The American College of Greece:
Study Abroad Program
In the Fall of 2023, I studied abroad in Athens, Greece. This was a nerve-racking experience for me as I have never been to Europe or lived in another country.
I took four classes during my time there. They were Business in the EU, Environmental Science, Environmental Geology, and the History of Jazz & Blues Music. The classroom setting differed greatly from the American system I was used to. The biggest difference was that instead of having multiple tests, homework assignments or projects, there were only two tests (midterm and final). This stressed me out a lot. I conversed a lot with my Greek classmates because I wanted to learn more about their culture and lifestyle.
In Greece, the locals were kind and helpful to foreigners. Almost all of them knew English so it was easy to talk to one another. I attempted to learn some Greek, but it was not the easiest since the alphabet is different. However, I was able to say some basic phrases, like thank you and please, which the locals appreciated. Navigation in Greece was relatively easy as signage was in both Greek and English.
In other parts of Europe, I practiced my dependence and grew in confidence with solo traveling. I went to Spain by myself and spent a day alone in Italy. I became more comfortable with doing activities alone as that was one of the cultural norms in Europe. When I went to France, I felt proud of myself for being able to converse with the locals as I had studied French in high school and college. It was a unique experience to be able to understand the native language instead of having to rely on others to know English.