Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Tara & Ariana  We embarked on our student direct travel pizza mission in Napoli! Eating pizza, island hopping, and visiting mystical ruins. We maxed our selves out with pizza and pastries. Clocking 30,000 steps a day trying to soak in the most of the days we had left. Leaving Napoli we were back in Rome, and smelling the end course. We started… Read More

  Written by Italy & Greece Students, Katie M. & Conrad I. Since the last blog we’ve moved away from the city of Rome and have been staying at a farm right outside of the city of Matera. For the past week we’ve been working with volunteers from the organization B-link, olive harvesting, visiting the local primary school, and learning about different duties on the farm like cleaning up after… Read More

  Written by Italy & Greece Students, Iris & Rob Since last week, we have finished our stay in Panta Rei. Doing day trips into town and learning Italian by a very patient Chiara. We got to explore the surrounding area and learned about sustainable living, such as water conservation, and learning various other ways to live in accordance with principles of self-reliance. We met many great people that took… Read More

  Written by Italy & Greece Students, Rob & Josie  Roads knotted and paths forked, the rebellious stature of hundred-year-old cypress trees, and the subtle sound of bushes on our path whispering out the name of the wind. This is the picture we would like to paint of our few days spent tracing the cobbled steps of history on the Via Francigena. Along they way, we took took a trip… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Students, Marielle M. & Katie M. After our time in Florence, our group travelled to Paladini to spend the week camping. This provided us the opportunity to spend time in nature within a community that focuses on living sustainably and is open to host many volunteers. In the mornings we would help with a variety of projects such as paving, chopping firewood, collecting chestnuts and… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Students, Conrad I., Mason E. This week, we left Greece and travelled to Florence, Italy. We did a walking tour of the city, seeing the statue of David and other famous monuments across the city. We also visited the Uffizi gallery as a group, seeing many famous renaissance art pieces. We also visited Orti Dipinti, a community garden in the heart of Florence, which is… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Students, Malee G. & Josie B. We ended our stay in Athens and drove up to a sustainable living community near Larissa called CobGreece. During our stay, we learned about mud-building, foraging, and the process of pickling (so we left Cob with a doghouse that we helped to mud-build and pickled zucchinis!). Sleeping in tents, relying on solar power, and using compostable toilets were new… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Students, Charlotte B. & Iris J. After spending a week on the island of Crete, we said goodbye to our wonderful hosts and locals we met along the way. On Wednesday, our group landed in Athens, Greece, and had a chance to explore our city. Over this past week we have had many great opportunities, learning the basics of the Greek language, including a traditional… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Ariana  This week has been all about getting to know Greece and each other! In addition to Greek lessons, we’ve also learned about Ancient Greek philosophy and the Parthenon, and even mastered a few traditional Greek dances. Food continues to be plentiful here in the village and nightly appreciations and thoughtful go around questions over a hot cup of tea have become a… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Ariana  Carpe Diem Meraki group has landed in Greece! Two flights, a car ride, and many snacks later we’ve finally arrived in Crete. We’re staying in the beautiful mountain village of Agios Ioannis, getting to know each other, and eating tons of delicious home cooked Greek cuisine. This week is all about group culture, orientation, and seaside swims. We started Greek lessons with… Read More

Written By Adam & Mara Wow! We cannot believe the end of the semester has already arrived. It feels like we were all just meeting in the Newark airport and trying to awkwardly learn names behind masks. Seemingly overnight in Crete, the group formed deep friendships and became a family. Their connection and care for each other created an incredible foundation throughout the semester. Despite long travel days, rainy hikes,… Read More

Photo Blog By Liam & Mackenzie… Read More

Written By David & Kai Buongiorno from Matera! This is David and Kai, this week’s leaders. On Wednesday, we finished up our stint in Abruzzo with a 7-hour hike that brought us up to 2,000 meters above sea level. At first, our views were obscured by omnipresent mist and fog; however, upon reaching the summit, we were awed by the majestic mountain view that appeared as the wind serendipitously cleared… Read More

Wednesday: Orti Dipinti and Treedom Visit Thursday: Vineyard Tour and Exploring Florence Friday: Our Last Day at Orti Dipinti and Uffizi Gallery Saturday: Traveling to Abruzzo  MONDAY: Day Hike Tuesday: Transfer from Pescasseroli to Civitella Alfedena and Visit to the Wolf Museum “Why are they playing on that? This is for children” – Andrea Wednesday: Day Hike to Viewpoint of Civitella Alfedena… Read More

Vlog by Clemmie & Alex… Read More

Written by Aidan & Mackenzie Greetings from Italy! When you left us, we were traveling to Mondeggi from our week in Bologna: this week, as you may expect, we are in Mondeggi. From the first, we were welcomed into the communal farm with open arms, surprisingly good English, and lots of cats. The next few days consisted mainly of getting to know the flow of Mondeggi. On Wednesday, we spent… Read More

Written By Liam & Vivi Though leaving Greece was bittersweet, we were excited to arrive in Bologna and start the second phase of our journey in Italy! We were treated to our first views of the city through our taxi rides to the hostel. We settled into our hostel, a former monastery, then set out to grab some lunch and explore the city. After lunch, we headed to a nearby… Read More

Written By Clemmie & David Kalimera from this week’s group leaders, Clemmie and David! As we type this, we are on the train back from Re-Green and off to Athens, practically holding in our tears. Out the window, we can see mountains on one side and a glistening ocean on the other, with islands in the distance. This week has presented a threshold of emotions including: joy, serenity, and gratitude.… Read More

Written By Alex & Aidan This week we continued working at Vasili’s wonderful farm, where we spent the next three days picking grapes and olives (used to make olive oil and wine), getting to know Vasili’s family in order to learn from their experience on the farm, and enjoying beautiful meals by Nikki, the wife of Vasili and co-manager of the farm. Clemmie even had her fortune told by Nikki… Read More

Written By Chloe & Kai Hello from your group leaders for September 22nd through September 29th, Chloe and Kai! We kicked off this week with an incredible day trip to Chryssi Island. After frantically rushing to catch our boat ride, we enjoyed a sun-soaked voyage over unimaginably blue water to the island. The whole group was wowed by the white sand beaches and crystal-clear water, and some of us snorkeled… Read More