Goodbye Europe

I have been living in Greece for almost four months now. The weekdays are filled with school, going into Athens, hanging out with friends at night and doing work in coffee shops. Luckily for me, the weekends have been filled with tons of amazing travels and adventures. For instance, this past long weekend I was able to travel to Belgium and Italy since I did not have school from Wednesday to Monday.

 In Belgium, I visited Leuven, Brussels, and Hasselt. This was extremely fun because I was able to see where my best friend studies abroad and spend Thanksgiving with friends. Also, I was able to go to the city where my last name originates from. The flight attendant from Brussels called me out for having the same name as a city in Belgium, which I enjoyed. Technically, I also went to Ghent because my roommate and I messed up with directions and got on the wrong train which brought us an hour in the wrong direction. It was fine and we quickly found a train going back to where we wanted to go.

Then I travelled with my roommate from Greece and my best friend who currently studies in Leuven to Florence, Italy. In Florence, we met up with another really good friend who studies in Newcastle. There we saw all the major sites such as the Florence Cathedral, the David, and indulged in amazing food. After two days in Florence, the three of us took a train to Venice and met up with 3 other friends from Newcastle and Athens. We were extremely relieved the find the city wasn’t completely flooded, but at times the water would rise in St. Mark’s Square. Besides seeing St. Mark’s Square, we shopped and ate a lot, and took a beautiful and relaxing gondola ride. This long weekend was definitely a successful and enjoyable one.

Now, I only have one more trip this semester until I return home. Many of my friends from Athens are going to Switzerland to see the cities of Zurich and Interlaken. Here we plan to parasail, visit a chocolate factory and the Christmas markets, and possibly kayak, ski, or snowshoe. We are all so excited for our final trip, but also shocked at how fast the time flew. This trip always seemed so far away and now it is in on Friday.

Quite honestly, I don’t think this trip has changed me very much. Previously to this study abroad experience, I studied abroad in the summer in Spain with a host family and lived with a host family in Paris, which affected me more than this time. I have also travelled to Europe other several times so I was very comfortable with the idea of living in a new place with a foreign language.

Since being in Greece, I have learned much more about the Greek culture, like how their relationships typically flow and function, and a tiny bit of the language. When I first arrived in Greece, I was filled with excitement. I couldn’t wait to explore the downtown area and the neighbourhood I lived in. I was thrilled to be able to meet new people and make new friends. And, I was in love with the idea of traveling every weekend. I was sad to leave my family and also already missed all my friends back at Loyola and in other abroad programs.

Now, I still love to explore the various areas of Athens, travel constantly, and strengthen my new friendships. I do still miss my friends like crazy, as well as my family and my dog. I have noticed that I have struggled with some culture shock because I find myself randomly being very easily annoyed, angry, or sad, and I am never moody back home. I have also been homesick on and off. Some people haven’t been the kindest and most inclusive, and this also pulls on my homesickness. It’s funny, over half the time when I feel like I am homesick, it is for Loyola more than for my home in New York.

My assumption about Greece was that it was going to be beautiful, warm, and I would be living my life as if I was in the movies Mama Mia or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This wasn’t quite so. Greece is definitely beautiful, but the areas vary. The islands can have breath taking views, while the city and neighbour look like a regular city filled with immense amounts of graffiti. It stayed very warm for a while, and now when it hits 60 degrees Fahrenheit or below, I shiver like a chihuahua. However, when visiting places like Belgium or Germany, it makes me grateful for my “warm” weather.

When I return home, I am sure I will talk a lot about my experiences. I can’t wait to share with my friends and families all the adventures I have had, people I have met and things that I have learned. I am sure I will instantly notice cultural differences between New York and Athens when I get back home that aren’t as obvious right now. Also, things have been very inexpensive living in Greece, so this may be a bit of a difference. Lastly, the work load has not been a lot since the school only has a midterm and final. Because of this, it will probably be hard to jump into an intense six course semester at Loyola, but I am very excited to go home.