By Matthew Johnson.
Like many of you, I found myself waking up to the dreadful routines of student life we all inevitably fall victim too. This is why I decided to join two study abroad trips during the summer of 2015 to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Germany. Not only did it provide a long list of experiences and impressions that will never leave me, but it provided context to better understand my own culture and native surroundings. There is vast contrast between the two following accounts, but the lasting effects it had on how I viewed the things around me was both profound and surreal.
Waking up in Madison, Wis.— What starts as a muffled, distant, background buzzing, quickly becomes a sharp, repeating ringing noise. I sluggishly open my eyelids, reach for my phone next to my bed and instinctively press the power button. Alas, it’s what I feared. It’s 7 a.m. and that’s not a fire alarm, but my wake up call. After whipping both my legs over the side of my bed, I rush over to my Keurig, slam the handle down onto my k-cup, push brew and jump into the shower. The rest of my morning will consist of drinking a cup or two of coffee, watching the morning news and going over what I need to complete for the day.
Like every other weekday, I pack the materials and books needed for class that day, sling my backpack over both shoulders and rush out the door twenty minutes prior to lecture. As I trot down the five flights of stairs and through the apartment entryway, I see a couple familiar faces to whom I greet with a generic half smile. As I burst through the front door and into the already busy sidewalk, I take an immediate right and follow the exact route to class as I do every other Wednesday. As I walk down State Street, I speedily walk past the still motionless bodies of sleeping homeless men, closed street shops and already buzzing cafes. I only hear the music playing in my earbuds, see what’s straight in front of me, faintly smell various breakfast aromas and feel nothing but the force of my heels connecting with the concrete below. Just as a lawyer walks through a courtroom, the environment is so familiar, that getting to where I need to go becomes my only focus. I’m consciously unaware of my surroundings and I’m ok with that.
Waking up in Greece— A sharp light pierces through the outside of my eyelids, jolting me awake after a short night’s rest. It’s too early for the sun’s rays to be very warm but paired with the cool breeze coming from the open casement window at the foot of my bed, it’s perfect. It takes me a few moments to realize, but after spotting my suitcase I remember that yes, it’s day two in Athens, Greece. I’m beyond enthusiastic for today’s adventure, and I don’t even remember what we’re doing yet.Taking advantage of waking up before my roommates, I quickly get ready for the day and walk downstairs where breakfast awaits. This is my first breakfast in Greece and just like the other European countries I’ve visited, it’s very much centered around bread and meat. Although I’ve never craved a ham and salami sandwich for breakfast in the United States, the deliciousness of their freshly baked crescent rolls and assorted chilled meats assured I would never question their meal tendencies again.
I am the first one downstairs, so I spend the next hour drinking coffee and journaling until my classmates joined me. Around 9 a.m. our tour guide arrives, and we start walking towards the Acropolis. As we step out of our hotel we are greeted with all the noises and sights affiliated with being located on Syntagma Square, Athens parliament center. Having lived in a small town most of my life, I welcome the overwhelming of my senses. I inhale deeply as I walk by cafes in an effort to absorb as much of their enchanting smells as possible. The scents of freshly baked bread and steaming hot coffee linger for half a block after we pass. People are speaking in a language I don’t understand, so I look to body language. I start looking for non-verbal cues to what they could be conversing about. I feel like a cat whipping its head from left to right, trying to follow a laser, as I try to soak up everything around me. I’m in a constant state of alertness, as I attempt to simultaneously observe and analyze the foreign architecture and Greek mannerisms while still listening to our guide. Contradicting my usual walking speed, I shorten my stride and slow my pace in order to accommodate the overabundance of sounds, smells and sights.
Just as the sun was reaching its highest point, we completed the tiring march up the elevated jut of land on which the Acropolis sits. Neither the sweat or violent sun beating down on my face and neck could stop me from admiring the marvel before me. As I stared at this seemingly simple structure, our guide began to go into detail about its construction and history. Whether it was explaining how there isn’t a single straight line in the entire structure, illustrating how they were able to lift such heavy marble slabs with such primitive equipment, or how the British won’t return some of the most in tact pieces, I couldn’t stop staring at it. Seeing one of mankind’s most impressive ancient engineering feats proved gratifying in every sense of the word.
Later that day we had the opportunity to walk up Lycabettus Hill, a vantage point that gave us a 360 degree panoramic view of the city and coastline. Standing around 300 meters above it’s surroundings and covered in vegetation, Lycabettus hill was a green sore thumb amongst a sea of white buildings. When given the option to either walk or take a cable car up the hill, I chose to walk. This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, for I never could have known the spectacular views that laid ahead. The stone staircase would stretch left all the way across the hill, just to turn and go all the way right.The entire time only having a slight inclination, making the trip up much longer than expected. As we wound back and forth, each level provided a different view of what lay below. Although spectacular, all views would fall exponentially short of what awaited us atop the hill.
Having the ability to spin around in a circle and be able to view Athens and all its coastal beauty is a site to behold. Each degree the sun dropped as it slowly descended toward the mountains, presented a new filter in which to view the city beneath. Before I knew it, the sun was set and another spectacle presented itself. Building by building the now dark structures slowly started to illuminate themselves, eventually resulting in the entire city being lit.
Standing atop this hill, a cool headwind present, and looking down on the lit city and the nearby coast left me in a state of mind I didn’t want to leave. Although physically relaxed, my mind was as busy as rush hour in Chicago. Similar to what I would imagine a meditative state, I stood for what must have been only 20 minutes, but my thoughts had covered hours of ground.
It’s not until you experience different cultures, places, people and ideas that you can acquire true perspective on your own. This is an epiphany that I didn’t understand until I went through the transformation myself. In retrospect to before I started traveling, it’s like my senses and curiosity were numbed or at least contained to what I chose to open them too. I found that once I escaped that bubble called home, my senses were heightened, curiosity peaked and ideals challenged.
“…ONCE I ESCAPED THAT BUBBLE CALLED HOME, MY SENSES WERE HEIGHTENED, CURIOSITY PEAKED AND IDEALS CHALLENGED.”
The best thing about it is that it happened naturally and without me even noticing. I found myself paying attention to particular smells, ingredients to dishes, types of architecture, vehicles, hand gestures, among other things that I had previously given little attention too.
Then I imagined waking up every day and looking at everything with a critical eye, being intuitively interested in everything around me and asking the right questions. If something as simple as how fast or slow I walk to class can determine how deeply I understand my native culture, language and everything else pertaining, imagine the possibilities if that mindset could always be present. Now I try to hear anything within range, look at everything with a critical eye, smell deeply with appreciation and feel everything except the force of my heel connecting with the concrete below.
This article will be featured in the spring 2016 print issue.