a longer conversation since our chats are always cut short during school. During our talk, I asked many questions about Greek culture, her thoughts about the U.S., and her values and opinions about religion and special education, since these are my areas of study. 

Athina describes Greeks as very traditional with strong family values. She has no siblings, which she said is uncommon for Greek families. Many families have several children. However, she has connections to extended family members in and around Athens and other parts of Greece and abroad, whom she stays close to. She said her family gatherings for holidays and weddings are HUGE. She lives with her parents, as do most Greek university students. Greeks tend to live with their parents for a much longer time than Americans do. She also mentioned the welcoming and friendly hospitality that Greeks show to everyone, even foreigners. From my experience in Greece thus far, I can testify to this, as people have been incredibly helpful when I wouldn’t have expected them to be. 

According to Athina, Greeks are not very open to change. She said her generation seems to be pushing against the social and political norms of the generations before her. Still, Greek culture’s highly conservative, traditional, and religious values make any change difficult. This is one aspect she envies about the U.S.: Americans can express themselves as they are without much criticism from society. She believes Greeks do not really have freedom of speech because it is often suppressed and unproductive. She also admires how diverse the U.S. is in religion, ethnicity, race, language, etc., whereas Greeks take pride in identifying what only fits under the “Greek” stereotype.

We discussed the Eastern Orthodox Church a bit in our conversation as well. Over 90% of Greeks claim to be Orthodox Christians. Despite her mother being very involved in the church, Athina does not consider herself religious. She said many Greeks her age have participated in Orthodox practices with their families growing up, but they tend to fall away as adults. In Greece, church and state are combined. Therefore, the church has a heavy influence on politics and education. Students attending public schools are required to take Orthodox religion courses. Private schools, like those Athina has attended, are typically not influenced by religion. This is the exact opposite in the U.S. 

Lastly, Athina and I talked about special education. As a person on the autism spectrum herself, she is very passionate about helping others with different needs in her future psychology career. She doesn’t like the term “disability” because she believes it is very inaccurate. Instead, all people have abilities that are different. In Greece, public schools do not offer special education. Children with different needs can attend a specialized private school, but it is often very expensive for their parents. Therefore, some children may be homeschooled or not given the opportunity to be educated. Again, this is the opposite in the U.S., where public schools have free and appropriate special education, as written in federal law, but private schools may have very limited special education. Athina also mentioned a lack of qualified teachers in all Greek schools, so I could teach English in Greece if I wanted to. I’ll keep working towards providing much-needed special education in our WELS schools, but who knows what God has in store for me? 

(I forgot to ask Athina if she would be willing to take a selfie with me! I’ll see if I can include a picture of her in my next blog.) 

Pictured above is a mural on a wall of a school in my neighborhood, Agia Paraskevi. It reads from top to bottom: “In this school, we are real, we make mistakes, we are sorry, we love, we are patient, we have fun, we smile, and we give hugs.” 🙂

Before I left the U.S., I remember telling people about where I would study in Athens: “It’s called the American College of Greece… I know, very ironic.” You would think studying in a foreign country would mean getting away from an American education, but for me, in Greece, this is only partly true. My International Studies Abroad (ISA) program, through whom I am completing this experience, is affiliated with the American College of Greece (ACG). This private school is the oldest and largest U.S.-accredited college in Europe. It was founded by missionaries from Boston, MA, in 1875. The college is proud of its history, as seen by an interactive, technological mini-museum displayed in the library. One fun fact is that the college served as a housing and training center for the U.S. Olympic Team in the Athens 2004 Olympics. I wrote this in a previous blog post, but I think it’s worth mentioning again that I’ve been able to swim in the same Olympic pool as Michael Phelps. 

ACG is divided into three schools: Pierce (PK-12), Deree (undergraduate and graduate programs), and Alba (a graduate business school). Pierce and Deree are on the same campus in Agia Paraskevi, while Alba is in downtown Athens. There are about 4,000 Deree undergraduates, including almost 300 study abroad students attending this semester. About 90% of study abroad students are Americans. There are several different programs offered at Deree, the biggest ones being Psychology and Communication. The college is based on an American style of education, and every class is taught in English. 

Now that you had a crash course of facts about ACG, let me share what it is like from an American’s perspective. Deree does have similarities to MLC and other American colleges. For example, I have one class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 50 minutes, and I have three classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays that are 75 minutes in duration. Some students also have labs that are about 2 hours. There are 10 minutes in between class periods. This is very comparable to what class schedules are like at MLC. The class sizes are, surprisingly, relatively similar to MLC, as well. The biggest class size I have is 25 people, while the smallest is 9. ACG also has many facilities that are closely connected to each other on one campus, like a cafeteria, two cafes (one being Starbucks!), indoor and outdoor student lounge areas, a gym, fitness center, pool, track, library, chapel, outdoor theater, auditorium, labs, art studios, academic and wellness support centers, and more. They make use of these facilities by offering many opportunities for students to get involved and build community by participating in sports, clubs, volunteering, academic presentations, fun events, etc. Many American colleges highly value these characteristics of their institutions as well. 

Despite the similarities, there are some differences that are strongly rooted in European and Greek cultures. Many grades for each class are solely based on the midterm and final exams. There is rarely any daily or weekly homework that is required. Professors expect you to study the notes taken in class during lectures and read the assigned textbooks for additional information. In Europe, many college courses are designed this way. For me, this is a bit stressful because I’m very used to being assessed through homework given after every class period at MLC rather than just two grades for the whole course. Another difference is the class periods themselves at Deree. There is no planned student participation. The role of the student is to listen to the professor lecturing the entire period and take notes. The professors encourage questions and comments if necessary, though. One of the biggest culture shocks I have experienced at Deree is attendance and perception of time. Any student is allowed to miss up to 9 class periods for any Monday/Wednesday/Friday class and 6 for any Tuesday/Thursday class before it affects their completion of the course. It is extremely common for students (or professors) to arrive 5-10 minutes late to class on a consistent basis. I think this very much aligns with Greek culture, but it also accommodates a majority of Greek students who commute to the college from downtown Athens or neighborhoods beyond. Who knows what the traffic or weather will bring? Would you believe me if I told you it snowed 1-2 inches in Athens last week, and I had online classes for two days because the campus was closed? 

Overall, I really enjoy my classes. I am taking four courses for 12 credits in total: Human Learning & Memory, Interpersonal Communication, Sociology of Modern Life, and Survey of World Civilizations. I find each course’s content interesting and applicable to my life and future ministry. However, I think the most meaningful knowledge I am gaining is from listening to other people’s perspectives and growing the confidence to share my own. For example, a student in my Interpersonal Communication class is a refugee from Afghanistan. It’s incredible to hear his story and how he perceives his own identity and relationships with other people. My Survey professor is from Germany, and one of our units focused on the Reformation. I talked to him about MLC and New Ulm, which was exciting for both of us. In my Sociology class, we have been learning about education and religion as institutions of society, but we are encouraged to share our own thoughts and experiences, so I’ve started to share my WELS, teacher, and American POVs with the class. I have also become friends with Athina, who sits next to me in Human Learning & Memory. She has lived in Athens her whole life and has many connections with people at Deree. She is extremely knowledgeable in Psychology, and she asks very critical-thinking questions in class. I think my favorite question she asked me was when we first met. After we introduced ourselves and I told her I was from Wisconsin, she asked, “Do you know Giannis Antetokounmpo?” I laughed and said, “Not personally, but I do know him. I’ve seen him play in Milwaukee.” 

You may have seen these symbols in this order before. G>↑↓ means “God (G) is greater than (>) the highs (↑) and the lows (↓).” It resembles Romans 8:39. I’ve always loved this simple reminder that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ, but it’s been evermore in my mind since I embarked on my Greek adventure ten days ago.

The moments before my departure to the O’Hare airport in Chicago were very emotional. I was nervous about flying because I wasn’t confident about navigating the airport and whether my luggage would meet the requirements. I was scared to travel to another country alone and live there for the next four months. I was sad to leave my parents at the security checkpoint as I gave them one final hug before I was on my own. Finally starting a study abroad adventure is truly exciting, but in those moments, it didn’t quite feel like it. However, I knew God was with me, and this brought me comfort. He is greater than the lows. 

After successfully going through security and immigration at the airport, my nerves started to fade. I started to feel that excitement about my adventure again. At the O’Hare and Frankfurt, Germany airports, I even met a few students from various states in the U.S. who were also headed to Athens to study. It was nice to talk with people who were feeling the same way I was. Once I reached the Athens airport, I met with my International Studies Abroad (ISA) group and our program managers, who are incredibly kind and helpful. We then took a coach bus to the residential buildings in my neighborhood of Agia Paraskevi, just outside Athens. 

My initial impressions of Greece in the first ten days are the following: 

• “It’s so warm and sunny! This is amazing!” The temperature has been averaging high 50s degrees Fahrenheit during the day and about high 40s when the sun goes down. Basically, it feels like a Midwest spring, but there’s hardly any wind. The local Greeks are wearing heavy jackets. They find it unbelievable when I tell them what the weather is like in New Ulm.
• “The MOUNTAINS!” I knew Greece was mountainous, but I didn’t expect to have a gorgeous view of them every morning outside my kitchen window (see picture below). The neighborhoods of Athens surround all sides of these mountains. 
• “Everyone is so welcoming and nice.” The Greek people I interact with in the residential buildings, the supermarkets, and stores, on public transportation, and my professors, school staff, and local students are very kind. From my experience, they are patient, extremely laid back, and interested in learning more about you. Almost everyone I’ve talked to knows English, and almost all signs and labels (not items in the grocery store, however. Google Translate is my best friend) have the English name written below the Greek name. I’ve been learning and using common Greek greetings such as “Γεια σου” (“hello”),  “ευχαριστώ” (“thank you”), “Παρακαλώ” (“please” or “you’re welcome”), and  “καλημέρα” (“good morning”), which they greatly appreciate. 
• “There are cats. Everywhere.” It is very common to see a friendly stray cat, even at my school. I’ve heard Athens is cat heaven because they’re very well taken care of and fed frequently by the locals. 
• “Greek driving is a bit scary.” Greeks, generally speaking, like to take things slow in almost everything except for driving. They drive extremely fast, even on residential roads. You must look both ways, ahead of you and behind you, and then look everywhere again before you cross the street. Cars appear quickly. I took a taxi one of my first days here, and I was constantly making sure my seatbelt was tight while the driver sped through Athens. 
• “I could consume souvlaki (gyros), tzatziki (a Greek, yogurt-based dip), tiropita (“Greek cheese pie” basically baked feta cheese drizzled in honey), and freddo cappuccino (iced cappuccino coffee served sweet, medium sweet, or no sugar) all day.” Greek food and coffee are absolutely amazing (and cheap)! 

This past Saturday, my ISA group participated in an all-day excursion in downtown Athens. We learned many interesting facts about ancient Greece at the Acropolis Museum, visited the archeological site of the Acropolis, explored the beautiful neighborhood of Plaka, and watched the sunset on top of Philopappos Hill. When first seeing the Acropolis from Monastiraki Square and taking in all of Athens from the sites above, it felt incredibly surreal that I was standing there, taking in God’s creation. I had dreamed about those moments for months, and they were happening. Yet, I remember God is greater than these highs. All honor, glory, praise, and thanks to God, whose gracious love I will never be separated from, no matter where I am.

Morgan