Submitted by Ashley Logue on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Athens, Greece sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures…
There are many things that Greece does differently than the United States. One thing that I particularly enjoyed about Greece is the amount of stray, yet friendly animals there were. Anywhere we went in Greece, whether it be Athens, Nafplio, Aegina, there were always stray animals. They were always friendly and coming up to say hello. I think they really loved the attention. One thing that I learned about these animals is that the government in Greece actually takes the time to have them checked by a vet and get their necessary shots and then they are released back onto the street. It was really interesting to think about how these animals are treated in Greece versus the United States. In the United States, they would probably just be sent to an animal shelter and wait to be adopted. But in Greece, it was like these animals were adopted by the locals. Many shops and restaurants would have food and water bowls outside their shops so animals could eat and drink. And I think the way that these animals, especially cats, just wandered around the city with no need to look for food or drink, they were just so friendly and they just wanted a little attention. I will definitely miss all of the animals that we got to met while in Greece. No matter where we were there was always a cat or dog to be loved!