I received an email yesterday from my dad, who is currently enjoying his stay at Costa Navarino. While my mom wandered the beach with her friend, Pam, my dad played the Dunes course and sent me a picture:
His note said:
“View from 6th tee… This place is like 4 World Golf Villages put together. Amazing. You will have a blast.
Love, Dad”
Suddenly time seems to have flown by. I leave in less than a week. In precisely 7 days, I will be wandering the streets of Athens. A whole range of emotions has finally caught up to me. They really all boil down to a distinct balance of excitement and fear. I’ve tried to discern what I am most “scared” about, though, and I think I’ve managed to come to legitimate conclusions. I’m scared of being in a new environment where a) I do not know anyone and b) I do not know the language (I’m slowly realizing just how little my four semesters of Koine Greek will help me at a resort for the summer).
The first of my worries will have to be dealt with once I arrive. I have been emailing several staff members at the golf course, and I’m looking forward to building those work relationships. Also, spending these two weeks at home has allowed me to truly be at peace with myself, and realize that being alone does not necessarily equate to being lonely. I do have something of a safety net now: I ordered my Kindle this morning (thank you, daddy!!). Looks like I already have one new friend for the summer!
As to my second fear: the language barrier. I had a long talk with my friend Jordan the other day; he’s one of my friends that I seem to do my best “verbal processing” with. I cannot recall the steps that led me to this conclusion, but I remember saying: “I have been immersed in the world of golf since birth. It is a language I know and understand, regardless of my fumbling Greek.” Jordan agreed, making a comment about how sports are a great unifier.
I also have a hope that the environment, with both a golf course and an ocean, will feel like home to me. After living for 16 years within 10 minutes of the ocean, I have felt strangely out of place in the Midwest. The thought of 3 months on a beautiful piece of coastline is deliciously inviting.
I finished “Wise Man’s Fear” (Rothfuss) the other day, and one particular passage has stuck with me:
“… No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher… A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection.”
I have a great, long road ahead of me. And a lot to learn.
the buzzy place 