Gunner Gavin

When we first landed in Greece, the jet lag hit me hard, but the smell of sizzling gyros and the sight of souvenir shops selling everything from postcards to full-on gladiator helmets woke me right up. This was my third study abroad trip, so I kind of knew the drill, but Greece still had plenty of surprises. The food was unbelievable, especially the meal we made ourselves. Rolling pita bread, stuffing gyros, and mixing tzatziki sauce somehow topped anything we ate the entire trip. Dining there was a whole cultural shift too: no splitting checks, having to flag down your waiter, and sharing a table completely covered in plates with everyone passing dishes back and forth. I even tried escargot again, and it was better than I remembered. Seeing the Parthenon in person was surreal, it’s the most stereotypical thing you picture when you think of Greece, but standing there with the whole city of Athens stretched out below me was something else. And just when I thought I’d seen it all, we had dinner on a busy street one night and ended up with front-row seats to breakdancers putting on a full show. Most days were nonstop, go, go, go, but we did have a couple of slower ones, like a boat day and a beach day, that were pure relaxation. Then there was the ferry to Crete, where we stumbled into a disco onboard, stayed out dancing until 2 a.m., and somehow still woke up at 6 a.m. to explore the island. Throughout it all, from saying “kaliméra” (good morning) to strangers to navigating every meal and adventure together, we grew closer as a group. That’s what I love about study abroad, you come home with more friends, more stories, and a new way of seeing the world.