Post-Study-Abroad-Culture-Shock-Syndrome

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” 
― Robert Frost

Pay close attention to the "real feel" temperature."

I've officially been home for one month now and it's been a whirlwind of transition. At this moment, as South Dakota's temperatures have met near record lows (note the "real feel" temperature in the photo to the left), I'm missing sunny Greece more than ever.

The month before leaving Greece, I started to get really hyped up about dealing with the post-abroad-culture-shock. I tried to prepare myself in every way possible: telling myself what it would be like, talking about it, scheduling future coffee dates with friends, researching coping strategies, and reading other blogs. But in the end, it was simultaneously smoother and more shocking than I could have expected.

On the one hand, South Dakota has been my home my entire life. My body knows what it is like to live here. The cold was not much of an adjustment for me. The culture here is everything I have grown up with. My first trip back to Walmart was just like my last trip to Walmart. Whatever. But on the other hand, everything has a slight different color. The taste in my mouth is off.

My second day home, I stopped at a friend's house for a cup of coffee and to see a couple people. Everyone was very sweet, asking me to teach them a few Greek words and what it was like being back. But it wasn't long until our faces became glued to a Facebook newsfeed. Conversation turned to everything I've missed since I've been gone. It suddenly overwhelmingly felt like I never went to Greece, but like I had rather been in a coma for 4 months. I began to grasp what this particular brand culture shock would be like and I actually started to cry a little bit. We didn't talk about it though - I couldn't unscramble what was going on in my head. The next day, I went home to my parent's house for Christmas where I got wrapped up in preparing for the holidays and didn't really touch the subject of Greece again. Every other coffee date following felt like an investigation on my part to discover what all had happened since I'd been in my abroad adventures/undead coma. My friends aren't the same and I'm not the same. I dyed my hair blonde to try mirror my internal changes. Probably a horrible decision on my part, but whatever. It could be a limb.

Family Christmas. :)
Me - Matt - Liz

I had my first day back at school today and though I'm super stoked to see my friends, there is a part of me that still feels a little lost. I keep wanting to ask people how their summer was - as though Fall semester at USF didn't happen. But it definitely happened. Without me. Which is ok. Probably the best and worst way in which I changed from my time in Greece was the realization of how incredibly small I am. In my perspective, in my endeavors, even in my size (if we're looking at like, the universe I mean). I say the "worst" not because it is a bad thing, but only because it is hard, you know - letting go of one's ego. Even though it's for the better. The only negative result is that I'm finding it a little more difficult to relate to people at the moment. But I'm sure that will pass soon, once everything gets back in full swing. My roommate tells me I'm much more mature than I used to be. Another friend said I'm much more "Zen." Perhaps the two go hand in hand.

Anna and I on our last plane home.

But I'm all settled in my new lovely little apartment in which I have a comfortable bed (FINALLY) and lots of personal space, kitchen utensils, and quiet time. After living out of a suitcase for three and a half months, I've been learning a lot more about how much we actually need. TIP: It's not a whole lot. And makes moving/cleaning/organizing much easier then it has been in the past. However, I'm still struggling to simplify my daily life quite as much. I forgot how scheduled everything in the States is! Even on days when I only have a couple of errands to run, the pressure of time still makes me grind my teeth and that "Zen" quality is slowly being chipped away. No idea why that is, but I've started doing Yoga. Thanks, America.

*twenty four hours later*

First day touring with University Singers and it was great! Though it was weird to walk around campus later and not be recognized or know who people were. Trust me - it's a very small school to not recognize others in... though I'm sure the new hair color doesn't help much. People assume I'm a transfer student. :) However, in general, things are going much more in the up and up. But I still think it's important to share what I wrote yesterday as a resource for what post-study-abroad-culture-shock-syndrome can feel like. TIP: I'm told the best way of coping is by writing about it and talking about it. Again, I thank you all so much for reading! Perhaps I'll get around to sharing my experiences from Turkey and Epidaurus someday - I really hope I do. But for now, I'm back in the theater and choir and preparing for KCACTF and the Spring Semester. Started a new book with my sibling book club and planning on going home to see my parents much more often this semester. Things are really looking quite good. :)

All my love,
Debbi

PS: My friend Mariah made a video collage of studying abroad from her perspective. She's got some gorgeous footage if you're interested!

The (Somewhat) Great Big Day of Awful That Definitely Could Have Been Worse, But Still

“Some days are like that. Even in Australia.” 

― Judith Viorst 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So I haven't gotten to tell you about last Saturday yet. Saturday was one great big day of awful. ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. It wasn't ENTIRELY awful. We did eat some tasty food and we learned some valuable lessons involving public transportation. But enough of these musings. Allow me to explain.

image borrowed from athensminibus.com

The plan:

Make the pilgrimage to Epidaurus, the biggest ancient theater in the WORLD. Stand on the stage and recite a monologue from Sophocles' Antigone. Check out the archeological museum and other sites. Eat lunch by the sea. Experience all sorts of joy. Cost: €21 for bus roundtrip, €6 for Epidaurus admission. 

But that doesn't really sound like one great big day of awful does it? Nope. Not at all. Sounds more like a great big day of awesome to me. But sometimes, obviously, things won't go according to plan. God is going to offer you an amazing opportunity to use the fruits of the spirit. And I can assure you, we took that opportunity. We took it, stomped all over it, and had a great big day of awful. ANYWAY.

Probably the biggest lifestyle change I have undergone here is the use of public transportation. In South Dakota, having a car is almost essential what with everything being so spread out and the occasional freak snowstorm. But in Greece, with some practice and the ability to ask strangers for directions, you can get almost anywhere by the metro and bus. However, the ticket system is very different then that of, say, the metro in NYC. Here, anyone can get in the station and on the train without a ticket. However, they run the risk of being caught by the occasional guard and being fined. 

So the morning went as follows: Left the dorms at 8 am to make it to the airport by 9:30 am to catch the only bus to Epidavros (the city where Epidaurus is - two hours away). We could have bought tickets to join a fancy tour (that not only hits up Epidaurus, but also cool areas like Mycenae and Napflio), but we are poor college students and those tours are all €92. ANYWAY. So we buy our tickets at the nearest kioske, walk to the nearest bus stop, hop on, ride to the metro station, hop on, ride to the airport, hop off and try and find the bus to Epidavros. After following various random signs and asking various random people, we finally find the buses with a couple minutes to spare. Only to discover that the bus we need to get on is actually another hour's bus ride away. And that bus doesn't even leave for another 45 minutes or so. Needless to say, we were screwed. 


We played around with the idea of going elsewhere in Greece (in Anna's words, "We're young, we're in Greece, we're at the airport - why not?") but, as we've already discovered, traveling on our own is a lot more complicated then it seems. We decided instead explore Syntagma, which is near the center of Athens and whose train station is right outside the Parliament. So, we hop back on the train, and hang out for the next 15 minutes while we wait for it to leave. We smile and chat, acknowledge the nearest guard, and watch the train slowly fill with people. All in all, trying to persevere about our failed adventure. Finally, the doors slide shut and the train begins to move. 

Food makes
everything better.

This is when the guards take their opportunity to ask to see our metro tickets... you know, so there's no escape. Actually, this is the first time I have ever been asked to show my ticket. But no big deal. We're good girls. We hand them our tickets. 

And here's a fun fact. When getting on the metro, if you're going to or from the airport, you are required to have a special €8 ticket. Rather then our little student 70 cent ones. 

We got fined €80. The one upside is that, if you pay within 10 days, your fine is cut in half. But still.... we paid more money to do nothing then we would have paid to make it to Epidaurus. Hence, the great big day of awful. Our attitudes got the best of us. TIP: When travel plans and happy perspectives fall through, it is always a good idea to stop what you're doing, find the nearest eating establishment, and simultaneously rest/drown your feelings with food. 

Me, Marianna, and
pumpkin spice latte!

So Wednesday, our lovely Greek friend Marianna joined us to try and appeal this ticket. The appeal process is as follows: take the train across town, bring copies of passport, visa, and ISIC (to prove why we had student tickets in the first place), have Marianna speak with the attendant in Greek, and each fill out a Fee Cancellation Application Form (complete with contact info, explanation for why you shouldn't be fined, and your father's name... I dunno why, but every legal document here requires your father's name). Then, we had the choice to either pay €40 for the reduced fine now or wait to hear back until our application goes through. If it is accepted, our money will be returned to us. If it is not, and we had not paid the initially, then we would be charged the full €80. We won't hear back about the status of this application for one month.
(UPDATE: Because we had brought the copies of our IDs, they cut our fine in half. So now, we get to make a trip to the office and pick up 20€. I call it a success!)

But hey. Now we know. Public transportation is a blessing... and sometimes a b-word. Mostly a blessing. Getting in my car for the first time is going to be a weird feeling. I've never taken the buses in Sioux Falls before, but I'm definitely going to give them a shot when I get home. 

Thank you for bearing through this unfortunate tale. Studying abroad continues to be an incredible experience and I am so blessed and grateful for this opportunity. As our metro fine is the most unfortunate thing to happen to me thus far, I really don't have anything to complain about. Tomorrow, the study abroad team is taking us wine tasting in Napflio! Could there be a better ending to the first week of Midterms? Signing off with a photo of me and Anna's new inspirational wall decoration. Adventure on!