Day 7 - Mar 30
Attica, GR
Today's bloggers: Tanaz & Sophia
We started our day off at the early hour of 7:30 to get breakfast and lunch at Kekkos. Kekkos was closed! We adapted and overcame our obstacle of no Kekkos. After sourcing our food we headed to the bus to start our excursion. We landed at Thorikos to explore the washeries and outside the mines. When we got there, we sat in the theatre while PCC lectured us about the history of the site. A highlight of our lecture was learning that the shape of the Thorikos theatre was not common as it was rectangular instead of circular. We love a good fun fact! We also learned about the process of separating the lead from iron in the washeries. When placed into water, the lead sank for easy separation. Next, the lead was smelted twice to separate it from the silver. Wow!
At our second stop, we went to another site that consisted of several grave mines. We were there for around an hour and a half as we walked through the trails. PCC temporarily led us astray but we put our heads together and found our way back. The views were amazing and it was very interesting to see one of the locations that were leased for private use. The slaves in this site were bought to dig in the mines until they ultimately met their demise due to constant exposure to lead. The death rate was so high that the owner of the silver mines continuously had to buy slaves. Sad.
Finally, we took the bus to Sounion to visit the Temple of Poseidon. After a short walk up the hill we reached the marvelous temple. At the top of the temple, PCC gave a quick lecture then released us for around 15 minutes to take lots of pictures and enjoy the area. The view was absolutely breathtaking. After taking many pictures throughout the day, we finally boarded the bus at 3:30 and headed home. We ended our excursion with a recap outside of the CYA center.
To end the day, we went out for a nice dinner then back to our homes.
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Day 6 - March 29
Athens, GR
Today’s bloggers: Ben and Max
Today was the start of our first weekend in Greece. We all took it pretty slow today. Some people used the morning to rest, while others woke up bright and early to make the journey to the beautiful Lake Vouliagmeni. The early risers met at Cafe Kekkos, where we discussed the plan over cappuccinos and croissants. At the cafe, Max and Ben explained the detailed plan to get from Syntagma Square to the lake using only public transportation. After a 15 minute walk, 30 minute train ride, and 50 minute bus ride (including a missed stop) we arrived at the lake. The lake was surrounded by staggering cliffs and a blue sky that made the long journey well-worth it. We all received personal pedicures from the native species of doctor fish which ate the dead skin off of our feet. After our spa treatment, we swam the length of the tepid lake to earn our milkshakes and fries from the adjacent restaurant. Jack, Felipe, Max, and Josiah competed in a swim race reminiscent of the Olympic games. Jordan made a new feline friend, and Xander and Sophia lounged in the sun.
Those that stayed behind enjoyed a day in downtown Athens. Jacob used the day to do laundry at the CYA facilities, Caroline went shopping in Syntagma Square. Maddie and Erica welcomed a newly arrived friend from Dartmouth with dinner, and Aryah and Julianne went on a very long hike through the city. Overall, it was a day full of rest and relaxation for our crew, as we prepare for our day trip to Southeastern Attica tomorrow
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Day 5 - March 28
Athens, GR
Today's bloggers: Josephine and Margaret
Hey everyone! So far, everything has exceeded all expectations! The scenery, the history, and most importantly, the people, have been fantastic. Today, like yesterday, we spent some time at the National Archaeological Museum looking at Mycenaean and Minoan artifacts! Alongside our time in lessons with both PCC and our CYA professor, we got up to some fun adventures, including shopping in Syntagma (the main shopping/downtown area), exploring the statues in the courtyard of the museum, and finding local cafes! Some of our other ventures include…
I (Margaret) learned how to navigate the Athens public transit system with a dead phone…turns out those few days of learning Greek on Duolingo was worth it!
Josephine, Julianne, Tanaz, Jordan, and Ryker walked the 40 minutes from the museum back to our apartments, exploring all corners of the city. They met some street cats (they are everywhere) and tried to learn the differences between types of Greek fast food (spoiler alert…no one here has the hang of it quite yet).
Sophia, Josiah, Jack, Josephine, Julianne, Max, Ben, and Filipe played some basketball at a local court!
As a group, we are all talking advantage of the 3 euro gyro stands, teaching ourselves Greek recipes, and learning to appreciate the Greek cuisine (and prices!). Not much to complain about here as we look forward to our first excursion out of Athens this Sunday! See you in Eleusis!
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Day 4 - March 27
Athens, GR
Today's bloggers: Erika and Tori
Hi! Today was an amazing day! We had many firsts.
We went to the National Archaeological Museum for the first time… we also:
- Took our first quiz (we memorized several dates related to Ancient Greece, and the locations of several ancient regions around the Aegean)
- Turned in our first group paper which was about taking a stance on whether the Mycenaeans had their own distinct artistic culture or if they just took art pieces from other cultures
- Used public transportation for the first time together (the trolley)
- Many of us practiced our freestyle rapping skills on the trolley to/from the museum with beatboxing by Tori
- Maddie and Maeve had their first nutella crepes in Greece and loved them!
- Many of us worked on our first assignments at the nearby cafe, Kekkos together
- I (Erika) found the animals section of the national gardens on her run (pictured at the end)
- Many of us tried a Greek pasta chain called Mailo’s that was delicious!
- Some of us got soft serve ice cream in Greece for the first time and it was so good
- Max picked oranges from the tree outside our classroom which some of us tried to eat
- All of us had either our first or second day of class
All before the start of the spring term in Hanover! Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting the museum again, trying more new foods, going to the farmers market for produce, and getting ice cream again hopefully!
Here's photos of our trip to the museum, including our first lecture with Professor Christesen and many pieces of Mycenaean art.
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Day 3 - March 26
Athens, GR
Today's bloggers: Hadley and Gracie
Day 3 in Athens! Half of the FSP group took our first class this morning, Myth and Religion. After searching high and low for our classroom, we settled in for an exciting two hour course on the meaning and function of myth, the evolution of the Greek word “mýthos” throughout antiquity, and modern definitions of myth. After class, we split off for lunch until 1:30, when the entire group met at College Year in Athens for guided tours through our neighborhood, Pangrati. The best tidbit I received was about the weekly fresh fruit and fish market behind the grocery store on Fridays. All the oranges dangling from the trees here are incredibly tantalizing! After our tours, everyone did their own thing. Some people went out for a run (apparently not a popular Greek pastime), others explored local food shops, and a lot of us studied for our first quiz on an overview of Greek and Roman history.
Finally, we reunited for dinner at Vyrinis restaurant, where we got a taste for some traditional Greek foods: fried feta cheese with honey, country salad, bread dipped in tzatziki, falafel, and more. If we were in the U.S., we would have shut the place down, but Greeks have dinner much later! It’s safe to say that everyone went back to their apartments full, happy, and looking forward to tomorrow’s class: Topography and Monuments.
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Day 2 - March 25
Athens, GR
Today's bloggers: Julianne & Angie
I still can’t believe our very first day in Greece lined up with Independence Day. It felt like the perfect welcome. This morning, Hadley, Jennifer, Caroline, Max, and I (Angie) headed out together to watch the parade. The energy in the city was insane - there were flags everywhere, people gathered along the streets, and a feeling of real national pride in the air. The military parade was very impressive, with groups of soldiers marching in sync, tanks casually on the street, and jets across the sky in a flyover. Everyone around us looked up at once because there was a huge and incredibly fast jet, and it gave me chills. It just felt so surreal, like, we’re actually here. I don’t think any of us expected our first day to be that powerful.
Later in the afternoon, we had some time to ourselves, which was nice. A few of us wandered around a bit, grabbed some water and snacks, and tried to process the morning. Eventually, the whole group gathered again for an orientation meeting with PCC. It was good to get a sense of how the program will run, best practices as a person and as a group, and it honestly made everything feel a little more real. Maybe some might relate, but up until now, this trip has just lived in my head as a plan I was looking forward to, and it’s kind of crazy that now it’s happening. After the meeting, a bunch of us decided to hike up Lykavittos Hill. I’d seen pictures before, but being up there with the view of the Acropolis and the city below was insane and nothing really compares. It was a pretty brutal walk (one might simply call it a hike), but was very worth it. It was one of those moments where you just pause and think, okay, this is actually my life for the next couple of months and I’m so grateful for that!
After the hike, we made our way down to Monastiraki and found a place to grab gyros. I don’t even know how to describe how good they were - so simple but so flavorful, and we were all starving, so that probably made them even better. They made them fresh, right in front of us. We ate them standing in the middle of nowhere, outside, talking and laughing and just kind of basking in everything we’d done today. It already feels like we’re forming a little community here, and that’s something I didn’t expect to feel so soon. If today was any indication of what’s ahead, I think we’re in for such a transformative FSP!
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Day 1 - March 24: Arrivals
Athens, GR
Our brave and independent students have made it to Athens without a hitch! Let me tell you about our area and accommodations! We are being hosted by College Year in Athens (CYA), a study abroad institute dedicated to teaching students about Greece and the Mediterranean and its landscapes, history, and monuments. Our neighborhood, Pangrati, is a warm and lively area with an artistic feel full of cafes and bars, local restaurants, green areas, and several cultural institutions. We are a mere 20 minute walk away from the Acropolis, as well as being close to the National Gardens, Kallimarmaro Stadium (home of the first modern Olympics), the Cycladic and Benaki Museums, and more! Today, all our students have on the agenda is to check in at our CYA building, move into their apartment buildings, and go to orientation.
Scroll through this photo gallery to see our bright-eyed and bushy-tailed scholars, who are all very eager to start exploring Pangrati. (Our students who arrived in the evening didn't get their photos taken, but they will be featured soon!)
