Morgan’s Top 3 Travel Tips for Study Abroad
Before starting my study abroad adventure, I knew I would learn so much about Greek culture while living in Greece for four months. However, there’s another type of culture I didn’t quite expect to be so apparent: the American study abroad culture. I live with eight American girls in one apartment. I was first introduced to about thirty other American students who are also part of my ISA program. Gradually, I’ve been connecting with some of the two hundred other American students who attend my college, ACG. Being continuously surrounded by other Americans is a blessing. It has helped me reflect on experiences with others feeling the same way I am. Also, it is a source of comfort when I feel a bit homesick. For example, a Bible study group I formed with other American study abroad students has helped me with feelings of missing MLC and, relative to now, Holy Week at my home congregation.
One aspect of American study abroad culture I learned quickly was that everyone has their own agenda and priorities for their time here, especially when traveling. Some of my roommates have had trips to other countries booked for upcoming weekends before arriving in Greece. Some other Americans I met had quickly found their group of people to travel with and started planning. I initially felt very stressed about this. My FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) was overwhelming me. I didn’t want to miss out on traveling around Greece and Europe and experiencing as much as possible because I had no connections with people. I had my own destinations in mind, but it felt so difficult to coordinate class schedules, budgeting, timing, etc., with people I felt comfortable traveling with. Over time, I was able to work through the initial struggles and mistakes I made when planning my travels and form some realizations that might be helpful for a future study abroad student.
Morgan’s Top 3 Travel Tips for Study Abroad
- Plan Ahead, but Be Flexible
Once I figured out which weekends I had open for travel, planning trips at least a month ahead worked out the best. However, traveling on a student budget calls for some extreme flexibility. It may be worth taking a bus or train (or, in Greece, a ferry to the islands) rather than a flight, even though it takes longer to get there. Depending on where you are going and how much you want to do, I found two whole days (typically Saturday to Sunday) to be enough time to explore a destination. It’s helpful to make a rough itinerary for your trip and pin all the places you want to go in Google Maps. Also, hostels are the way to go for basically just a bed and shower. However, if you’re traveling with a bigger group, splitting the cost of an Airbnb might be even cheaper. Regarding traveling with people, it is nice to find those with the same travel style as you. For example, I love to pack everything in and see as much as possible, but others are okay with not seeing everything and would instead do more relaxing. No matter who you are traveling with, there are times when you may need to compromise. It is good to be open-minded.
- Prioritize the “Free” Excursions
The included excursions and trips are an incredible blessing in my ISA and ACG’s study abroad programs. This is probably different in other countries, but this tip is relevant since many MLC students study abroad with ISA. I visited many of Athens’s main touristy sights and activities with ISA. They bought my group’s tickets, traveling accommodations, sometimes meals, etc., and organized the whole itinerary. Also, ISA invites their students to participate in volunteer opportunities where they can learn so much about the people and culture. ACG also organizes day trips to popular places outside Athens. They hire tour guides who share much knowledge about these cities and take us to authentic restaurants the locals love. I was surprised how many study abroad students didn’t take advantage of these trips. They are so easy to plan around because they let us know the dates before arriving in Greece. If your program has included excursions, I highly recommend doing them!
- Remember: It is YOUR Adventure
I previously mentioned my FOMO when first thinking about traveling here. I think this stemmed from comparing my study abroad experience with the experience of people around me. I initially felt I was planning wrong because I wasn’t traveling to a different country every weekend. However, when I realized my goals for traveling and felt confident in them, these feelings faded. I planned two short trips out of Greece, Florence, Italy, and London, U.K, and the rest of my traveling was to cities and islands in Greece. I feel satisfied with this because I want to experience the most of Greece I can while living here, which is what my budget allows. Also, traveling more than you ever have in your life in a short time is tiring. You need time to rest. You don’t have to travel every weekend. You also don’t have to do what everyone else is doing! Remember your own priorities and values.
My Friend Athina
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.” 🙂
Kairos Over Chronos
The Ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. Chronos is sequential, quantitative time used to measure our minutes, hours, days, months, etc. We think about chronos time when we schedule our days, and in the end, we wish we had more time to do everything we wanted to do. Kairos, on the other hand, is qualitative time that can easily fluctuate. It means that some moments present opportunities that are more meaningful than others. Kairos time is not structured; it is spontaneous and free-flowing. It is the name for those moments in life where it is easy to forget about chronos time because the experiences in the present moment simply cannot be measured. It is the moments where we intentionally pause and think, “Wow, God is so good,” and we take in the rich blessings of simply living in God’s grace.
I recognize my chronos of living in Greece is 65 days as of today. I am halfway through my Greek adventure. Just over two months have passed, and it feels like I’ve been here a long time, but it also seems to be going quickly. I think this is because I’ve been living in kairos. Besides attending my classes, submitting my assessments, and catching my flights, trains, or buses at a specific, planned time, chronos time has become less of a focus for me in Greece. Instead, I am more focused on making the most of the opportunities and experiences God has given me here. So far, I feel incredibly blessed and satisfied with how rich and meaningful my study abroad experience has been. I am growing through challenges, expanding my perspectives through many different and new experiences, and forming relationships and connections with many complex and interesting people. Living more in kairos has brought me so much joy and helps me see God’s hand in every aspect of life.
When I reflect on the goals I made before leaving the U.S., I realize there are several parts to each of the two goals I am working towards. Therefore, I cannot pick one of my expansive goals and say I’ve made the most progress on that particular one. I have seen growth in some areas more than others. My self-confidence and independency have definitely increased. Before arriving in Greece and in my first couple weeks here, I felt very inadequate and almost unprepared to take on this experience because I didn’t have confidence in myself and my abilities to find success independently in a new environment. However, since then, I have felt more confident and comfortable connecting with people from all cultural backgrounds. I have immersed myself in opportunities to learn more about Greek culture. I have found success in navigating public transportation, doing daily living activities in my neighborhood, and planning trips to places in Greece and abroad, even when these things started as struggles. One mini goal I have is to do something new every day. So far, there has only been a handful of days where I haven’t. Overall, I am very happy with my growth in these areas.
There are a few improvements I would like to make in the second half of my experience. My first improvement is focusing intentionally on forming concrete habits I can carry on in my life after studying abroad. One of my initial goals was organizing a routine for being in God’s Word and self-care. I feel I started strong in these areas during my first few weeks. However, as time passed, I found myself fitting these things around the travel days, new experiences, and course assessments. I want to focus on daily spending time with God in his Word and prayer in the morning before my classes instead of only listening to a sermon or devotion from home as I commute, run, or do apartment chores. Also, my workout schedule has not been consistent. I’ve started to run on the mountain trails and in the neighborhoods with a friend, but it has been very sporadic. We’ve recently made it our goal to stick to a schedule for running and participating in a yoga class at ACG afterward. My writing in my reflection journal has also been slacking recently. I have started bringing my journal everywhere so I can write during traveling and short downtimes. It’s challenging to find a time to intentionally reflect when all I want to do is experience, experience, experience. Finally, one of my goals is to travel around Greece and Europe alone. I have only done one solo excursion to downtown Athens so far, and that’s the extent of the progress on this goal. As of now, I don’t plan on traveling to other cities in Europe alone because I’ve decided I’d like to spend most of my time in Greece. However, I would like to make more solo day trips to places I have yet to explore in Greece.
The last area I would like to reflect on is adapting to Greek culture. One of the biggest culture shocks for me, initially, was timeliness. It’s uncommon to attend any event before the start time, whether it is class, an activity, or meeting a friend for coffee. From my experience, many Greeks show up 10-15 minutes late, which is normal. This was bizarre and a bit frustrating initially, but I’ve come to accept it. Also, public transportation is not always reliable. Recently, there have been several strikes to protest needed advancements in the Hellenic train system ever since the devastating, fatal tragedy of a passenger train colliding with a cargo train in northern Greece a couple of weeks ago. There have been times when I’ve wanted to take the metro or suburban railway, but an unforeseen strike had started, and I had to find another way. Traveling to downtown Athens from Agia Paraskevi sometimes takes an hour or longer. I have come to understand and expect traveling by public transportation to take a long time. Eating at restaurants or sipping coffee at cafes are also several hours-long events. This part of Greek culture I have really appreciated. It’s about stepping into kairos from chronos and enjoying your company with meaningful conversation and good laughs.
For the second half of my adventure, I plan to keep measuring my time in kairos rather than chronos; in meaningful experiences and connections with others rather than the things on my to-do list; in the moments where I can only pause and say “God is so good” rather than forgetting to thank and praise him for the countless blessings he’s given me. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory!” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
An American Studying at The American College of Greece
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.”
Living in Agia Paraskevi
I’ve been in Greece for just over three weeks now! I feel a little more knowledgeable about what daily living is like in Athens, or Agia Paraskevi specifically. Agia Paraskevi is a neighborhood, or suburb, northeast of Athens that I live in and go to school at the American College of Greece (ACG). There are at least forty different neighborhoods that surround Athens, and about half of the population of Greece lives in this expansive area. Each neighborhood is said to have its own flair. Agia Paraskevi seems to be relatively quiet compared to downtown Athens. Agiou Ioannou is the main street in Agia Paraskevi that consists of pretty much everything you need: restaurants, bakeries, cafes, supermarkets, pharmacies, parks, phone carriers, the post office, banks, department stores with popular and local brands, bus stops, and what seems like an unreasonable amount of hair and nail salons. It’s just a seven-minute walk to this street from my apartment building. It is also part of one possible route to school, as the main entrance to the college is at the end of this street. I’ve started to feel fairly comfortable and confident in navigating this neighborhood myself.
A day in my life as a study abroad student in Greece!:
- My Apartment: I live in a four-story apartment building that is a fifteen-minute walk from ACG. There are four apartment buildings total in Agia Paraskevi that the college owns. Each building has an RA and staff that are very kind and helpful 24/7. It is very secure, with an entrance gate and doors that require a key to enter. There is also a security guard that stands outside the gate from late night to early morning. Only ACG students, mostly study abroad or international students, live in these apartments. I live with eight American study abroad students. Four of us are in the International Studies Abroad (ISA) program. We are from states all over the country. Our apartment consists of four rooms, with two girls in a room. We share a kitchen and a living room, and we have more balconies (three!) than bathrooms (two). There are several washers and dryers (a rare commodity in Europe, but I’ve found the ones we have are very inefficient; most people hang their clothes on the balconies to dry) in the basement of our building. We also have a lounge room on the first floor and an elevator with a door. Being on the fourth floor, we have a gorgeous view of Agia Paraskevi and other neighborhoods, mountains, and sunrise and sunset.
- Eating: For most of my meals, I have really enjoyed cooking familiar foods in my apartment’s kitchen. At ACG, I bought a small meal plan that allows me to have lunch at the cafeteria two times a week. The food service has various options, from salads to burgers to hot dishes authentic to Greece. The servers are very helpful in describing the Greek dishes that are unknown to me, and those are the ones I tend to go for. I haven’t come across any that I don’t like. It’s exciting to try new restaurants in the area with my roommates! At most restaurants, you seat yourself anywhere you’d like. Many restaurants have a second floor, especially downtown. Once you sit, a server brings a glass of water for everyone or a bottle of water so you can help yourself. When the food you ordered comes, you are sometimes given the bill immediately. This doesn’t mean they want you to hurry through your meal and leave quickly (in fact, it is part of Greek culture to stay at restaurants for hours and enjoy your company). Instead, they are ensuring that you pay because in Greece if you do not get a bill, it is completely acceptable to leave and not pay. Also, it is not common to tip.
- Coffee: I am an avid coffee lover. Fortunately for me, Athens has many cafes to choose from. The most popular drinks are freddo cappuccino, freddo espresso, frappe (all cold drinks with ice), and Greek coffee (hot, strong coffee with thick foam on the surface). I think the freddo cappuccino is my favorite so far. When you order your coffee, the servers ask if you want sugar, medium sugar (half of the full amount), or no sugar. Medium sugar is good for me. Your coffee is usually served with a small cookie and a spoon sweet (any preserved fruit coated in a thick, sweet syrup). I am determined to try every cafe on Agiou Ioannou by the time I leave. They’re all so inviting, with comfortable seating both indoors and outdoors, natural and warm lighting, music, and plants everywhere. It’s a perfect spot to study and journal.
- School: Speaking of studying, a day in the life of a study abroad student does include going to class and not just exploring and traveling. I plan to write about what my classes are like at ACG in a later blog post, so I won’t focus on it here, but stay tuned!
- Volunteering: ACG has many unique opportunities for all students to get involved. One opportunity includes volunteering at a local “Laiki Agora” (which means “the people’s market” or farmers’ market in Greece). On Mondays, a few Greek students and I have been collecting produce the farmers are willing to donate at closing time of the market. Then, we give the produce to a center for people with disabilities just down the road. I never thought I would be serving people with disabilities here, just like I do at home and at MLC. God is so good.
- Fitness Classes: ACG also has many fitness classes! I’ve been participating in yoga, abs and legs, and water aerobics (in the outdoor Olympic-sized pool where Michael Phelps trained in the 2004 Olympics!). They fit well in my weekly schedule, and they are very fun yet challenging. It’s been nice to get into a workout routine.
- Shopping: Grocery shopping isn’t as hard as I had expected. I can find almost everything I need. Some labels are in both Greek and English, while some are not. Google translate is my best friend at these moments. I’ve bought some authentic Greek products like tahini (nut butter) and kritsinia me sousami (small breadsticks with sesame seeds). I want to try buying fish soon because it is very fresh. Maybe I’ll work my way into a Mediterranean diet by the end of my four months here.
- Exploring: Last but not least, my days consist of much exploring. I have a mini goal of trying something new each day, whether participating in something new at ACG, trying a new restaurant or shop, going to a museum or historical site in Athens, spending time with a new friend, and more. My weekends are for traveling to further destinations and participating in excursions with my ISA Program. Last weekend, I traveled to Thessaloniki and explored many historical sites, including Biblical history, as I visited the churches dedicated to the Apostle Paul. This weekend, God-willing, I’ll visit Corinth with a few friends I’ve had Bible study with. It is incredibly surreal to live in and visit cities and places we read about in God’s Word. All praise and thanks to God!
