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 ways of living for many of us… but we all enjoyed taking a step out of our comfort zones. We met many interesting people, some who were simply stopping by on their bicycle trek through Greece, and some who were committed to their sustainable, communal lifestyle.
We left CobGreece and headed to Meteora, a stunning group of cliffside monasteries, and then back to Athens for one last night, stopping in Delphi on our way back to see the Temple of Apollo. Roadtripping around the Greek countryside was its own fun; it gave us time to talk and listen to music and see much more of Greece. We woke up very early this morning and after a plane, a train, and an automobile we made it to Florence!
Our top highlights of the week:
🇬🇷 Our final night in CobGreece! Everyone in the community got together and we sang songs and ate freshly made pizza together. As an appreciation to the community, we sang a quickly rehearsed rendition of “Dust in the Wind,” carried by the one and only guitarist in our group.
🌅 We all loved seeing the monasteries in Meteora, especially being able to watch the sunset on a cliff together (see our many golden hour pics below).
🏛️ Seeing the Temple of Apollo! We climbed the ruins of the temple and the shrine to Athena. We all enjoyed being able to see such an important monument; it definitely added to our education of Greece.
Growth comes with challenge – what are some of the challenges you’ve overcome this week?
Overall, we struggled with a number of transitions this week. We had two members of our group leave us, which was difficult for everyone. We will miss them dearly, and we enjoyed the time we had with them. In addition, we found ourselves challenged by the move from city to rural landscape. But we were able to make the most of it.
How’s the group doing?
Our group dynamic is one of the best parts of this program. We are all really committed to a supportive and loving environment for our cohort, and this commitment has been a positive throughout these first three weeks. Even though we’re sad to leave Greece, we are all looking forward to exploring Italy!
