FRIENDS & FEELING THANKFUL IN SANTORINI

I'm typing this on a plane currently en route to Geneva, Switzerland! I'm thinking about the fact that I have a 5,000-word essay due Friday for psychology.

If only I could hand in this instead. I am eighteen years old. In the last month, I have traveled to six different countries. In the past week alone I have been in and out of four countries. I have met new people, all with different accents, stories, smiles, jobs, and dreams.

I thought of a One Tree Hill quote the other day, "people always leave." That is kind of relatable to how I am feeling recently. In this case, I am the one who has been leaving. I've met people in so many new places and have fallen in love with the people that they are. There's something about learning someone's lifestyle and what they do every day. I love hearing their life story and what they want in life. When someone shares their experiences they have had in other places it makes you want to visit there too. I love hearing about other people's life goals, and where else they want to travel. And so I hate that I am constantly leaving after meeting all of these amazing people.

If you have followed my Instagram for a while now you may have read my posts about Neyfan, a guy from Costa Rica that I met when I spent time there this past spring. Although his English was not always the clearest and often didn't understand what I was trying to say, being able to communicate with him was amazing. He surfs, works on a sailboat changing the sails and serving drinks. Who wouldn't want to do that for their job everyday? But honestly speaking, he works very hard. He works long hours everyday and does not know when his next off day will be. My experience for the first time on a sailboat was so much fun. Now, I keep in touch with him and I try to talk to him weekly since I left and that was eight months ago. I want so badly to go back to Costa Rica not only because it was a beautiful place and I love the beach, but because he was a kind, helpful person. No offense to American guys, but guys from other countries have a better way with words. They compliment you properly and are polite to you. Now not everyone is polite and nice to you, but that is a given. Not everyone everywhere you go is going to be nice. But when you find a good person, don't loose them. Neyfan is now a good friend of mine and I can't wait to go back to Costa Rica.

This week I had the opportunity to travel to Santorini, Greece. I stayed in a hotel, Villa Manos. Here I met Dimitris. He is Greek and from Athens but lives in Santorini eight out of the twelve months of the year. The other four he goes back to his home in Athens and lives there. During the eight months, he has no days off. He is the manager of the hotel and works his ass off. He manages everything from the pool bar to the reception, to making breakfast, as well as transporting everyone in the hotel, plus more and generally is just making sure everything is in order. I've never been to a place where one single person has managed as many things as he had. I joked at the end of our trip and thanked him for putting up with me and my friends and all the things we ask and ask for. When I arrived in Greece I did not expect to meet someone like Dimitris and then feel like I didn't want to leave because of a person. Trust me when I say Santorini is most definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world. But when people who live in beautiful places have beautiful personalities, it makes it even better. Dimitris was more than helpful to my friends and I. He was there to help us with anything we needed and was so nice about it. He knows what he wants in life. He knows that money is not everything. In life, you need experiences and people to make you happy, not just money. He is determined to make every single person in the hotel satisfied and happy by the time that they leave. When someone tells you how beautiful it is to see you smile and to see you happy it is the best feeling in the world. When someone recognizes that you're a good person after you put up with more BS than anything most times, it makes pushing yourself to be a good person worth it. It's amazing how one single person can make you feel so good and feel like you have known them your entire life when in reality you've known them for only five days. I am more than thankful to have met Dimitris. My friends and I would not of have had the experience we did in Santorini if it were not for him. Whether it was meeting his friends, eating at local restaurants, getting us back from the bar safely, trying pastries that were so sugary it made you sick, or to opening the pool bar just for us so we could all hangout late. I will definitely be back to Santorini and people like Dimitris are 100% apart of the reason why.

Dimitris- Thank you times a million. I have so much love for you.

I only hope that once I am older I can return back to those people and share even better times with them then I recently have had.

Thinking about my experiences and my life the last three months is overwhelming. I have broken down and cried to my friends from being so overwhelmed. I cried when I saw my parents when they came to see me. Never crying because I was sad about anything but simply crying because I am happy and thankful. When I saw my parents I was so grateful to see them. And traveling is a beautiful thing. I am so beyond thankful to have been where I have been. I am thankful that I have experienced some of the most amazing places since being abroad. I never want to take anything for granted. I often think I am stressed and think about the bad days that I have but when you're traveling, even when it takes a full 30 hours to get to your destination and you're running on about four hours of sleep, it is worth it. So on that note, for anyone who is thinking about traveling, if you are not sure if you should or not or you are scared too; do it. To me, there is nothing better in the world. I am a freshman in college and I have four years ahead of me to study. I know that it is important to get an education of course, but if I had more of a choice I would travel all the time. I have learned more things in the last few months than I ever have. Made friends with people I never imagined I would have now. Tried foods I normally would not eat. But really most importantly, the people have been incredible and a huge part of the reason I am enjoying being abroad so much. I am forever thankful for this experience.

Cheers, Nikki

#Santorini #Expereince