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During the summer of 2012, I entered into a study program located in Greece. It was my first time traveling abroad ever, and I could not have been more excited. The whole experience was beyond amazing and enlightening, but this story centers on one of my last days on the island of Naxos. The Euro Cup was taking place that summer, and somewhat miraculously, Greece was repeatedly upsetting the odds and doing well in the tournament. One particular night, Greece was set to play Germany in the quarterfinals, and Naxos, this tiny island in the middle of the Agean Sea, had become a hub of excitement for the game. My study abroad program was made up of mostly Americans, who for better or for worse, were not necessarily fans of the European fútbol. However, the energy surrounding this big game was contagious, and by mid-afternoon, it was all any of us could talk about. Consequently, later that same day, we found ourselves at a local shop that sold, among other things, Greek fútbol kits for children. The shop owner had no adult-size jerseys, and so me and my three best friends on the trip decided to go all in, find the biggest child-size kits the store offered, and dress up as Greek soccer players for the night. So that's how we found ourselves in a bar, dressed in head to toe Greek fútbol uniforms with a bunch of locals watching the game. When we had walked into the bar, heads turned in our direction. While there were definitely a few laughs, we also received what will likely be my only ever standing ovation. Everyone was high-fiving us and shouting for us. We were escorted to the front of the bar where we were given prime real estate to watch the game on the big screens. Basically, we became local celebrities overnight. Every time Germany would score a goal, we'd scream, "Put us in coach, we're ready to play!" The locals thought that was hilarious, and began shouting it with us every time the ball went past the Greek's net. Ultimately, Greece would unfortunately lose that night, and while we went back to our hotel a little defeated, we couldn't help but feel we had made a local connection like no other. And that was absolutely confirmed the next morning at breakfast when the waiter came to our table, handed us small gold chocolates in the shape of gold medals and yelled "For our champions."