“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.”
--Job 1:21
This last week was a bit of a blur. In the course of just over 26 hours, I turned in a paper and completed a final, all for the same class. Even in Greece, school happens. Immediately after the final, we went out for a final taverna dinner with both classes. By the time we had reached out taverna dinner, the guy I had a spent my first two days in Athens with was on a plane back to the States; he had taken his final the night before to catch his flight. Goodbyes were so rushed for some who flew out on Friday or early Saturday. They were with us one moment, and the next I was waking up and realizing that they were on a plane back home.
I really did feel like I didn’t get to know some of my classmates until the very last week. It was a little depressing to realize that I had just spent the past month with these people and hadn’t really gotten to know some of them. I watched House with some of the guys and just really enjoyed hanging out with them. They became my entertainment when I was bored. And then, suddenly, half of the guys from downstairs had moved out and a different group moved in for this awkward two day transition period between the end of the first program and the start of the second. It was nice to be so close to some of these guys and get to know them a little better, even if it was for just a few days. Again, I learned so much about them in such a short time, just because they were closer to me than they had been before.
I was thinking back on the past month and reflecting on my experiences. There were only two moments when I felt a strong sense of homesickness. There are times when I want something from the States or I think that something works better there (toilet paper, for example), but for the most part, I love Athens and I love Greece. I could live without the constant power outages (3 in the last 4 days). However, during the second or third week, when I went to visit my Greek family, Sophia brought out a picture of my American family. It was in that moment, when I saw that picture of my American family, that I wished so much that they were with me. Part of it is that I wish they could experience this culture with me, and the other part was that I hadn’t seen my family in about a month. My family was together this past week, and I wished that I could have been there with them. I was thinking about my family throughout the week, and I know that they were thinking of me too. Luckily, I finally figured out how to call cell phones/landlines through gmail for free, so I called my family a few times. I also had the opportunity to Skype with them, and I think I talked to my family on my brother’s birthday for literally 2 hours (18 people from my family, at least). It helped to finally be able to call, so I don’t have to rely on someone to be home for me to talk to them. There are still times when I really wish I could just pick up my cell phone and call my mom while I am walking somewhere without it costing too much.
I went to a Greek mass again on Sunday, and I was struck by some differences between the American and the Greek mass. One was the fact that people are more willing to come and go in the middle of the mass. Maybe it is just that people are more obvious when they enter here or I am just more attuned to it, but people seem to show up at all points in the mass. It wasn’t as bad as the first time I went (if I remember correctly, but it certainly was interesting). There was also a really large contrast between the number of people at the English mass and the Greek mass. The English mass seemed to be a lot more crowded (although there was only one time option, so that might have been part of it). Finally, I am always struck by the sign of peace. The Greeks don’t shake hands very often, they just nod. They also don’t hold hands during the Lord’s prayer. I find it very ironic, because the Greek culture in general is so friendly and physical. It is very socially acceptable for friends to hold hands regularly, but not as much at mass. However, at the English mass, people moved together into the aisle so that everyone could hold hands. Honestly, that was one of the coolest components to the English mass.
The new program started, so I am now meeting all of these new Americans. I have been showing some of them around, and I found out that I learned a lot more than I thought that I had during my last class. I also actually knew where I was going most of the time! The excitement of all of the new students is so cool to get to watch. It makes me fall in love with this city all over again as I remember why I love specific parts of the city.
On Monday, I had been walking around. On my way back to my apartment, I saw a kid going in the same direction with a suitcase. After a block or so, I thought that he might be in CYA, so I approached him and asked if he was American. When he said yes, I asked if he was in CYA. In that moment, I met one of my classmates. I ended up showing him to CYA and then helping him find his apartment and a gyro stand. Clearly, I am a great tour guide! We enjoyed a nice taverna dinner last night with almost everyone from the class.
Today, we found out that due to the general strikes going on in Athens, we wouldn’t be able to leave for Crete tonight as planned. We are going to Crete on Thursday, but the schedule is a little bit messed up right now. We are all hoping for the opportunity to make it to Santorini, but our free days might be removed from the schedule if everything doesn’t work out right.
Since we weren’t leaving for Crete, we walked around Athens today. On our way back to CYA, we walked by Syntagma Square. We were hit by a wave of tear gas on our approach to the square. At the edge of the square, a man tried to tell us not to go into the square without something covering our mouth and nose. When we told him we needed to get to Pangrati, he accepted that we needed to go through the square. While we were walking through the square and down the street, we heard a number of explosions indicating that tear gas was being released. There were a couple of moments of chaos and uncertainty about which roads we could use to get home, but overall, all of the Greeks in Syntagma were willing to stop and help us if we had needed it. The Greeks really don’t want trouble, but they don’t know how else to express their frustration and concern than the strikes. But it only takes one or two to give the whole protest a violent edge. During our walk back, a Greek was making sure that an American couple could find their way back to their hotel, just to give you a sense of just how much most Greeks are willing to help us.
The goodbyes from the last class were sad, but clearly this class is starting with some excitement.
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