I just got back from a long, yet fast, relaxing week in Greece. It included beach time, amazing food, more beach, a day trip, a little sickness :(, a birthday, and more beach time. And yes I guess I did have to squeeze a little studying time into there as well. We left last week after most of us had gotten at least one final out of the way. Luckily, we all had this week with no finals scheduled, so 9 of us packed up and flew into Athens on Saturday. One thing is fore sure, I'm glad I'm approaching the end of using the cheap air lines that we use to travel all over Europe. On the way there we had horrible turbulence and the ride was really shaky for a while. People were getting tense, including me, and all it took were the 3 long seconds of what felt like complete free falling through the sky that got the entire flight gasping, a few screams, and people clutching their seats. I was clutching the hand of one of my friends sitting next to me and she even proceeded to have a minor panic attack. It had us all shaken up for the rest of the flight. After getting into Athens, we had to take a train about an hour away to the other coast to a smaller town called Loutraki, which was where our villa was located. The lot it is on is owned by a man who is a dean at a college in Greece, and his daughter is in charge of all the renting of the new villas. It was a really nice place that was a great change from the dorms and usual hostels we stay in. It was about a 2 minute walk from the beach and had a HOT TUB!!! The first few days we just spent on the beach and swimming all day, followed by a dinner out to eat some authentic Greek food. We watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding one of the nights as well, which was very fitting. Later on our trip, when we heard a woman being called "Toula", we all had to laugh. We had a day trip/tour that we paid for to Athens one morning for a change, but I wasn't feeling great throughout that previous night and woke up with a fever. So I had to stay back from that and try to get better. Luckily, I was feeling better the next morning. I celebrated my 21st birthday on Friday the 12th along with another girl on the trip whose birthday is the same day. We were surprised with an amazing chocolate cake from a bakery down the road from our villa. On Friday, we took off on a day cruise to two Greek islands, Agistri and Agina. It was great because both were fairly small and had a lot of Greek feel to them. We did swimming, walking around, and shopping on the islands. We would have liked to see the ruins in Agina, but they were closed for the day. Agina was actually the first capital of Greece and the ruins are from the period that it was the capital. It also is known for its great tasting and colorful pistachios that are grown on the island. On our way back, we went through the famous canal in Loutraki and even witnessed a person bungee jumping into it. The scenery and landscape of the country is absolutely breathtaking. If you see pictures that look incredible, it looks 10 times better in person. I'm pretty positive that when I come back to Europe (notice I don't say IF I come back to Europe), I will return to Greece and do more traveling. We originally wanted to stay on a Greek island, but the traveling time is pretty long to get to them and we wanted to get as much relaxation time as possible so we stayed on the mainland. It was a great trip to break up our studying for finals and give us the chance to relax all together before people leave. People are already heading home so it will slowly be getting quieter here in Milan everyday.
It's incredible that my abroad experience here is coming to an end. It's definitely something that has opened my eyes to the other cultures, landscapes, and history in the world. Everything I've seen and learned, not only about the world, but people in general and even myself have given me new outlooks and perspectives on things. In a matter of a few weeks, I will no longer find interest sitting on public transportation intently listening to all of the conversations and trying to piece together the words and make meaning out of what people are saying. It will be weird being surrounded by people all speaking English and not having to try and utter sentences of broken Italian and hand gestures and pointing to get my point across. I'm even a little worried that my English will need a little polishing. What amazes me is that I've only had good experiences and never been turned away from when I say that I can only speak a little Italian. Or I don't speak French or Greek or Dutch, or that my Spanish is a little rusty. People in restaurants, stores, or even everyday people on the street have never turned away, but tried to help and understand and give me direction. I've even had the experience of a group of old ladies trying to include me in their conversations on the tram and still do after I tell them I understand only a little. When I think of people coming to the States, I used to always be so perplexed why people would come to our country and not know any English. Well, now I've been in their shoes. So don't look down upon those who can't speak English very well or those who speak with a heavy accent, and take the time to try and decipher their pointing and grammatically incorrect phrases. Chances are, they have seen more of the world than most of us, which now I believe is much more important and noteworthy than having perfect English. Don't get me wrong, I love the United States and can't wait to come home to all my loved ones. To me it's important to be grounded and have a place to call home and be proud of...but my advice would be to never get set in stone and be willing to take the risk and uproot yourself every once in a while to a new destination. The world is a beautiful place, don't miss out on it.
