Learn Hardcore Greek: Το εξωτερικό μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον, αλλά δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου. - Abroad seems interesting to me, but I don’t know if I will stand the distance from my family.

Literally, εξωτερικό comes from εξωτερικός = external, outer. But when you use το εξωτερικό with the article, it’s a fixed expression meaning:

το εξωτερικό = abroad
- Θέλω να πάω στο εξωτερικό. = I want to go abroad.

So it does not mean the outside here; it means living/being abroad.

Why is the article neuter (Το) and the adjective ενδιαφέρον also neuter?

Because the word εξωτερικό is a neuter noun in Greek.

το εξωτερικό – neuter singular
The subject of the sentence is Το εξωτερικό.
The predicate adjective ενδιαφέρον must agree in gender and number with the subject, so it is also neuter singular.

So we have:

Το εξωτερικό (subject, neuter singular)
ενδιαφέρον (predicate adjective, neuter singular)

This agreement is just like:

Το βιβλίο είναι καινούργιο. – The book is new.
(βιβλίο neuter → καινούργιο neuter)

Does μου in Το εξωτερικό μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον mean my, as in my abroad?

No. Here μου is not possessive. It does not mean my abroad.

In this sentence, μου is an indirect object pronoun, meaning to me:

μου φαίνεται = it seems to me

So:

Το εξωτερικό μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον
= Abroad seems interesting to me.

If μου were possessive, it would normally come after a noun:

η οικογένειά μου = my family
το σπίτι μου = my house

So what is the grammatical role of μου in μου φαίνεται?

μου is a clitic pronoun functioning as an indirect object:

Verb: φαίνεται = it seems / it appears
Indirect object: μου = to me

Literal structure:

(Σε) μένα μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον.
= To me, it seems interesting.

In everyday Greek, we usually drop σε μένα and just say:

Μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον. = It seems interesting to me.

So μου answers the question “to whom?”

Could I say φαίνεται σε μένα ενδιαφέρον instead of μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον?

Yes:

Μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον.
Φαίνεται σε μένα ενδιαφέρον.

They are both grammatically correct and mean the same thing: It seems interesting to me.

Differences:

μου φαίνεται is shorter and more natural in everyday speech.
σε μένα φαίνεται or φαίνεται σε μένα can sound a bit more emphatic on me:
- Σε μένα φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον, αλλά σε σένα όχι.
  To me it seems interesting, but to you it doesn’t.

Why is it ενδιαφέρον and not ενδιαφέρουσα or ενδιαφέροντα?

Because ενδιαφέρον here agrees with το εξωτερικό, which is neuter singular.

Forms of the adjective ενδιαφέρων – ενδιαφέρουσα – ενδιαφέρον:

Masculine: ενδιαφέρων (rare, more formal)
Feminine: ενδιαφέρουσα
Neuter: ενδιαφέρον

Since the subject is το εξωτερικό (neuter singular), the correct form is:

Το εξωτερικό (είναι) ενδιαφέρον.

You would use:

ενδιαφέρουσα with a feminine noun:
- η πόλη είναι ενδιαφέρουσα – The city is interesting.
ενδιαφέροντες / ενδιαφέρουσες / ενδιαφέροντα for plural, etc.

What exactly does δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω mean, and what tense is θα αντέξω?

δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω = I don’t know if / whether I will endure / handle it.

αντέξω is the aorist subjunctive form of αντέχω.
With θα, θα αντέξω is the simple future:
- Θα αντέξω. = I will endure / I will manage.

Aspectual nuance:

αντέχω (present) = I endure / can stand (in general, ongoing)
θα αντέξω (simple future) = I will manage to endure (this specific situation)

In this sentence, the speaker is unsure about being able to endure the future separation from their family.

Why do we have αν θα αντέξω? I thought after αν you usually don’t use θα.

You’re right that in many if-clauses with αν, Greek does not use θα:

Αν αντέξω, θα συνεχίσω. = If I endure, I will continue.

But here the meaning is “whether I will”, not “if I (generally) endure”. After verbs like ξέρω, ρωτάω, θυμάμαι, you often see:

δεν ξέρω αν θα… = I don’t know whether I will…
θα δούμε αν θα… = we’ll see whether we will…

So:

δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω
= I don’t know whether I’ll manage to endure.

If you said δεν ξέρω αν αντέξω, it would sound incomplete or wrong in standard modern Greek in this context.

What does την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου literally mean, and why do we use από here?

Literally:

την απόσταση = the distance
από την οικογένειά μου = from my family

So την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου = the distance from my family.

The preposition από is used for:

origin / separation / distance:
- μακριά από το σπίτι – far from home
- φεύγω από την πόλη – I’m leaving the city
- η απόσταση από την Αθήνα – the distance from Athens

That’s why we say:

την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου – the (physical or emotional) distance from my family.

Why is it οικογένειά with an accent on the last syllable before μου? I thought it was οικογένεια.

The basic word is:

η οικογένεια – the family
(accent on the second-to-last syllable: -γέν-)

But when you add an enclitic pronoun like μου, σου, του, the accent can shift to the last syllable to keep the stress rules of Greek.

So:

η οικογένεια (alone)
η οικογένειά μου (with μου attached)

This is a normal accent shift that happens with many words when an enclitic follows:

το σπίτι → το σπίτι μου
η μαμά → η μαμά μου
η οικογένεια → η οικογένειά μου

Is there a difference between μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον and μου είναι ενδιαφέρον?

Yes.

μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον
= it seems / appears interesting to me
(more subjective, about your impression)
μου είναι ενδιαφέρον
= it is interesting to me
(more direct statement of fact / opinion, less about appearance)

In practice, for this kind of sentence, μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον is more natural and common. It’s like the English “abroad seems interesting to me” rather than “abroad is interesting to me”.

Could I change the word order in this sentence? For example, say Μου φαίνεται το εξωτερικό ενδιαφέρον?

You can change the word order a bit, but some orders sound more natural than others.

Most natural versions:

Το εξωτερικό μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον, αλλά δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου.
Μου φαίνεται ενδιαφέρον το εξωτερικό, αλλά δεν ξέρω αν θα αντέξω την απόσταση από την οικογένειά μου.

Both are fine.

Less natural:

Μου φαίνεται το εξωτερικό ενδιαφέρον. – understandable, but the adjective at the very end is less common; native speakers usually keep ενδιαφέρον close to the verb φαίνεται or right after the subject.

Key point: Greek word order is flexible, but:

Clitic pronouns like μου normally go before the verb (μου φαίνεται).
Article + noun stay together (το εξωτερικό).
The most “default” feel here is the original order you gave.