What should students of similar backgrounds of identity as you be aware of before travelling or studying abroad in Greece?

Students of my similar background of identity should be aware that not everywhere you go people will stress over your color. I am not saying that it’s all rainbows and sunshine, but it should not your main concern studying abroad. My experience studying abroad I found friends who were more interested with the fact that I was from New York, than that my background is of African descent. At first, I had a hard time making friends and thought it was because I was black and that the students were either uninterested in getting to know me, intimidated, or racist. Later I found out the students were shy and scared because they felt that their English was not up to par to be able to hold a conversation with me. I was surprised and immediately changed my way of thinking. I thought I was the outsider but in reality the Greeks felt like they were outsiders trying to be friends with me. What I learned from that situation was that you may think you have a situation figured out but sometimes there’s more to it than what you initially thought.