Sharp in Greece

Kalimera everyone! It has been one full week in Athens, Greece so far since my arrival on Monday morning around 10 a.m. (3 a.m. U.S. time). For all the family, friends, and other platias (squares) that may worry about John Sharp, everything has gone as smooth as possible thus far. My first plane ride was exactly like your first plane ride except I almost missed it!


They really should tell their “non-frequent” fliers that there is a boarding time on your boarding pass, or I’d still be in Indiana right now. On the bright side, I had the privilege of hearing my name yelled on the intercom system (pretty sweet if you ask me) as well as the opportunity to sprint through the airport because of course my gate was the last one at the very end. If you’ve ever been to the new Indianapolis Airport just imagine Usaine Bolt sprinting with a backpack on, his carry-on bags in one hand, and a Gatorade Fuel in the other hand yelling I’m coming, I’m coming! Now envision me only minus the Jamaican accent and instead sounding like a ghetto kid from FSQ (that’s fountain square, the outskirts of downtown Indianapolis for all of you that don’t know!) who had to sweet-talk his Mom, tell her she’s the most beautiful woman in the world just to get a dollar for the ice cream truck. But now time has been wasted trying to coax his Mom and the ice cream truck is leaving. So the chase is on and the yelling begins, I’m coming, I’m coming! Needless to say, I made it just in time for my flight to Newark, NJ. The flight to Athens went fine as well. I don’t know which seems longer; flight to Athens or The Green Mile? Quite possibly The Green Mile except the only difference between the two being I could sleep through The Green Mile (not saying I did, it’s a good movie just forever long!) Attempting to sleep on a nine hour flight reminded me of my night of luxury spent inside Wabash County Jail’s drunk tank (Underage drinking freshman year of college, we’ve all been there, don’t judge).


Our apartment is quite the setup only it doesn’t have a balcony like all three apartments shared by the girls, but who’s complaining?! We make up for it in my opinion, see video. Oh wait, the video that should be here but isn't because trying to snag Wi-Fi here is like me trying to snag a model wife. MTV Cribs International Edition Episode 1 will be up soon, sorry!

The school I’ll be attending for the next 3 months, (yes, I actually have to go to school and study while I’m on this “vacation”) City University has two buildings, one of which has a café/sick looking coffee shop called story café in the front of it.





I still have yet to officially choose my courses but orientation itself is worth 6 credits! I haven’t made up my mind whether or not I will take one or two more courses on top of my required Greek language course. My top three choices are; Overview of the European Union, Photo Journalism, and International Business. Classes begin on October 11th. I honestly thought the whole class thing wasn’t true, that maybe universities around the world use “study” abroad as a cover up for sending their really superb students on a well-deserved vacation.


A full week in and the only scare or problem I have had so far was when I stayed on the tram (like we were supposed to) as two of my roommates and three of the girls waved to me from the stop, yelling John get off, while a tram full of Greeks found it quite hilarious.


Keep in mind that at this point we don’t have cell phones – I really enjoy breaking the habit of reaching in my pocket for a phone every two seconds, I think I’ll buy one sometime next week – but lucky for the wandering geese I got off at the next stop and went back for them. I could have easily spent a day on the beach by myself. These guys better learn to trust my decision making skills over the next three months. The beach is about a 30 minute metro and tram ride away from our apartments and the really nice beach is more of a distance but they’re all nice to me. Easy to say when Indiana is what you have to compare it to!



On Friday we went to the Acropolis aka giant magnet for tourists. The Acropolis is located in Monistiraki, only three metro stops away from our apartments which are located in Megaro Mussikis. The Plaka is also located in Monistiraki and is a marketplace where you can wheel-n-deal to catch good bargains on anything from clothing to jewelry. Mainly, the Plaka is where all the illegal immigrants primarily from Albania, Bulgaria, Pakistan and Nigeria attempt to sell you everything you would never need but wouldn't mind having. They sell knock offs of every designer brand you can think of, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Coach, Ray Ban. Basically quote your price and they’ll accept the offer, just for the sake they’re happy someone is buying from them. However, it does get annoying when you’re constantly approached at dinner and asked to buy bootleg DVDs, bracelets, purses and possibly my favorite, especially when it’s a table full of guys, roses. The Acropolis was by far my best view of Athens thus far. See pictures/teasers and please ignore the disappointing photo stitch lines.


This is the point where I could throw out a bunch of random facts about the Acropolis that you’ll never remember and for the sake of not putting people to sleep who read my blog, you may have heard of Google, perhaps you’ve used it once or twice? This is the point where, if you’re still interested, you very carefully type in the word A-C-R-O-P-O-L-I-S.



In all seriousness, its topic toss-up time aka mumbo jumbo aka random stuff I want to share with you but isn’t necessarily paragraph material. Brace yourself…

Everyone drives mopeds and those suicidal smart cars or some sort of tiny vehicle, to fly through the tiny streets of Athens because obviously the Greeks enjoy supporting Europe’s reputation of being #1 for traffic accidents. Yes it rains here, I know whodda thunk it?! I’m putting in a request for my money back because not once did I ever see a rainy picture on any website or postcard hanging inside Professor Rohrer’s office! It’s actually raining for the first time in my week here as I write this on our three hour trip to Delphi (again, Google).



The most important meal of the day is lunch and then everyone enjoys ciesta, a midday nap with most shops closing during this time. Personally, I think we should adopt our own sort of ciesta in the states. This may be the reason for Athens’s amazing night life which starts around 11 p.m. and ends around 4 a.m. Wi-Fi in our apartment comes around rarely. Starbucks and I have become well acquainted already. I hope they have Baklava in heaven.Cops ride on two-seater motorcycles.
I’m interested in finding out how they decide whose riding and whose driving, rock-paper-scissors possibly? Our director Aphrodite told us that Greek guys believe they’re more macho than American men. Although, I believe someone lied to them because steroid use is much more visible in the U.S. Greek food is the best! Gyros are the greatest and I hope they serve them in heaven as well. One of my roommates bought a bottle of olive oil, or so he thought it was olive oil. Turns out it was a small bottle of wine that we have been eating over our salads and meals cooked at home! Word on the street is you can get round trip airfare to anywhere in Europe between $50-150. My roommate’s friend flew to Germany last year for $5, for all we know the pilot could’ve have been drunk at that rate but what matters most is that the flight was cheap. Italy is at the top of my list! Any travel recommendations? The churches are ridiculous! I haven’t been in a protest yet but I see them daily, soon enough I’ll find my way into the middle of one (Mom, I apologize ahead of time). Last but not least, Afrodite is the director of our program/my Greek Mom for the next three months.


Sorry for the long post but I have a bunch a folks across the pond who remind me that they need/want updates asap. Plus I want to share what I can of this experience with all of you or at least allow you to see Greece through my eyes because the only true way of experiencing Greece is to visit Greece. Yes, that means you! Get off the couch, find a job in this great recession, save some scrilla and let all the dreams floating around your mind after reading this blog become realities. And to anyone who says, “But John, I can’t!” (whiney voice) First off, go see your Mom she’s calling for you. Secondly quit lying to yourself and stop letting a bit of hard work get in the way of your dreams. To everyone at home I miss you already, not a lot yet but yes I miss you. Until next time - hopefully sometime next week but don’t hold me to it – adio sas!

If anyone would like to send me mail, the address is...
John Sharp
City University, Syntagma
Athens, 10561, Greece
and if you do decide to send anything make sure to only do it how Stevie would...

Why do graduate programs for Economics show so much favoritism, often times favoring an incoming undergrad with a background in Mathematics similar to the preferential treatment shown by parents who have a child with exceptional athletic ability while their other child is far from even being mentioned in the same sentence as the word athletic? Even the possibility of a student with greater experience in Mathematics than in Economics, i.e. Math major/Econ minor, has a better chance of being accepted than that of a student with simply their undergrad in Economics. Is it because education is the very spot where our government makes a crucial investment year after year? (FYI, I completely disagree with the large amount of recent budget cuts in academics during the current “recession”, especially in this country who was among the first to provide basic schooling to all its children, but that is a topic worthy of its own entirely new blog post) How about since a number of administrators, faculty and professors from prestigious universities around the country work with or on our very own Council of Economic Advisers, does this imply that these are the wizards who dictate the standard for who’s in and who’s out? Could it be true that our current academic stairway to a job in the government/academia is stuck in a whirlpool and cyclical turbulent flow inseparable from any new way of thought?

Now back to my original thought on investment. What exactly is Uncle Sam getting in return for his wise investment towards the higher education of particularly, aspiring economists? BTW, word on the street is he’s getting a good rate! He gets whiz kids, our newest public policy makers fresh off being brainwashed by propagandists such as Harvard economics professors Greg Mankiw - who's textbook I had the privilege of being lectured from in my Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory course, - and Martin Feldstein. He also gets Milton Freidman neoclassicals who envision the “free market” as a completely self-regulating system controlled by the laws of the universe/the invisible hand, with no need for human interference. But wait his return keeps getting better! He will receive economists who talk of a “perfect market” – one that exhibits “perfect competition” between businesses and “perfect information” between businesses and consumers – lacking the slightest consideration for the role “animal spirits” play on the psychology of our economy and overlooking the fact that human nature is vulnerable to other forces, which cause people to make irrational choices. Of course this is a sound investment for Uncle Sam because he is getting the most bang for his buck, graduating mathematicians who will use models that are dry, stale and deficient of any human or environmental values to develop new policies insuring that the USA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – a measure of overall economic activity – stays above the competition. YES! The whiz kid made us richer! Obama is happy, Ben Bernanke is happy, momma and daddy are happy, everyone is happy! Right? Wrong.

Unfortunately, I am already deciding to conform slightly. I am forced to accept the orthodox criteria that most Economic graduate programs require. My mind is set that I will graduate with my undergrad from Manchester College in Economics and Business Management with a minor in Mathematics (yeah, I’ll be a nerdy white guy by the time I’m finished but with the perspective of a nerdy black guy because those nerdy white guys tend to only have “book smarts” but lack any type of common sense when it comes to the ways of the world, mankind and especially music, i.e. “street smarts”). However, as bad as I am dissin’ the Mathematics prerequisite, a minor in this field will provide me with my meal ticket into the world of the opposition. If biting the bait and understanding the rules to their game is necessary to get my butt inside a classroom and spark POW-WOWs’/debates with the very leaders at the frontier of this mathematical modeling (professors), then so be it! It’ll be like my very own version of Inception. Planting a contagious heterodox – one that advances the economic vision of economists such as E.F. Schumacher who said, “Economics without Buddhism, i.e., without spiritual, human and ecological values, is like sex without love.” - inside a classroom that spreads to aspiring economists around campus, who like white blood cells begin to fight off what isn’t supposed to be there. Administrators will eventually decide it is time they diagnose their autistic – “intelligent but obsessive, narrowly focused and cut off from the outside world” - way of thinking. Speaking about our current financial crisis and referring to free market theory, Harvard economist Dani Rodrick said, “The problem wasn’t with the economics but with the economists. Theories and models are tools, but we have fixated on one of the possible hundreds of models and elevated that above the others.”

I guess you can go ahead, sit back and say yeah that’s been done before. Students attempting to start a revolution only to have their fire put out by academic economists who are like an ostrich with its head in the sand. And then these students get suckered back into the way of mainstream economic thinking because they’re scared shitless that if they stray too far from the dominant orthodox their chances of getting an academic job/job in the government are seriously reduced. However, all of those failed attempts to resurrect economics did not have any fuel to keep their fire going and what is necessary for a fire to keep burning? Wood! Or at least something that will burn slowly. This time around the revolutionaries have some fuel, that being the “Great Recession”, labeled by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Going on since 2007, our best hope is for the “Great Recession” to extend as long as possible or as needed (but hopefully not too long!). You see things in academia change at a very slowwwww pace. David Card, a leading labor economist at California, Berkeley said it best “If unemployment is still high three years from now, then you might see a paradigm shift, economists will have to say that the market isn’t supposed to work this way. But if the economy bounces back in a year, then they will be able to dismiss the financial crash as an anomaly that is unimportant to the larger theory.” But until this paradigm shift actual takes place, more students in economic departments must take risks, grow some balls, and kick over this bucket of neoclassical economics. I’m signing off by leaving all of you aspiring post-autistic economists who don’t know how to handle the weird looks and skeptics that come with a revolution, with a quote from one of my favorite rappers Jay-Z, “I love that because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing, whether it’s accepted by everybody or not. I’m supposed to be pushing that envelope and trying new things. And people are supposed to say, “Hov, you might have went too far”.

Your Favorite Blue Collar Visionaire,

John Sharp

I know it has been way too long since I actually wrote something on this blog of mine but trust me, I don't plan on it being this way once I go abroad. I promise to update it every week with at the very least some pictures that will help me share this experience with all of you (whoever is following). And don't fret, your boy has some MAD photography skills! Now, that could be MAD as in slang term for sick, awesome, totally impressive photography skills or MAD as in these pictures are so horrible my day just got ruined because I looked at them, MAD. I guess you will just have to tune in weekly to find out which MAD it will be.

Since the last time I made a blog post some big things have happened but to no surprise to say the least. 1.) The Euro was as high as $1.35 and crashed as low as $1.19 on June 8th due to an immediate loss of confidence in the country's stock markets until the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and all the other countries in the European Union - with Germany and France carrying a majority of the burden - came to Greece's rescue with some immediate stimulus to prevent complete fall on your face bankruptcy. The rescue package has bought Europe time and nothing else. 2.) LEBRON JAMES is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier! Yup, you heard it here first (or for the umpteenth time) folks, LeBron James is a "runaway slave" to Dan Gilbert as put by Rev. Jesse Jackson. 3.) the oil spill in the Gulf had just started and has yet to stop. We have spillionaires scratching their heads in hopes that the light bulb will all of sudden turn on with an idea of how to actually put a stop to this catastrophe. I can imagine the CEO's of BP and Deepwater Horizon's reaction being something similar to that of Steve Urkle's "Did I do that"? Bottom line, it has been too long and the real reasons for not getting around to putting my thoughts inside this "tabernacle for words", if you would, are... 1.) Its summer. 2.) I've been reading more than ever before in this young life of mine, AKA nerdin' it up, AKA giving my best impression of Cornell West (the dude sleeps 4-5 hours a night)! 3.) I'm in the best shape of my life. Something to the comparison of my glory days riding the Southport High School basketball team's bench! And 4.) I have been surrounded by and have become close to some of the best friends/ counsel/ leaders/ encouragement/ brothers and sisters of faith/ "scholars" (in my own opinion), a young person my age could ever ask for. This summer I have had the opportunity to live with a man named Nick Buck (who is a force to be reckoned with) and his wife (an even fiercer force to be reckoned with, especially on a theater stage near you), oh and their dog Desmond Tutu (not really his picture)! This young lad and a few other inspirational pioneers have begun to really lay a strong foundation this summer for the church they have started, Poiema. This is a church - minus a building currently, while we allow God to demand that in the near future with growth of his ministry - in Indianapolis. Poiema is "A community of Jesus followers working to join God in the restoration of heaven and earth". Next time you're in the Indianapolis area please let me know and surely we can get connected! However, for now check them out online @ PoiemaINDY.org

Finally, here is the low down on what is new with, originally the only purpose for this blog, studying abroad! I received my flight itinerary last week and my plane departs September 19th. I'm set to return December 18th. The plane ticket cost a little more than I originally budgeted for, $1477! I have everything ready to go minus my Visa now, which I am traveling to Chicago two Mondays from now to get because for some dumb reason (terrorists) you must apply for this in person. Overall, I am anxiously counting down the days until I step on a plane for the first time but more importantly the first time a foreign country gets to experience JOHN SHARP (as America sits back with a sigh of relief) haha! In the coming month and a half I have a lot more reading to do as well as A TON of overtime at work to put in because trips like these don't pay for themselves!

Another SHOUT OUT to all the donors who have contributed to my Greece Fund. THANK YOU for any thoughts, prayers or donations you have made recently! You all can be expecting a postcard, although I know that is only a mere tease! Sorry but I don't know how to say THANK YOU enough.

Signing off here,

Your favorite Blue Collar Visionaire,

John Sharp

On Tuesday I was announced as a recipient of one of the 2010-2011 Kauffman Awards! This scholarship award was made possible by a generous gift from Manchester College graduates Mark and Janis Johnston to pay special tribute to their friend Bruce Kauffman, class of 1968, a man whose life represented a rich integration of the humanities and the arts with business acumen. Bruce's untimely death in 1996 ended his brilliant career as a financier, but his love for music, languages, philosophy, and study abroad continues through these awards. This award makes off-campus study possible for students who are not likely to be able to undertake such study because of financial constraints, especially those like myself who have dreamed of studying abroad. The Kauffman scholarship award I received is for $1,000! One of the wishes of the donor is that these funds be used to open doors for students, doors that might be closed without the award. I know this award is the key to that door for me. For the most part it will take care of my plane ticket and more importantly a huge chunk of my fundraising goal. A big, no better yet a HUMONGOUS, SUPER COLOSSAL, WALLOPING, GIGANTIC, COMPLETELY NECESSARY THANK YOU to the Kauffman and Johnston family!


"Christians are to "labor," which refers to hard, manual work. Hard work is honorable. As Christians we should work hard so that we will have enough to give to those in need, not so that we will have more of what we don't need." - John MacArthur

First, I want to thank anyone who visits my blog as well as a special thanks for anyone who decides to make a contribution towards my overseas excursion!

Slowly but surely pieces are beginning to fall into place making this dream one step closer to a reality. Last week I was notified by email that BCA had accepted me into their program! For more info on BCA and some reasons why I chose Greece, take a look for yourself at http://www.bcaabroad.com/. Currently, I am in the process of filling out the proper paperwork for my passport which will take roughly 6 weeks to arrive! As you're probably already aware of, fees are associated with obtaining a passport and Visa. $100 for the passport & $75 for the Visa. The hopes of trying to squeeze these seemingly inexpensive fees into my budget is similar to the hopes of the New Jersey Nets making the playoffs this year, its not happening. Now I can say my future chances are greater than that of the Nets. My hope is in you guys, friends and family, their slim "hope" is in the hands of next years NBA Draft Lottery and landing Mr. John Wall from Kentucky in New Jersey or if Jay-Z (co-owner of the Nets) has his way, they'll be in Brooklyn sometime soon. The "Brooklyn Nets", yea it doesn't even sound good but I'm sure Jay-Z could make a rap about it and a 12th number one album.

Anticpation, eagerness, expectations, uncertainty, enthusiasm, hope, belief. These are all the mixed emotions I feel right now, awaiting my turn to experience and explore the world. Patiently waiting for my opportunity to tackle a lot of "firsts". The foremost of these "firsts", flying on a plane! I'm 19 (20 on April 25th) and this has yet to happen! Although, I can't say my favorite part will be airport security as I have been forewarned. I plan on stepping foot off the plane and diving head first into Athens, exploring and connecting with people of the community. I want to connect with local students quickly, who can assist me in finding student organizations or volunteer work away from campus. Once I take these initial steps and appreciate the multicultural work environment, doors will open on the professional side! I will hopefully meet with professionals in the business world, who wouldn’t mind sharing wisdom with an enthusiastic business major. Before jetting off to Greece, I’ll get my resume in tip-top shape to share with employers in Athens, improving the likeliness of acquiring the professional international experience I hope to grasp! Greece is currently going through a tough economic period due to policy elites who pushed Europe into adopting a single currency before the continent was ready. This is a real life situation I could learn from while overseas and use to complement a major in economics.

As a first-generation college student, this is my chance to set a new path for the cousins, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters of generations to come in my family. Let this be the experience that gets them to challenge the question, "if he could do it, why not me?!"

Once again a big THANK YOU for all your thoughts, prayers, and ANY financial donations towards my overseas studies! This definitely would not be made possible without your support :)

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12