avery riedel

Q10: what influence did this trip have on you as a leader?

First, I want to reference my Q1. I wanted to learn to be more flexible on this trip, and I can honestly say that if there was one major thing that this trip helped me with it would be flexibility. There were a few moments when things went a little crazy and I laughed it off and told Mads not to worry about me because I was just going with the flow. Eventually, everything worked out… even with me in the back seat, and that is a lesson I will never forget. This trip also had a few more significant influences on me including embracing learning opportunities and some safety precautions. I was tested quite a few times on this trip through the cold showers, sicknesses, and allergies, and I had to just take it all in. The very first night I showered dead last. I lost my breath it was so cold, and I was almost at the point of tears, and then something great happened… Mads accidentally flipped the light off in the bathroom I was in. So there I was… cold, in the dark, and naked. I froze for a second, a little confused and a little startled. I didn’t know what to do, so I just laughed. I reminded myself I was in Greece and I literally laughed it off. That was a big learning opportunity for me. I learned how to be completely out of my comfort zone and laugh because it truly didn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. The other side of my influence was safety. I have never felt so unsafe in a place until Athens. Getting catcalled multiple times, approached multiple times, and begged for money multiple times was simply something I have yet to experience. It made me open my mind a little more and realize not only that Kansas isn’t such a bad place to be but also the world is a little bigger and darker than I see day-to-day in my comfortable and secure lifestyle. As a whole, I feel like this trip influenced me to learn, adapt, and move on, and for that, I will never be able to repay Mads, Leadership, or Greece.Read more

Q8: Again in regard to contextual factors, talk about one and what you learned while we were in Greece that helped you understand that factor

Another contextual factor in the Greece leadership system that I got to learn more about in Greece was money. I have always learned that the Greek economy isn’t the most stable thing in the world and that it relies heavily on tourists. I also know the history hasn’t been great with money, and Greece has only recently found its ways, but it wasn’t super clear until it was staring me right in the face… 3 Euro cappuccinos. What an amazing sight that was. I felt like I was in heaven because I didn’t have to feel guilty buying a coffee like I do here in America. It was even more eye-opening when a local told us that 3 Euros is too much for them. One 25 Euro sweatshirt, a 15 Euro bottle of wine, and a 2 Euro luxury ice cream cone later, it finally hit me. These weren’t great prices for them, these were actually quite expensive prices to them. Just like NYC and Destin, Florida feel like to us, Athens and the Islands were their pricey tourist locations. I remember thinking, “Man I know we are on different currencies, but that still feels very cheap.” I realized that these prices were all signs of a faulty economy. I felt quite culture-shocked by this. I even was thinking that if their prices were higher, I still would've paid up because it wouldn’t be any different to me than America is, so why do they not have higher prices? I believe the answer to this is because they are still learning and developing, and also that the locals couldn’t survive if the prices were raised too much. I feel like I learned a lot from this trip, but this whole money thing really opened my eyes to how different countries develop so differently.Read more