Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
During spring semester 2017, I enrolled in the “Literary Locations: Athens,” course, in which we learned about ancient and modern Greek literature and its cultural context. Following final exams, the class journeyed to Greece for 10 days, where we got to interact with the sites of literary importance that we’d spent the semester learning about.
What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
This trip was my first time out of the country. Just getting a sense of the physical scale of the planet and the number of people who live here was mind-blowing in of itself. I was struck by how lucky I am to have learned English as my first language, as it seems to be the lingua franca for the rest of the world. I went to Greece not speaking a word of their language, yet most people were able to speak English to me just fine. Overall, people in Greece (and Europe in general) live a much slower-paced life than we do in America. While we rush around with our to-go cups of coffee, they often spend two hours or more just eating a lunch. What we thought was slow service was actually considered polite. Servers do not want their guests to feel rushed while they’re eating, which is why eating out often takes a long time. It taught me to try to slow down and appreciate life more. Going to a restaurant is meant to be an experience of savoring delicious food and stimulating conversations.
What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
It took me a few days to adjust to the Greek way of life. For a while, I actually was wondering if people were simply lazy. No one seemed to go out of their way to get things done quickly for us when eating out or shopping. And yet, once it hit me, I was ashamed of this assumption. In fact, I was informed by our tour guide that oftentimes when Greeks visit American, they think that we have extremely poor service. They feel rushed when they eat out at our restaurants, feeling that the server is constantly hovering at their table and waiting for them to finish their meal. It was interesting for me to learn how different expectations of something as simple as eating at a restaurant can vary widely across cultures. Teaching myself to take my time with my food, to enjoy its taste and the company of my friends, really helped me to enjoy myself when I was there.
Another interesting experience was the vastly different relationship that Greek have with stray animals. For one thing, there are really no “stray” dogs in Athens. A group of volunteer citizens ensures that all homeless dogs are vaccinated and neutered. These “public dogs,” as they’re referred to, all wear collars to denote that they are being cared for. They are well-fed by the volunteers and looked after when medical problems arise. They truly live a very nice life, and can often be seen dozing in sunny areas. While stray cats are not looked after in this way, they are not seen as a nuisance like in America. The cats are very friendly and will allow you to pet them. They clearly have not seen the abuse that American stray cats experience on a daily basis. The cats are an integral part of Athens, lounging on the ancient monuments which to them are just big warm rocks. It really was cool to see the compassion that Greeks show for stray animals.
The final transformative experience was simply getting to know my classmates. Here were more than 20 girls who I’d never met before. Most of them were English or humanities majors, while I’m a science major, so it’s unlikely that I’d have met them if not for this trip. Despite our vastly different experiences and interests, in those 10 short days we formed surprisingly close friendships. This is particularly true for two of the girls, who I continued traveling with after our Greek trip ended. We shared lots of laughs and got to know each other really well. We are now in the process of organizing a barbecue when school resumes to catch up with our various experiences and travels during the summer. I think that many of these friendships will stay with me for years to come. It’s amazing how traveling with people can make you so close to them, even if it’s only for a short time.
Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
I am a scientist planning on a career in Alzheimer’s research. Perhaps it seems strange that I took interest in a study abroad trip about Greek literature. Part of it was just a hobby: I’ve loved reading and writing since I was a little kid, but I’ve had less time to explore these interests since starting college. The trip rekindled my love of literature and has got me reading for fun again, which I hadn’t done since freshman year. But it goes much deeper than that. My trip to Greece, as well as the time I spent afterward backpacking across Europe, truly transformed my understanding of what it means to be American and gave me an appreciate of the myriad of other cultures out there. A solid grasp of the international context in which we live will be invaluable for me as a scientist, as science truly knows no borders. Breakthroughs can come from anywhere in the world, and I think it’s important for me to have a respect for many different nations if I am to work in such an international field.
Link to my travel blog: “Brains and Backpacks”