Submitted by Samantha Burke on the 2022 winter session program in Greece sponsored by the Department of English…
So far my time in Greece has been filled with so many experiences it is hard to believe we have only been here a week. The first couple of days were of course a little anxiety-inducing, as many people told me they would be leading up to the program. It took me a moment to get adjusted, and it was honestly challenging to sleep in a different bed, in a small room with other people I didn’t know yet. I didn’t come to Greece with anyone I have known previously, but we are all experiencing this new country together and it has been such an incomparable experience to anything I have ever done. It is obvious how grateful we all are to be here, especially because we had so many unknowns all the way up until we were on the plane to Greece!
Our time here has certainly been jam-packed with a lot of activities including several group lunches, and many excursions, notably to the Acropolis, one of the most famous places in Athens, and its attached museum, which were just stunning and full of history provided to us by our lovely guides. The monastery Hosios Loukas, a small church tucked all the way up at the top of some huge mountain had one of the most insane views, I could ever even imagine. These two sites were made even better due to the fact that we are here during January and basically got these views to ourselves!
The views we have been able to witness really speak for themselves, but even their beauty cannot be captured digitally. Breathtaking is really the best I could do to describe what we have seen, and the city of Athens is one that is filled with so many picturesque destinations and even the most average streets have mountain scenes in the background or beautiful pastel architecture that I could never get sick of looking at.
They do restaurants a little different here as well, which is something I wasn’t really aware of. Just more of a relaxed vibe, and once servers come around, it can be challenging to get them to come back! Not the biggest deal of course, but certainly a minor culture shock. The hills of Athens are also something I was not prepared for, we spend our days climbing up and down hills, even in the center, everything seems to be on a slight incline!
Overall, my time in Athens so far has been filled with views I have never seen anything close to my entire life and so much more, and I can’t wait for the rest of our program!
