Greece in Hindsight

Anonymous

J-term 2011 religion 211, my first chance to travel in Europe, Greece in particular.

Once I discovered that I was going on the trip in early May, face book helped me find out who else was going on the trip. I found out that a few of my friends were also going with me to Greece. We decided to get together and celebrate our good fortune. We enjoyed the evening and took some pictures, every chance we got we would remind each other about the trip.

I would have to say that the biggest thing to take away from the trip is to get to know people in the group even if they are good friends to begin with. I came on this trip knowing a few people, I came back knowing more and expanding my group of friends. Not only did I come back with more friends but also the memories that our group shares. Between good company and good memories, the little things are what can make a trip really fun.  You should enjoy as much as possible, because I was able to wake up semi early and stay out late, It seemed that I saw so much more; it felt like I was in Greece for a year instead of a month. Being able to take in more and laugh with others made this one the best trips I have been on. As I said in an earlier blog, you have to enjoy the little things, but I have to add that as well you have to find the good in all things as well. Like when it’s dumping rain and you are inside a café playing cards waiting for it to stop, telling stories and jokes. If you can smile, you will enjoy everything around you more no matter what.

As the last few hours of being in Greece, we wanted to recreate the photo we took almost 7 months ago. It was the “After” picture, even though we did not have sparkling cider it still worked out.  

My Moment in Greece

Anonymous

Honestly I don’t have one favorite moment in Greece, the whole trip was amazing. One of the parts that I always enjoyed was when a group of us were sitting in a café for drinks. It could be in the morning grabbing the first cup of coffee, or at night drinking the last cup or cocktails. Most of the time, we would keep an eye out for cafés as we were walking though the city, they were everywhere. The fun part was that no matter what part of the city we were in, there were different styles cafés everywhere we went. We never ran out of places to go, unless we wanted to revisit any certain place because there were really good desserts, drinks, or Ice cream. The best part of the cafés was the conversations and jokes that were told, along with the company that we had. It was the best way to start and finish our days in Greece. As a group I feel we got to know each other better when we had a chance to hang out at the cafés, I would recommend it to everyone. 

Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts

Anonymous

Wow, where did the last few weeks go, we have only been in Greece for 3 weeks but it seems like it has been months. Today was the first day I truly felt like a tourist, but I enjoyed every bit of it.  Once we were at the airport in Rhodes, it felt like we were going home. Then I realized Athens wasn’t my real home, but I was ready to go.  When we took off, you could see the clear Sea below and all of the white house’s and knew it would be a long time before I would be able to see it again. When we landed in Athens it seemed like it was a long time ago when we first landed. We were told that we were going to eat a class dinner later that night, so a group of friends and I went shopping for souvenirs and food in the free time we had.  We discovered that the hotel had an outdoor hot tub, so we decided to try it out. The best part was when it began to get dark; the Acropolis was lit up and in plain sight. Dinner was truly amazing, but there was way too much, I don’t think anybody finished their meal.

I look back and hope I will always remember the time I had in Greece. I have had a great adventure with new and old friends, had some great quinine, and saw ruins of old.  Now the night has slipped away, and now early in the morning I write my last blog to all, but as most people know Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, but not too fear, I am Swiss.

LAST CALL!

Anonymous

LAST CALL!

Today is the last day in Rhodes Greece, tomorrow I am getting on the plane back to Athens; shortly after that hopping on a plane back to the states.  My time here has been something unforgettable, I have seen different cities, islands and ruins. I have seen more thunderstorms in this last week then in the last few years.

I would say that this was a good day to end the trip on. We went to Lindos by bus and we had “Jimmy the Greek” as our tour guide. Even though it wasn’t tourist season we still had a good tour of the town and some of the stops on the way back. I learned the Greek time is the way to go, apparently they can accept change really easy.  Once we were at the locations of the springs, we were told we can jump in for a swim. Being the water nut that I am, they didn’t have to tell me twice. I jumped in and enjoyed every minute of being there.    

I finished off the day by getting back into the sea when I got back to the Hotel.  There is a 20 ish foot dive block out in the water which I decided to checkout since it would be my last chance. Dinner was amazing and finished off the night with a good drink and now that I am packed, it has set in that I am going to be home in a few days. I plan on enjoying the last few seconds of Greece and their culture as much as I can. But for my last words of wisdom, remember it’s the smaller dowries you want.  

Bad Romance

Anonymous

Today’s blog is about the bad romance in our lives. From what I can see there is plenty of bad romance in my life, you have all the super stars going in and out of relationships, young people who don’t know what they are doing and bad teen novels.

 I see romance in general a long dark hallway with several doors and some sconces on the walls. The doors that have lights working next to them are ones that you can knock on.  Once you knock, you never know who you will find opening the door. I see bad romance as a game of ding dong ditch, you don’t get to know the person and find reasons to say things won’t work.  

I compare bad romance to an extravagant life style. When you have things like the 3^rd most expensive vase in the world sitting in your living room, you should be spending your money on something else. But I won’t deny that it brings great bragging rights, but that can only get you so far in life.

I leave you with a final peace of knowledge, if you see the window of opportunity take the chance, see where it will take you.  Bad romance fills our lives, but I really suggest to find the good in it when you can. 

Body and Soul

Anonymous

People wonder what happens to the soul once the body has expired. No matter what you believe, there is a better place where your soul can go to meet those that passed before yourself.  The place where we all go in the end in my opinion is in the eye of the beholder. You can’t just live by the rules or commandments of your faith but you have to also be true to yourself; sometimes that can be one in the same. I think that you should be open to everyone and what they believe. If you feel you are better then someone just because your faith says “you will be saved and not others of non faith,” I think you should take a different translation.  One’s soul is the most important part of the body; it is a piece that cannot be forgotten no matter what you believe.

This trip to Greece is a good trip to go on, its food for the body and soul. In my 17 days of being away from home, I have learned about a different culture, diet, language, and transportation expectations. I feel I have lived here for almost a year.  My soul is at peace, some of the sights I have seen take you back in time where these great structures have been built and all that is left now are some pillars. Mean while the more resent sitting in a cafés till 2am is always a plus; there are good drinks and great company, though out the time at the cafe a conversation that makes you think and some good inside jokes are told. A piece of advice I would pass on is to enjoy the little things; sorry I just quoted the movie Zombieland, but remember to not only feed the body but also the soul. 

Gross the Greek

Anonymous

Today we dove more into the Greek culture, we went to a small town by the name of Symi. We started off the day by going to the pier to catch a ferry after breakfast. When we were sitting on the boat we noticed that some dark clouds were approaching and made us wonder if it was going to be a good idea to go when it’s pouring outside.  The nice thing in my opinion is that the Greek climate is close to homes climate.  My favorite part of weather change is when it has just dumped rain and the air is really fresh afterwards. Today I experienced one of the biggest down pour’s that I have I have seen in a long time. There were rivers flowing in the middle of the street. The reason was there was a thunderstorm at the first part of the day when we sat down for coffee.  Once it stopped and we finished our drinks we headed out to explore.  We could see a few different churches from where we stood, so my group made a tentative plan to go find those churches and anything else we would stumble on. Symi is built in a hill, so from the start you are walking up hill though narrow allies. So narrow a car has to push in its mirrors otherwise they will not be there anymore. 

We stumbled upon a small museum; we discovered it by a small sign that was on the wall pointing the direction we needed to go. Once we were done with the museum we decided to hunt down the church we saw earlier. The problem was churches looked alike and were EVERYEWHERE. So once we saw a few we decided to check out the old castle ruins on top of the other hill. We discovered that we were not able to go as close as we wanted, but we did have the privilege to get to see an amazing view of the whole town. After we were satisfied, we all were open for looking to eat at one of the local restaurants. The food there was just as good as Greek food should be, everything worked out. Once we were done we wanted to go sit next to the water and enjoy the sounds and sights. We continued to do that until the ferry came to take us home. Today was a good day; there was great food, friends and sights to see. I am starting to get used to the Greek culture. For now I am Gross the Greek. 

Choose Wisdom

Anonymous

With great Wisdom follows great knowledge. I believe you cannot have one without the other. In High school one of my favorite teachers (drafting) told the class that, “We can gain only true wisdom and learn true knowledge.” The difference was who the teacher is, for instance if someone older than yourself informs you about the problem it becomes wisdom being passed down. If you are the person that discovers the solution the hard way it becomes personal knowledge. In this day and age, it’s always better to listen to others and gain from their wisdom, but there are some people that still are stubborn and only will receive knowledge. There is nothing wrong with receiving help from one side, but in the end its better to have a balance of both knowledge and wisdom.

Today we didn’t push the time, but one of the better parts of today was the swim in the Mediterranean Sea. I loved the feel of the salt water; it was also 10 times better/warmer then home. We were able to relax and enjoy the day which was really needed.

I can see Turkey from my house

Anonymous

After a notice that we only had 15 minutes to load the bus, we jumped out of bed and fished cleaning and the last of the packing. We arrived at the Airport and didn’t seem to have any issues getting on the plane. Once I was on the plane, I don’t remember the take off, just waking up wondering if we had moved yet and to my surprise we were already over half way. We arrived in the town next to Rhodes and you can tell the difference between the hub of Athens and this part of the country.  

The blog title is true; I can see Turkey from where we are, the Mediterranean Sea is our front yard. In the first two hours of our landing, we get to our rooms, unpack, visit the beach, explore and eat some really good food. I look out on to the beach and know before we leave that there will be a picture of me in the Mediterranean. I am excited to continue my adventure and see more of Greece. 

THIS IS SPARTA!

Anonymous

A long bus ride and a great nap was how we started off the day. Today we mixed a little bit of pop culture with history. We stood on the walls of Mistras and were able to look down on what is current day Sparta. Once we were done exploring the monastery we drove though Sparta and decided to have a local meal and some gelato. As we were walking around town, I was keeping my eyes open to hopefully get a glimpse of the pit of despair.  No such luck. But I did find a really cool statue and heard the locals yell “THIS IS SPARTA” at our group. After a reenactment of the Sparta kick, and feeling like I just ate too much gelato, we loaded the bus to head home. I can’t believe that we are going to be in Rhodes tomorrow. 

Remember the Titans

Anonymous

I write to you at an early hour of the morning, this may or may not be a bad idea, but life goes on. I had an interesting day; we were able to see one of the first cemeteries in Greece. The odd part about the trip was being in awe about all of the marble carvings. But the first thing that crossed my mind is that how can I be respectful of the dead and still want to take pictures of what I see. For me death is not where it fully ends, but either way you should still respect the people buried around you, they have earned their peace. I feel that those of us that hang on to those we love and are buried will continue to look over us, maybe not in protection, but in guidance or wisdom. We can always learn from our ancestors and friends no matter where they are at.   

Children of Light, Children of Darkness

Anonymous

From the darkness came the light. It feels as if we have been in Greece for at least a year, but no it’s only been 11.5 days. I can’t believe that in the next few days, we will be in another part of Greece. We will be flying out to the Island Rhodes and staying there for the last week of our trip. I am glad I was able to come on this trip; I have great company, food, sights and outings.

Today after class and a quick bit to put our feet up, we headed out and took a tour of the college of Athens. We saw where our professor studied for a while, but the best part was seeing him run into some of the facility that he worked with; it was a fun reunion.  Once we jumped on the packed transit bus, made it back to our apartments and figured out our plans for the night. It’s Tuesday at Mikes Irish pub and karaoke again. Last week was a blast so it’s going to be even more fun this week. Since we had a little while till the pub, a group of us cooked up a small random dinner. We didn’t rush off anywhere and find places to eat, we stayed cheep and enjoyed each other’s company at home. Once we figured out who all was going to Mikes, we were on our way and conquered the 30 min hike to the pub; but it was a good hike. A good time was had by all, songs were sung and yes I did decide to jump up on stage and give it what I got. First song failed, second one flawless, and I am not going to tell which ones they were. But all in all even though we didn’t see as much of Greece as we had the first few nights, we saved money had a good time and enjoyed the time to relax. 

I was there!

Anonymous

Today was an adventure; we were out on our own and decided to see the 2004 Olympic stadiums. We figured out how to use the metro and discovered that a portion of the track was under construction causing us to transfer a couple of times. On the way to the stadium, the metro wasn’t too packed.  But one the way back, it was a different story. We discovered that rush hour means rush hour. The trams were packed to their capacity. But the best part of the Adventure was we were able to go inside of the indoor pool and take some pictures. The down side that I noticed was that most of stadium was closed off to the public. We then when to where the opening ceremonies were located, and looked for some food. Being right on the water, we were looking at the sea food places, found the perfect one with an amazing dish of Cod with garlic sauce. We were able to finish off the night with a desert that I had a few nights ago. The day was one of the best and supper yummy. 

People!

Anonymous

Today, I write this blog after I have done my morning shopping. I decided to cook breakfast today, so I went and bought some of the local produce, it was pretty fun. I am looking back to what we did yesterday, we did so much but still had time to relax with a good movie or two. We were able to visit the Acropolis on a clear/cloudy day. Not only was it great day but there was no admission.  The hike to the top didn’t seem too bad; I guess I am getting used to the hills in Greece.  The view was one of the best I have seen in a while, in one direction you can see the sun rays lighting up the city, and in the other direction you see them lighting up the coastline. I couldn’t believe I was there at the Acropolis in Greece. The thing that made this outing was the reactions that people gave us when we shot our video clip for back home. I ran into some New Yorkers as well, they said that they had just gotten here, they wanted to know what to see, and I said everything. 

A look back in time and to what comes next

Anonymous

Today was really fun and educational, we got a chance to look back into history; we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The museum had several different types and eras of artifacts. It was overwhelming how much it really had. I think some of the better exhibits were the bronze and gold findings and how well some of them were intact. It was mind blowing of the sizes of some of the pieces and the attention to detail. I was shocked at some of the practices that they used then, they are almost the same thing we do today.

After a great day and a fun adventure, I was ready to explore another side of Athens. The plan was to head toward the coast to enjoy the evening on the beach. This can never be a bad idea, this was proven when we saw an amazing sunset and stayed at a café with really good food. No matter the time of year or the hour of the day, the beach is one of my favorite places to spend time. If you have good friends, time and a good sense in direction I would suggest for you to try it, I was lucky enough to have all three. The tram ride reminded me of home because we have a similar system called the MAX. We were able to see a different side of town and visit the warm peaceful coast. This trip gets better and better every day. 

Live Free - Die Hard

Anonymous

Judith 16: 21-25

21 After this they all returned home to their own inheritances. Judith went to Bethulia, and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was honored throughout the whole country. 22 Many desired to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life after her husband Manasseh died and was gathered to his people. 23 She became more and more famous, and grew old in her husband's house, reaching the age of one hundred five. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasseh; 24 and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest kindred. 25 No one ever again spread terror among the Israelites during the lifetime of Judith, or for a long time after her death

This photo and reading match because both deal with people standing on a very firm point. You would have to be there to understand what I am talking about. But for those that don’t, one of the curators was very avid about the viewing hours. They saw our gourp waiting patiently behind another goup going though the museme, but when we politly asked if we could have a few extra minutes to veiw the last few rooms, she said that no, and that was final. This was the nice version.

When you go though the reading, you discover that Judith  was also stuborn to live the life style she did. This was a type of stuborn that was oposit of the curator of the museme, being sturborn isnt always a bad thing. As you can see, Judith was trying to help those in need to to maintain being a ‘good person” Both of these people stood for what they believed in, and made sure others knew about it. 

Let's Do The Time Warp Again

Anonymous

Today was better than planned. The plan was to visit Delphi, which are ruins where one of the oracles were located and the museum that was close by. Instead we did that AND we were able to visit a monastery as well. In this surprise visit, we saw some Icons that were really well preserved, and some that needed some help. But for a place that was about 1050 years old it was extremely impressive to walk into a building that just had its millennium birthday a half century ago. This was really cool to be able to walk in the path of times old; not only in the monastery but in Delphi as well.

Once we got to Delphi, I noticed that we were not alone. Another group of travelers was joining us, this made me relies how more important this place was, it wasn’t just a bunch of stones assembled in an odd fashion. This was the place where people came to receive wisdom and guidance. There were markers and a map of what the layout was thought to be, those were helpful to understand what it looked like when it was in one piece. They say a picture says 1000 words, but being there in real life says a 1000 more.  Being able to walk where they walked, see the view they saw, and watch naked people compete in the gymnasium like when they did it when it was whole.

When I look back on the day, I want to tell you my favorite part of it, but I can’t pick one thing. We had an amazing view, great weather, a surprise visit, a trip thought the museum, saw important ruins, good company and  the bus ride was even fun. This trip helps prove history is one of the best parts of our lives, you look back and almost wish you were there. 

Sorry the picture is kind of fuzzy, it looked good on the smaller screen 

The peak of my day and Athens

Anonymous

Today we started off the day by working on homework and getting ready for class. I am tired from the Karaoke the night before, which was great fun: D. I am excited to go to Delphi tomorrow, but for now I am still tired. I am trying to see everything I can because I don’t know when I will have a shot to some back here. But the best part of today is taking a long hike to the top of the hill overlooking Athens. (The name is escaping me now.)   But either way, the hike was defiantly worth it, the view was amazing  even though fog came in today. Once I was done looking at the view I followed the class to the café on top of the hill. This view makes me want to do it again on a clear night. Inside the Café It was the coziest I have been so far, comfy chair good wine, good company and a amazing view. What all could I ask for.

Visions Of Greece

Anonymous YOU CAN! After another fun filled day and a little bit of class, I am getting used to Athens. This is a great city, you can do anything, "you can change the world." is written in big red lights on the building. One Person fighting the everyday hustle and bustle will make a point faster than someone going with the flow of traffic. When one wakes up, you should remind yourself YOU CAN! You can do anything when you put your mind to it. It only takes one person to change the world, the hard part is getting others see that the change is for the better. The story the little engine that could comes to mind when I see this building. Because “I think I can, I think I can” is repeated though the engines’ tale. Even though the odds were against the little engine and everyone thought it couldn’t be done, it still prevailed in the end. So remember YOU CAN!

Opposition or adaptation?

Anonymous

Today started off extremely different then the day before. I heard the beeping of my watch going off this morning and when I looked outside to hunt for the sunrays I had almost expected to see, but they were gone. Groggy from little sleep I began my day. We had an orientation first thing in the morning then we headed out to explore Greece. Once we were back, we attended our class and discussed our texted books. Plans were then made to head out for the search of dinner, once our small group was ready to explore, we had decided that we were going to head near the café’s we saw the night before. Everyone said this was an amazing meal, and we finished it off by talking at a nearby Café for 2-3 hours.

When someone asks me how I might adapt to the new surroundings I find myself in I only have one response. I am going to do what I can to not stick out like a sore thumb. I know there are some things that I won’t be able to change about myself, but I do what I can to blend in. I don’t know if there would be anything I would not be willing to adapt to. This is because I figure I should try everything at least once. Some of the things I would like to bring back to the United States is the quality of the food being served to Americans and all around provide healthier choices on the menu. Every culture is different; the United States seam to base the food market on quantity over quality.

Not only the change in food would be nice, but also the environment in which we eat in. The United States pushes a customer once they step in the doorway. Meanwhile in other countries, some of the best time I have had so far is sitting down relaxing and eating a really good meal and talking for hours on end. It is extremely nice not to be rushed out the door; you can talk to your friends and take your time on the meal.