MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College is making great steps in expanding its students’ knowledge of other cultures, and Evan Constantinides, a sophomore from Aurora who studied abroad last semester at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) in Greece, is certainly proof of that. But in addition to gaining a new perspective on the world, Constantinides also gained a friend, and that friend followed him back to Monmouth.

Ioannis Mallinis, part of the ACT contingent that greeted the foreign students and helped make their transition to Greece’s second-largest city as smooth as possible, became Constantinides’ close companion after they met at the welcoming dinner.

“Being that I was one of the only Greek-Americans, Ioannis and I got along more naturally,” said Constantinides, who said he enjoyed his time studying the Greek culture. “You have to remember that you are there in a whole different world and the only way to understand and walk away with a successful experience is to completely submerge yourself in the culture.”

Constantinides, a communication major, educated himself by studying nonverbal and verbal skills. He felt that gaining such knowledge was equal to the classroom education he had.

“I gained a very different perspective from studying abroad, and my time in Thessaloniki was much more rewarding than simply sitting in class learning about Greece,” he said.

Before he left, Constantinides invited Mallinis to have a similar experience and come to America, but Mallinis’ decision wasn’t easy. He had always wanted to come and study in America, but deciding to make the transition from a city of two million to Monmouth is a large one. After two weeks of coaxing and with the help of MC professor Tom Sienkewicz, Mallinis decided to come and is now rooming with Constantinides and having a great time.

When asked what his favorite things are about America, he replied, “I haven’t really drawn any conclusions about this yet. I still have a lot of things to do in here and meet many more people.”

One question that Mallinis could answer was about the war with Iraq.

“The argument that President Bush always has, that we have to fight ‘terrorism’ by any means, is not really valid for me,” said the Greek student, who is studying international relations.

Mallinis believes the war will have a great effect on the global economy with repercussions felt in his country and America. He also mentioned the effect that the war will have on tourism and said that he is not necessarily looking forward to that change.

After being away from the U.S. and gaining perspective of a culture other than his own, Constantinides also gave some insights about the issues involving the Middle East.

“It is very different walking down the street and passing by one of the anti-American rallies that you always see on the news,” he said. “When you see the people and listen to them you get a very different point of view. I think that things here in the U.S. are definitely skewed and that many times we do not see outside of our box, but the rest of the world does because it is effecting them.”

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330