Submitted by Jasmine Pennington on the 2024 Spring semester program in Athens, Greece…
It’s only the first couple of days in Greece, but I haven’t found a group of people I enjoy going out with. Regularly, I walk alone, I eat alone, and I have fun alone. The many solo walks to and from the grocery store to buy things that were always regularly available in my home. On my daily walks, the street was lined up with orange trees, but don’t eat them because they don’t taste like oranges. On my walk, I saw a lot of dog poop, more than in the streets of NYC. On my walks, I saw 100 no-smoking signs. I think that Athens is for sure going to be an adventure, and I can’t wait for classes to start, but on my walk, a wave of emotions came on that was the opposite of excitement. I felt that it was only the first couple of days, but I miss my old routine, I miss Dollar Tree, I miss my cat, and my family. On this walk home, I felt alone and defeated and out of nowhere, there was this lemon tree. I was so confused because all day I had been seeing orange trees, and out of all the walks, and different streets, there was only one lemon tree. I felt that being alone wasn’t a sad thing, but a brave thing. This lemon tree made me stop dead in my tracks because it was so pretty, and my favorite color is yellow. I love eating raw lemons, lemon poppyseed blueberry muffins, lemonade, and lemon pepper shrimp alfredo. This lemon tree stood out to me because it reminded me of home, and that in Greece can be my home for the next few months. It made me realize that I can still thrive being alone in a crowd of oranges.
The next day I went out alone again, even after being invited out. I love talking to people and experiencing things in groups, but I do feel that being alone gives me time to actually take everything in. It’s a blessing to be in this program, and at the end of the day, a lemon tree can make you feel way happier than winning the lottery or seeing a Unicorn. Seeing that lemon tree reminded me of why I wanted to come to Greece, and what my expectations were. I knew that I wanted to cook my meals, experience Greek culture, and meet people who share similar values. Maybe in the warmer months, I will explore more of the amazing landscape here and nothing will top the lopsided Lemon tree I saw on my walk home. I know it’s silly to talk about how a Lemon Tree made me laugh and smile when I wanted to cry from being homesick. But, my whole life never made sense either. It truly is the small things that make someone’s day. (January 12, 2024)