Welcome!
Περιπέτεια (peripéteia) is the Greek word for "adventure". And that's just what this spring will be: an adventure.
First thing's first, I'll introduce myself. I'm Allison. I'm currently a junior at Penn State University, and I'm majoring in German and Political Science and minoring in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies. When I'm not doing work for the College of Liberal Arts, you can probably find me playing my trumpet in the Penn State Blue Band.
This spring, I'll be studying abroad in Athens, Greece to complete my Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) minor. This experience is the manifestation of a crazy idea I had back on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, while sitting at my intern desk at the Department of Human Services in Harrisburg, PA. I finished working on whatever my assignment was and was listening to the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again soundtrack (anyone who knows me will tell you I'm the world's biggest ABBA fan under the age of 45). The movie had come out about two weeks earlier and I was still riding that high of new-movie excitement. I thought about how pretty the (fictional) island of Kalokairi (real life Skopelos in Croatia) looked, and how much I'd like to visit the Greek islands one day.
Then, I thought—why not now?
Everyone says college is the best time to experience the world. As a German major, naturally everyone thought I'd study abroad in Germany. I even thought that for several years. But for some reason, the thought of spending a semester in Freiburg didn't put butterflies in my stomach like it should have. I always pushed the study abroad topic off and figured I'd deal with it another day. But that Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't shake the idea of spending several months in Greece.
I didn't suddenly develop an interest in Greece when I saw MM!2 this summer (or the first Mamma Mia! movie for that matter). I've always been interested in Greece. In third grade, we all had to research a country and present our findings at an arts night at the elementary school. My parents thought I'd choose Slovakia, since that's where my paternal grandfather is from, and not to mention my mother visited in 1994 and had loads of souvenirs and pictures. But I chose Greece, seemingly for no reason other than my interest in it. In fourth grade, I wrote a play about the Greek gods and goddesses for that same arts night. A Greek Orthodox church in my hometown hosts a Greek Food Festival three times a year, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've missed it. I've read the Percy Jackson books cover to cover.
This wasn't the first time I expressed interest in this study abroad program, either. My first semester at Penn State I took a CAMS class—Roman military history. On one of the first days of class, my professor told us about this study abroad opportunity and how we could earn a CAMS minor that very next spring. I immediately told my parents I wanted to do it, and they, understandably, told me I should probably get through my first semester of college before making any decisions. So I put the idea of a spring in Athens on the back burner for about two years.
After thinking about it for a grand total of 20 minutes, I figured what the heck and took a leap of faith. I nonchalantly texted my dad at 4:28 PM and asked him how he'd feel about me earning a minor in CAMS. He said:
"Doesn't seem very practical. Aren't the two majors enough? You could work for a company doing business in Germany or in some gov't capacity using German if need be."
I wasn't giving up without a fight.
I spent that evening making a PowerPoint about why studying Classics is great and this study abroad is a great opportunity. I even broke down the costs and made a fact sheet for them to reference during the presentation, explaining the opportunities available to me for funding. My persuasion abilities had never failed me before.
I presented, they listened, and had about 45 minutes of questions following the presentation. I answered every single one, somehow. After thinking about it for a few days, they finally gave me their blessing to apply. As they say, the rest is history. Now I'm just about a week and a half out from the opportunity of a lifetime!
I'll primarily be using this blog to document my experiences exploring Greece. Field trips are a big part of the curriculum, and I figured a blog is the perfect place to explain in detail the places I visit and how they relate to what I'm learning.
I'll be living in the residential neighborhood of Pangrati in Athens, so I'll probably post things I do in my free time here and there as well. The beach is about a 15 minute drive from my apartment, and I know everyone will want to see my beach pictures in March.
Feel free to check back often and don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have a question about anything.
First thing's first, I'll introduce myself. I'm Allison. I'm currently a junior at Penn State University, and I'm majoring in German and Political Science and minoring in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies. When I'm not doing work for the College of Liberal Arts, you can probably find me playing my trumpet in the Penn State Blue Band.
This spring, I'll be studying abroad in Athens, Greece to complete my Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) minor. This experience is the manifestation of a crazy idea I had back on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, while sitting at my intern desk at the Department of Human Services in Harrisburg, PA. I finished working on whatever my assignment was and was listening to the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again soundtrack (anyone who knows me will tell you I'm the world's biggest ABBA fan under the age of 45). The movie had come out about two weeks earlier and I was still riding that high of new-movie excitement. I thought about how pretty the (fictional) island of Kalokairi (real life Skopelos in Croatia) looked, and how much I'd like to visit the Greek islands one day.
Then, I thought—why not now?
Everyone says college is the best time to experience the world. As a German major, naturally everyone thought I'd study abroad in Germany. I even thought that for several years. But for some reason, the thought of spending a semester in Freiburg didn't put butterflies in my stomach like it should have. I always pushed the study abroad topic off and figured I'd deal with it another day. But that Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't shake the idea of spending several months in Greece.
I didn't suddenly develop an interest in Greece when I saw MM!2 this summer (or the first Mamma Mia! movie for that matter). I've always been interested in Greece. In third grade, we all had to research a country and present our findings at an arts night at the elementary school. My parents thought I'd choose Slovakia, since that's where my paternal grandfather is from, and not to mention my mother visited in 1994 and had loads of souvenirs and pictures. But I chose Greece, seemingly for no reason other than my interest in it. In fourth grade, I wrote a play about the Greek gods and goddesses for that same arts night. A Greek Orthodox church in my hometown hosts a Greek Food Festival three times a year, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've missed it. I've read the Percy Jackson books cover to cover.
This wasn't the first time I expressed interest in this study abroad program, either. My first semester at Penn State I took a CAMS class—Roman military history. On one of the first days of class, my professor told us about this study abroad opportunity and how we could earn a CAMS minor that very next spring. I immediately told my parents I wanted to do it, and they, understandably, told me I should probably get through my first semester of college before making any decisions. So I put the idea of a spring in Athens on the back burner for about two years.
After thinking about it for a grand total of 20 minutes, I figured what the heck and took a leap of faith. I nonchalantly texted my dad at 4:28 PM and asked him how he'd feel about me earning a minor in CAMS. He said:
"Doesn't seem very practical. Aren't the two majors enough? You could work for a company doing business in Germany or in some gov't capacity using German if need be."
I wasn't giving up without a fight.
I spent that evening making a PowerPoint about why studying Classics is great and this study abroad is a great opportunity. I even broke down the costs and made a fact sheet for them to reference during the presentation, explaining the opportunities available to me for funding. My persuasion abilities had never failed me before.
I presented, they listened, and had about 45 minutes of questions following the presentation. I answered every single one, somehow. After thinking about it for a few days, they finally gave me their blessing to apply. As they say, the rest is history. Now I'm just about a week and a half out from the opportunity of a lifetime!
I'll primarily be using this blog to document my experiences exploring Greece. Field trips are a big part of the curriculum, and I figured a blog is the perfect place to explain in detail the places I visit and how they relate to what I'm learning.
I'll be living in the residential neighborhood of Pangrati in Athens, so I'll probably post things I do in my free time here and there as well. The beach is about a 15 minute drive from my apartment, and I know everyone will want to see my beach pictures in March.
Feel free to check back often and don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have a question about anything.
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