Written by Italy & Greece Semester Students, Cat & Laura
This week we ended our stay in Crete and said goodbye to Xeno and Marcos. We hope to see them again in Athens at the end of our trip. We were sad to leave the beautiful community within the village but we bid our fair wells and headed off to Athens for the next couple of days.
We arrived at a funky cool hostel with amazing staff (who let us keep some bags there until we return in 2 weeks!). Later on we trekked out to go see the Parthenon bright and early on national monuments day (who would’ve thought lol). Standing in-front of Parthenon is probably something I will never forget. We have witnessed so many places rich with historical significance on this trip. To walk where the people in our history books have walked. These key figures in human civilization.
Anyway, we each chose a place on the hill to tell the group about as we walked around which was very fun and gave us a fuller perspective on what we were seeing. We also saw Acropa-kitty! A tiny little cat who was just wandering around the ruins. Afterwards we went to the museum which was also fascinating. I especially enjoyed seeing the spaces left for the items still stuck at the British museum.
Later on, we had free time where we all got to choose whatever it was we wanted to do with our limited time in Athens. Within these free periods some of us went out to the contemporary art museum, others to the war museum, exploring the artsy neighborhoods, going to the flea market, checking out some old antique stores, or getting some delicious food. Athens is a special city. Its a place for explorers. There is so much stuff to find within this city if you set out with the intention to look. I personally love all the art. I find it so beautiful how the whole place is covered in art by some incredibly talented people. I am a person who loves and needs to be surrounded by creativity. So, Athens very much spoke to me.
Our group also went on a small hike together up to Lycabettus hill which is the highest point in all of Athens where we got to see the sprawling city in its entirety even see the mountains and ocean bordering it. Some people also went back at night to go watch the sunset. The last activity we did as a group was go to a little jazz bar!! The music was great and we all had the chance to get mock-tails. It was the perfect end to our stay in Athens. Now we are currently on the bus to re-green!!
What were the top highlights of the week?
🐣 Celebrating Easter in Crete, going to the Acropolis, and going out and listening to live jazz while in Athens. Starting on Friday and ending on Monday there were Easter celebrations. During our Greek lesson we had earlier in the week we dyed eggs red, then played a traditional egg game where we hit the ends of the eggs together and which ever one didn’t break won. On Friday night, a few of us went to the church in town to go to Easter service, then on Saturday night we all went down to Ierapetra to go to the big Easter celebration. That night a few went to Easter service and all through out the streets there were small homemade fireworks going off. It was so cool being able to celebrate Easter there. We got to learn so much about the history of the holiday and experience it first hand. We also had an amazing Easter lunch that was delicious.
🇬🇷 On Tuesday we walked over to the Acropolis, luckily it was national monuments day, so we were able to get in for free. The Acropolis was so cool and while we were there we saw Acropa-kitty!
🎺 During our last night in Athens we went to a cute little place that was just a short walk away from the hostel. There we listened to live jazz music and sipped on mocktails. Mara’s friend also joined us that night and it was so nice getting to know her.
Our transformations are never without challenges – what was most challenging for the group this week?
Something the group was challenged by this week was the change of place. We spent the the last few days in Athens, the first big city we’ve been to in Greece. While there we’ve been able to see the differences between the major cities in Greece and Italy. The food here has also been different, but the culture and care around it hasn’t changed. A few of us are still accidentally saying Italian greetings and we are getting Italian and Greek mixed up, but we get a good laugh out of it. Hopefully our Greek gets better as we spend more time here.
What has surprised you about your host community, culture, or destination?
Something that was surprising was how welcoming our host community was. Our time in Crete overlapped with Easter. In Greece, Easter is a super big holiday, the kids have two weeks off school, it is like their Christmas. While we were staying in Crete, the family that was cooking for us stayed that weekend and made us a traditional Easter meals. It was so nice of them to prepare those meals for us on the holiday and it added so much to the experience. A few of their family members came to the village to celebrate with them. Their sense of hospitality was amazing and even though they didn’t know us that well, we felt well cared for by them.
❤️ Until next time, Spring 2023 Italy & Greece Semester!
