GOODBYE, ATHENS

The first blog post I wrote, only two weeks after my arrival in Athens, I titled “ATHENS, OH ATHENS.” Now that I have left town for good, it seems fitting to come full circle, and say goodbye. 

One last Goodbye to the campus, the night before I left  

The last weeks in Athens were beautiful. Spring on some days was more like summer: Singing birds sweetened my mornings; warm turned to hot; cyclists, runners and saunterers spilled into the streets; outdoor seats and tables at cafés filled up with cheerful chit-chat; and front porches, finally, were brought to life by readers, chatters and wine-drinkers. Athens is a beautiful place in the summer. 

One time a semester, however, madness interrupts this idyllic place, and it has a name: Finals Week. In Leipzig, I often had to write a few papers over the semester break, and I sometimes found it stressful. I look back fondly on those times, since at US universities, all the exams and papers are crammed into just a few days. Teachers and fellow students joke half-truthfully about not sleeping all week, and Alden Library offers doughnut-breaks and recreational puppy-patting on Tuesdays. 

Farewell BBQ &
Jenny's Almost-Birthday Party

The whole town participates in this insanity: The local coffee shops are open all night, and banners all over town feature motivational quips. Leases all expire on the weekend following finals’ week, which means that thousands of students—right after finishing their papers and taking their last exams, clearing their rooms, attending one or two of about fifteen graduation ceremonies, packing all of their belongings, saying goodbye to friends and roommates—clog up the streets in order to go where their summer plans take them. College town madness!

And I guess that's what makes small college towns special: nearly everybody is there for the same reason, which is university, and so nearly everybody is young and hopeful, and open, and curious about the world. And that's how the people I met were, they were curious and open, and that helped to open me up and connect with people and to feel welcome there.

I am off on new adventures now, but I will miss every single one of you!