My initial impressions of Greece have been nothing short of my expectations. Everyone is super friendly, even to tourists which I wasn’t expecting. They were all so patient with our language barrier and helped us learn their language. My interactions with each individual has been one of my favorite parts of the trip. Specifically, an older couple who own a mini mart around from our hotel have been so excited and welcoming each time we go see them. Although the town is very congested and taken over by us tourists, they are happy to explain their culture to us.
It has been an incredible and unexplainable feeling to learn and discuss leadership where arguably the greatest minds began the art of learning, philosophy, democracy, science, and so much more. Seeing these preserved ruins from the ancient world brings so many things to life. Walking through them you can only imagine and almost feel the discussions and discoveries that took place. To listen to different global leaders and how they learned to adapt and what it takes to go global has changed the way I will lead forever. As Americans, we tend to have a lot of pride and I have learned that to be a global leader you have to set that aside to be able to hear that other cultures have different values and beliefs that you must respect in order to do business, and who knows, they might even change the way you believe about the world around you.
I hope to gain a lot of insight and inspiration on how to act in both a business and personal relationship back home. We must learn to look in another’s lens to fully understand the task at hand and willing to ask and challenge different questions. We must have the courage to speak up even if it’s a difficult topic.
Some differences I have noticed from each country is the simple things in life and how citizens from each act differently in their day to day lives. In America, we are always in a rush, we have fast food everywhere, large roads to travel quickly in our cars, rushing from one place to the next and we push ourselves to live to work. However, the natives here take time to stop and enjoy life, taking strolls at night and enjoying what life has to offer. They work so they can live life and take in the small moments. Overall I am excited to see the changes I will make when I go home and what I will learn from different global leaders in the future.
