Class in Athens!
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:)
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
Arrival and Weeks 1 and 2!
So I made it! I actually somehow got off the 9 hour flight and found where I was supposed to be in a confusing airport surrounded by people who were not speaking English. (The first major success of mine). This experience is already so unlike anything I’ve ever done that recalling all of my first impressions is actually proving to be very difficult! If I start from the beginning, I can say that I saw my very first palm trees! They do exist beyond my imagination. I also remember from right after landing that the urban-ness of the area was overwhelming especially mixed with jet lag. But as I regained a sleep schedule I was able to take in the sights around me and appreciate/notice the different things like the sidewalks, for example, which are very classy and made of different kinds of stones that are also uneven in many places (I would know because I trip on them daily). I also have been notified, and noticed myself, that the driving here is different. People are kind of crazy, they just drive wherever they want whenever they want. It’s pretty funny, actually. You could be walking on the sidewalk and a car will pull up onto the sidewalk right in front of you and the driver will park and walk away and you just have to go around the car! Safe to say my own parking skills would not be heavily judged here:)
The food continues to surprise me every time I have a meal. I’m not sure why or how it’s so good, but they have created flavors that America can only dream of I am certain. Although I have wondered if half of why it’s so good is because of the presentation. They make everything look fancy even if it’s not fancy and that just makes it taste better. The other night I went out to dinner with a few friends and we were presented with some barbecue potato chips. Now, it could be that the potato chips in Greece are just different and more flavorful and crunchy here than in the states, OR it could be that they tasted better because they were brought to our table in a delicately painted ceramic bowl! I’ll have to do some research on this in my down time.
What about the real reason I’m here! School! Well classes have been very interesting so far. Some of my professors are hard to understand so I will be an expert lip reader by the end of this experience. I noticed they seem to be more focused on the process and connection of learning as a class than in individual work, because 3 our of my 4 classes have a group project that will count for a big percentage of our grade. The number of individual assignments seems to be way less. Either that, or I am missing something and I will have a lot of catching up to do on Monday. We’ll see how it goes!
The most memorable point of my first week was going to the acropolis! First of all, pictures on the internet don’t do it justice, and yes, it also actually exists it’s not imaginary. It’s HUGE. It made me feel very much like watching Hercules and I was so intrigued by all the history seemingly frozen in one place. They are working on some restoration too so it was cool to see what the buildings would have looked like back in their glory days as opposed to what they look like now. I can’t wait to see more!
Overall, I had many first impressions of Athens and I’ll probably have more as the weeks go on because there is SO much to see and do here. I’m excited for all of it!
Flying Away This Weekend!
Well, I leave for Greece in four days! Which is crazy to even think about because I began planning for this trip my freshman year and it was just something exciting I talked about every once in a while and now its actually happening! I have a great mumbo-jumbo mix of emotions flashing through me at different times during these last days, many of them do not even have anything to do with actually being IN Greece, but rather, making sure I have everything I need to get INTO Greece from my flights. The excitement comes and goes. I love fantasizing about what my daily routine might look like, and how different it might be from the one I’m used to. I’ve thought about my daily habits and how those might change in such a different setting. I’ve thought about habits I want to keep, ones I want to break, and new ones I want to try. Re-reading through my goals and expectations sheet again, I was reminded of a few of those goals, but also saw where some of them have changed, or where expectations have already been met! For example, I had big expectations for the ISA program and how well their communication would be during the “don’t freak-out” stage of arriving in a different country and trying to find the rendezvous. But! I have been provided with so many directions and backup directions that I don’t believe even my overthinking brain has been able to come up with a tragic scenario where I don’t know what to do next. So that is very comforting:)
I’ve also gotten the opportunity to chat with a bunch of the other students who are in the ISA program with me! I’ve loved this part because I have already found a few students who are on my flight to Athens, and knowing I can find other people really helps me feel more secure and less alone. It’s also given me an opportunity to realize all the different types of American students I will be with on this trip, which is kind of a cool culture thing of it’s own. My roommate in Athens will be a girl who attends UCLA for example, and MLC is very very not like UCLA I am sure, so it’ll be interesting to see how we both adjust to ACG from our differing experiences at our home universities.
In my free time recently, as I’ve thought more and more about my trip, I’ve really found that my biggest goal is staying in tune with my faith life. It’s the number one most important thing. If I am not grounded in my savior, then I am not grounded at all. While I’m over there, I will not get the opportunity to go to chapel services twice a day, or even regular Sunday services. The friends I make will be encouraging I’m sure, but probably not with the same reminders I’m accustomed to getting from friends of the same faith. In this, there is both a challenge and an opportunity. I will need to challenge myself to stay faithful in my prayers, my devotional life, and worship life. I will need to set aside time to hopefully livestream a chapel service a few times a week or especially on Sundays. The opportunity in this though, is that I can really let my light shine. Maybe I could start a devotional group or even just use my faith to help encourage or comfort others. I feel so blessed in this area also as I realize the kind of history I’ll be able to see. Not only just regular amazing history, but Biblical history! I’m very excited to get to see places I’ve only ever read about, and I’m excited to learn even more than what I already know about those places and the people who live there. I know that if I put myself out there during this trip with the knowledge that Christ is at my back, I will get way more success and experience out of it. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for me and how he will use me according to his will for my life during these next few months!
Adiós España!
Wow, this semester abroad is finally coming to a close. I feel so blessed to have had this experience. Madrid has really become my home 🙂 As I reflect on my time here, there are things I will miss, things I am proud of, things I would do differently, many things I am grateful for, and most of all, so many different ways that I have seen God’s hand in this experience.
I feel incredibly blessed to have been immersed in the rich and vibrant Spanish culture during my time in Madrid. Every day was a new adventure, from savoring traditional dishes like paella to engaging in meaningful conversations with locals such as my roommates. This immersive experience allowed me to deeply understand and appreciate the nuances of Spanish life, from its historical traditions to its contemporary expressions. Studying here has been amazing, broadening my perspective and advancing my language skills beyond what I imagined. I am truly grateful for the unforgettable experiences and the invaluable knowledge I’ve gained from this beautiful country.
Beyond the beautiful experiences I have gained, I would approach a few things differently if given another chance. For instance, I wish I had made a greater effort to get to know my roommates earlier. At the beginning of the semester, I felt intimidated by their exclusive use of Spanish. Over the past several weeks, I have formed a stronger connection with them and now realize how much I will miss them. It would have been wonderful to be close to them throughout the entire semester, but I am still grateful for the bond we share now. Another aspect I would change is my approach to journaling. Although I am not typically inclined towards journaling, I know I will appreciate looking back on these memories. Sometimes I fell behind by a week or two, making it difficult to catch up. However, I am still proud of my commitment to keeping a journal for the first time, consistently documenting my experiences even if I occasionally fell behind.
Another aspect of this experience that I am particularly proud of is consistently maintaining my personal devotions. I have written about this in previous blogs, sharing how beneficial it has been for my spiritual growth. This habit has become an integral part of my daily routine, and I look forward to continuing it when I return home in just one week. Additionally, I take pride in navigating the emotional challenges throughout this study abroad experience. Being away from home, family, and friends at MLC was significantly out of my comfort zone. Before leaving for Madrid, I anticipated a rollercoaster of emotions, expecting extreme highs and lows due to homesickness or missing the familiar comforts of the United States. However, I am grateful to have experienced consistent contentment and joy. Despite occasional moments of missing loved ones, I never felt overwhelmed by the distance. This inner peace and resilience are gifts from God, for which I am deeply thankful. His strength enabled me to embrace each moment and find happiness in every circumstance, making this semester an incredibly fulfilling experience.
Throughout my semester in Madrid, God’s hand has been remarkably evident in my travels, keeping me safe, providing everything I need, and blessing me immensely. Each trip I undertook was met with His protection, ensuring my well-being and allowing me to explore the beauty and richness of Spain and other countries without fear. His provision was constant, from the practical necessities like accommodation and sustenance to the emotional and spiritual support that sustained me during moments of homesickness and uncertainty. I have been blessed with opportunities to grow, learn, and connect with incredible people, all of which have deepened my faith and appreciation for His unwavering presence and care in my life.
During my time in Madrid, I have been inspired by numerous aspects of Spanish culture that I am excited to incorporate into my life back home in Minnesota. The emphasis on a slower, more deliberate pace of life has taught me the value of enjoying each moment, something I plan to embrace more fully. The vibrant social scene, with its focus on communal meals and lively conversations, has shown me the importance of nurturing relationships and making time for friends and family. The diverse culinary experiences sparked my passion for trying new recipes and incorporating more Spanish flavors into my cooking. I have also learned to navigate new environments with greater confidence and adaptability, skills that will undoubtedly benefit me in various aspects of my life. Overall, my experiences abroad have widened my perspective and will continue to influence my daily routines and interactions back home.
If any of you are considering studying abroad, here is a little advice that I have for you 🙂 Fully embrace every moment and opportunity that comes your way. Step out of your comfort zone and immerse yourself in the culture, even if it initially feels intimidating. Make an effort to connect with locals and fellow students who may be in your program—it’s through these relationships that you will gain the most rewarding experiences, especially if they are locals from the country that you choose to study in. Keep a journal to document your journey; you’ll appreciate having a detailed record of your memories! Stay organized and proactive with your studies, but also allow yourself the freedom to explore and travel the world since this is the perfect opportunity to do it. Lastly, trust in God and remain open to growth because this experience will challenge and change you in many ways. You will learn so much about yourself! Basically, if you are thinking of studying abroad, DO IT! You won’t regret it 🙂