Ever since I have learned about the BA+ program
back home at ASL, I have wanted to become a part of it in order not only to
study in the U.S., but also to experience a firsthand glimpse into American
everyday life and culture. This has not changed at all. But my first week in
Athens has given me an insight into much more than American hospitality. I am
specifically referring to Saturday when Sophia and I had an awesome dinner and
game night with a group of 8 or 9 grad students from Iran, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and India. She had been invited before, and then asked if she could
bring me as well (thank you!). It was no problem at all, I felt very
welcome. We had some very good appetizers, a delicious rice dish (both
homemade), and some good pizza, as well as coffee, wine and beer. Along with
that went some very interesting talks on a great variety of subjects, and we
definitely share the same sense of humor. After dinner, we played “Mafia” which
some of you might know as “Nacht in Palermo” or “Werwolf”, and it was a whole
lotta fun. It doesn’t happen every day that you meet such a warm and welcoming
group of intelligent, open-minded, and kind people. Considering all the
oversimplified and often outright wrong information that the media feed us
again and again on people that we actually know so little about, an experience like this evening is priceless.
Please don’t get the title wrong, however! Americans are definitely part of the “globals” group! On Sunday,
Sophia’s new roommate invited Sam, Rene, and me over for a good breakfast even
though he had only seen us for a couple of minutes before. After that, Sam took
him and us for a good bike tour around Athens where I learned that you have to fulfill certain requirements in order to get a coffee at McDonald's. In the evening, we were
invited for dinner by his parents who are just as nice and friendly as their
son. And then yesterday, I met my roommates, and I was immediately offered to
be driven around town, and to get one of the girls’ bikes. It’s gonna be hard
to express my appreciation to so many people around here in an appropriate way.
Good post. Sooooo, nice teaser there .... what does it take to order a coffee at McDonald's?
ReplyDeleteGracias, senor. The answer is really only right in the picture. ;-)
ReplyDelete