My Favorite Things (Athens Edition)

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED: The following blog post contains touchy feely sentiments, emotional reflections and a heartfelt goodbye. Sorry Jack Barsody, I'm breaking the Greco-Roman motto and I am going to be soft. 

Eight weeks ago I departed for my semester abroad knowing little about Athens or the people I would be exploring it with. Study abroad was a dream come true, although admittedly I didn't know what to expect or how to prepare myself for the experience. The past eight weeks have been the most fun and bizarre time of my life. I feel familiar and comfortable in Athens like I have lived in here for years, and yet as I prepare to leave this city behind tomorrow, it feels like I just got here yesterday. I have found a home in Athens and it wouldn't be right to leave this city without writing a little bit about what makes it so great and why I'm going to miss it so much. I will never be able to convey all I have experienced or all the emotions I have experience over the past eight weeks, but hopefully the following will give you an idea of what this adventure has meant to me:

Raindrops on sidewalks and stray Athens kittens, 

Big marble monuments and final papers unwritten,

Piano Man plays and the Johnnies all sing, 

These are a few of my favorite things. 

Cream colored coffee at Kekkos with strudel,

They have cheese pies and baklava, the whole kit and caboodle,

Dimitris and Katerina treat us like we're kings, 

These are a few of my favorite things. 

Bennies in togas with crowns and wine glasses, 

I love each of them more as our time abroad passes, 

The gyros and mojitos that Thursday nights bring, 

These are a few of my favorite things. 

As I move on,

When I leave here, 

When I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things 

and then I don't feel so bad.

Greco Roman 2017 outside the Acropolis (a big marble monument) 

Bennies in togas and gold crowns, no wine glasses.  

Our group with Dimitris, owner of Kekkos (our favorite coffee shop) who has treated us like family ever since our first day in Athens. 

One last trip with the roomies to a rooftop bar before we leave, the best place to take in the beauty of Athens. 

My time in Greece has been a whirlwind and wonderful to say the least. It is crazy to believe that my time abroad is halfway over! Although I will miss Greece dearly, I am so excited to start new adventures in my next home... Rome, Italy here I come!