Between Parkland and Pangrati

Yesterday marked the anniversary of getting to Greece. We have been here now for a full week and it does not feel like it. It feels like we have been here a month and the time has just flown by because how else could we have done all the amazing things that we have in such a short time span? It does not seem possible yet here we are one week later with two day trips made, several class periods and homeworks completed and tons of new memories.

Greece has really taken me out of my comfort zone in so many ways but the one that consistently surprises me is walking the streets. I would almost never walk somewhere if I could drive to it but here I am walking the streets of cities I never thought I would see.

Back home I could always drive somewhere faster than I could walk but here in the busy streets of Athens, I find myself walking everywhere: to the grocery store, to the flea market, to a café for lunch, to a museum, through downtown Athens, through the ruins of Delphi, through the streets of Corfu and the list goes on. And the strangest thing is I really like doing it. I’ve found that you don’t really get a sense of a place you are at unless you are outside experiencing the location for yourself.

Being stuck behind a glass window takes so much away from the experience that I never knew existed. But I now know that I need to be out and enjoying sites and locations in everyday life or I am going to miss out on a lot. For example a group of us went down to the beach to watch the sunset on Friday and I found that there is almost no way I could describe to you the full effect of being at that beach at that point in time without losing some details. This picture will help though!

Anyways being out of my comfort zone has really opened me up to some new and exciting possibilities that I intend to incorporate into my life. In a way I have accommodated to a new style of living life because there is still a certain point where I draw the line but I have accepted and grown into a new person with a new outlook on the world around me.

Much love

Austin