My initial impression of the global business environment was great. There is a lot of independence that lies on our backs which I like because as young adults we learn to take care of ourselves and not have everything catered to us allowing us to be responsible as a whole still benign guided and learning as much information as we can by being in a new country. This is my time leaving the country ever and it was a crazy experience for the travel portion of it, I now know the experience of how hard traveling can be on one’s health and body. I love that even while being in a foreign country, I am constantly reminded by our program leaders that we are Aggies and we are strong open-minded people due to our foundational core values and how we seek to help clothes while being global leaders. That is the point of studying abroad, expanding one’s point of view, being open-minded, and listening to other cultures. The city here is very beautiful, arriving in Athens on the night of the 29th and going to the rooftop and seeing the Acropolis, specifically the Parthenon, lit up at night was very beautiful. Here in downtown Athens, the city is very crowded, there is lots of walking around as it is the main form of transportation since the roads are very small. I love the scenery and how we are walking and living amongst ancient grounds that date way back to the Persians invading Greece. A difference between Europe and America that I noticed was that everything is so much cheaper here which baffles my mind. Every time I spend money on food I am amazed at the low price compared to those in America. Also, Europeans walk a lot slower and talk way quieter than Americans do. I went to dinner with a group of girls and we were even shushed by a customer and received quite a few dirty looks from the other customers just based on our volume. We were not talking loud or yelling whatsoever, that was just typical American conversationalist voice. One thing I don’t like about the country is the pit-pocketing culture is very big here, moreso than in America, and sometimes I feel uneasy being in my personal space because it is very crowded and someone can easily just grab into my bag. Maybe since I am out of America for the first time I feel like this but walking down in downtown Austin I never fear being robbed, so that is a difference I noticed while being here in Greece. Other than that I like the city and county. One thing about Europe being such a big continent with many countries within it is that it is so easy for Europeans to travel across the different countries, for example, one driving from the Netherlands to Italy. Talking to the local Greek citizens, they said they appreciate how it is to get to one country from another in Europe. I have noticed that a lot of the people I hear in the streets are mostly European but in fact, talking in different languages that are not Greek. What I hope to gain from this global experience is happiness and a fulfilling feeling that my time here was well spent and I got the most out of my time. I also want to be able to gain some communication skills and an understanding of the Greek culture and how I can be a kind, responsible, goal-oriented, and driven young global leader. Every day in the back of my head I think about how lucky I am to have the opportunity to truly learn about international business and the best way to learn is to travel. Traveling is a privilege and very expensive and I am so happy to have my first out-of-the-country experience be here with Texas A&M as well as being an educational one.
