This was taken from the entry for March 16th. I figured it merited its own entry. Rest of the trip report to come later!
What I think so far.
Oh, les paysages que j'ai vu d'un bus. Right now there's water, and across, mountainous land with lots of settlements. The sky isn't cloudless, but it's clear. It's magnificent.
I have probably already talked about how good it is to be back in Europe. Although I'm not sure if I love it so much because of how it was for me two years ago (or five years ago, when I first set foot on the continent), or if I would feel the same love for whatever foreign country I could have visited for the first time over break. While here I've found myself speculating what it would be like to return to France. Little moments from the beginning of my exchange had been resurfacing in my mind when I first arrived here, as were familiar sensations. I'm not going to say I compared Greece to France; Greece is Greece. And I've been loving it so much. I think it's that–being in a completely foreign place and, from the first steps in it, knowing I'm going to love every moment spent there. It just brings me such fascination to be an observer, a bystander in the scenes of others' everyday lives. To listen to their language, to stroll through the streets passing by them seated at outdoor cafés, to see the graffiti that decorates the city, all of this invigorates me. It brings me a new perspective on my own life. It makes me wonder how my own life might matter in the scheme of things. Would it be selfish of me to say that I'd be content spending the rest of my life moving from place to place in this perpetual observer state?
Actually, maybe I wouldn't be content. No–I'd want to interact with people, learn their language, have some kind of impact on their lives so I know I've done something worthy of the gift of life. I suppose that's it. I may not be much to the entire world, but the entire world contains so much for me to experience–euphoria, terror, anxiety, curiosity–that I feel like traveling helps me take advantage of all its offerings. I love Harvard, successes and failures and all, but it's done me only good to go far away from the bubble and be reminded of what's out there to discover. It's awfully interesting to wonder what kind of life I would have had were I to grow up in whatever new place I visit.
Anyway, back to writing about trip specific stuff? Well I'm having a lot of fun practicing reading Greek, and I'm getting better and better at it. It's so cool to say "ευχαριστώ" and hear "παρακαλω" in return. It sounds much less foreign to me than it did when Alki (a good friend of mine from Greece and likely to be one of my roommates next year!) first taught those words to me. The stray dogs and cats here are so cute and well-fed. Anyway, I'm on the bus now, and I can't help but think of all the other times I've traveled through Europe on a bus and of all the people i've shared those bus rides with. Where are they now? Where are their lives taking them? Do they think of those bus trips at all? Or, dare I ask, might they ever think of me? I think that's enough philosophizing for now, lol Greece what are you doing to me. Write you later!
~
What I think so far.
Oh, les paysages que j'ai vu d'un bus. Right now there's water, and across, mountainous land with lots of settlements. The sky isn't cloudless, but it's clear. It's magnificent.
I have probably already talked about how good it is to be back in Europe. Although I'm not sure if I love it so much because of how it was for me two years ago (or five years ago, when I first set foot on the continent), or if I would feel the same love for whatever foreign country I could have visited for the first time over break. While here I've found myself speculating what it would be like to return to France. Little moments from the beginning of my exchange had been resurfacing in my mind when I first arrived here, as were familiar sensations. I'm not going to say I compared Greece to France; Greece is Greece. And I've been loving it so much. I think it's that–being in a completely foreign place and, from the first steps in it, knowing I'm going to love every moment spent there. It just brings me such fascination to be an observer, a bystander in the scenes of others' everyday lives. To listen to their language, to stroll through the streets passing by them seated at outdoor cafés, to see the graffiti that decorates the city, all of this invigorates me. It brings me a new perspective on my own life. It makes me wonder how my own life might matter in the scheme of things. Would it be selfish of me to say that I'd be content spending the rest of my life moving from place to place in this perpetual observer state?
Actually, maybe I wouldn't be content. No–I'd want to interact with people, learn their language, have some kind of impact on their lives so I know I've done something worthy of the gift of life. I suppose that's it. I may not be much to the entire world, but the entire world contains so much for me to experience–euphoria, terror, anxiety, curiosity–that I feel like traveling helps me take advantage of all its offerings. I love Harvard, successes and failures and all, but it's done me only good to go far away from the bubble and be reminded of what's out there to discover. It's awfully interesting to wonder what kind of life I would have had were I to grow up in whatever new place I visit.
Anyway, back to writing about trip specific stuff? Well I'm having a lot of fun practicing reading Greek, and I'm getting better and better at it. It's so cool to say "ευχαριστώ" and hear "παρακαλω" in return. It sounds much less foreign to me than it did when Alki (a good friend of mine from Greece and likely to be one of my roommates next year!) first taught those words to me. The stray dogs and cats here are so cute and well-fed. Anyway, I'm on the bus now, and I can't help but think of all the other times I've traveled through Europe on a bus and of all the people i've shared those bus rides with. Where are they now? Where are their lives taking them? Do they think of those bus trips at all? Or, dare I ask, might they ever think of me? I think that's enough philosophizing for now, lol Greece what are you doing to me. Write you later!
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