The Studies have Begun Abroad

Greeks are commonly presented as having an assured wisdom about life with the belief that life just happens and there is little one can do to change the future. In both Zorba the Greek and My Life in Ruins, Greek culture is displayed as having an demeanor that is compliant and satisfied throughout the course of one's life, maintaining a positive mindset and striving to find "kefi" in all areas of life. As I travel throughout this beautiful country and am embraced by the culture here, I find my own mindset becoming more similar to the Greek's in my lack of worries- I'm finding that whether my flight is delayed or if I arrive an hour later than expected, no matter what happens, the world will keep spinning and life will go on.
Today, Wednesday, June 27th, was the first day of classes at the American College of Greece. I had a great first day in my Documentary Photography class as I got acquainted with some of my classmates and listened to our professor teach us about some of her principles and fundamental aspects of photography like space. Professor Hatziyannaki seems to have the class outlined with a primary focus on her students' ability to form a cohesive "concept"- that is, an overall theme and message that we are trying to convey to our audience. She isn't as concerned about the actual pixel quality of the photos, and even allows us to photograph using our mobile phones. 
After my photography class, I went on to the Greek language workshop class, where I attended my second lesson on the Greek language. I felt much more competent today- the alphabet is still quite confusing to me, but today as we went over greetings, goodbyes, and basic conversational phrases, I felt productive as I held the most basic of conversations with my classmates. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beauty of Meteora

Image
The natural beauty of Meteora was indescribable- the giant mountains jutting straight up from the ground, covered in lush, green plants. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Additionally, the monastery on top of the mountain featured brilliant architecture and was a work of art on its own.  The monastery also contained amazing examples of some of the clothing items that some higher-ranking religious officials wore throughout the monastery's history. 
Read more

The Cats of Kefalonia

Image
An interesting cultural difference between America and Greece is that here in Greece many animals like cats and dogs that would normally only be seen inside as house pets in America, can be found freely roaming around the streets. I believe that in America, if the stray pet population got much larger, people would have a problem with this issue ethically, and would opt to make laws that would try to contain the animals, whether that be through animal shelters or adoption or bringing them to pounds. I believe the primary reason for this cultural difference lies in the fact that Greek people view stray cats and dogs as a natural cohabitant in most Greek communities. In America, people tend to either view strays more as pests or perhaps don't feel that stray animals are capable of taking care of themselves these days in the wild. Many of the Greek cats tend to claim a house as their territory and the house owners sometimes provide the cats with food and water. Additionally, the...
Read more

Decease in Greece

Image
Today I had the privilege of visiting the oldest and most well known cemetery in the city of Athens.  Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón (First Cemetery of Athens) is Athens' official cemetery, and it has been in use since 1837. This historical monument features a number of diversely styled graves- some overgrown with flowers and plants, others as elaborate structures with sculptures, large roofs and pillars.  Visiting the cemetery brought into light some major cultural differences between Greeks and Americans in regards to how death is viewed in each society.  Americans customarily view death as a negative occurrence, and typically mourn, grieve, and cry when a loved one loses his life. Burial customs usually either consist of cremation or an underground grave with a gravestone. This somber view of death is not reflected to this extent in Greece. Death seems to be more likely to be seen as a sort of relief from our bodies to the afterlife, and can be celebrated. A...
Read more