By Mia Owens
Education Abroad Peer Mentor
I was the kid who always had a question to ask. My favorite word was, “why”. Why do I have a bed time? Why do I have to go to school? One afternoon at my grandparents’ house, my curiosity (fine, nosiness) got the best of me and I found an old box on their closet floor. I compulsively opened the box expecting to find some sort of mystical treasure like I’d seen in the movies. Instead, I found postcards.
The box was filled with picturesque postcards from Italy and Greece, along with little souvenirs and photographs. One photo caught my attention. There was a group of teenagers smiling in front of the Acropolis of Athens. As I squinted at the photo, one of the boys looked strangely familiar.
Was that….. my dad???
At eight years old it was hard enough to conceptualize my dad as anything besides… a dad. A world traveler and a young person? Impossible! Being the boots-on-the-ground journalist I was, I immediately drowned my dad and grandparents in questions. Through my investigation, I learned that my dad had traveled to Italy and Greece with his eighth-grade class.
Though I wasn't quite sure what this study abroad thing was or how it worked, I was certain that one day, I would study abroad too.
Ten years later, I found myself staring at one of those classic postcards, in a gift shop in Athens, Greece. It was day two of UMD-Summer: Greece: Exploring the Mediterranean Diet and Its Impact on Health, and my roommate Victoria and I were wandering around the city. After visiting the acropolis with our classmates, we decided to indulge our cheesy tourist urges and go gift shop hopping. As we explored, I was hit with a sudden sense of disbelief. I was traveling without family, thousands of miles from home, walking around one of the world’s oldest cities on a Monday afternoon.
My entire study abroad experience was nostalgically surreal. Studying abroad has been a goal of mine since I discovered that box in my grandparents’ closet. For years, I curated a vision of what my time abroad would look like. But my experience far surpassed my expectations. In just two weeks, I had a series of invaluable experiences.
This course consisted of several site visits to stakeholders influencing the food and agricultural industry in Greece. My favorite was to a farm in Corinth where I was inspired by the head farmer, George. After taking a tour of his lands, we had lunch and he shared stories about the ebbs and flows of his career. His story is one of resilience. He suffered the heartbreak of a competitor cutting down his crops and having to restart his business after regional wildfires destroyed his farm. His graceful perseverance and commitment to feeding his community left a lasting impression on me.
Outside of class activities, I was pushed out of my social comfort zone. During a free afternoon, my roommate and our classmate Reigna, somehow talked me into walking through a cave. To make a long story short, I screamed the ENTIRE time. Although I was absolutely mortified, I left with a new friend and an irreplaceable memory. A few days later, my roommate and I took a spontaneous trip to the beach at 8 am.
All of these experiences reminded me of the beauty of unplanned and unexpected moments. I’m a pretty type A person. I like structure, following routines, and will say no to things without hesitation. Studying abroad taught me the power of presence and taking random chances. Allow life to reveal itself to you. To anyone like me, I encourage you to challenge yourself to say yes to something unfamiliar. It only takes one yes to have a life-changing experience. My yes led me back to the country I discovered from snooping in a box.
Say yes to studying abroad!
