Submitted by Amanda Kucharzyk on the 2019 winter session program in Athens, Greece sponsored by the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences…
I am by no means a city girl. Born and raised in rural Sussex County, Delaware, I was a bit nervous about navigating Athens. However, I was not going to let that get in the way of my first full day in this city of culture. Armed with street maps and open minds, my travel companion Chelsea Lee and I set out to explore the city.
After a morning in the National Gardens, we also managed to check out the Zappeion, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and Hadrian’s Arch. I was excited to experience the architecture since I had learned about it in my Greek and Roman art history course at the University of Delaware my sophomore year.
We finished the day at the Panathenaic Stadium, which is where the first modern Olympics were held. Down below in Stadiou Square, a car show was going on. In the distance, Mount Lycabettus towered over the city. It was intriguing to see the clash of modern happenings and ancient relics. Athens is certainly a city of profound history and culture.
Using the metro and reading a map came much easier than I expected, especially with Chelsea’s help. Greece is the twentieth country she has visited, so she was an old pro. On the metro intercom, we were greeted by a resounding “επόμενος σταθμός, Σύνταγμα” (“Next station, Syntagma”). It was time to head to our orientation before we got to experience Greek cuisine with the rest of the group.
The best surprise of the day was getting the chance to have dinner with University of Delaware’s President Assanis, who was raised in Athens! He and his wife went around to every single student to welcome us to Greece.
Everyone was impressed by how much Chelsea and I managed to accomplish, especially considering how jet-lagged we were. In one day, we already covered some of my favorite things: horticulture, art, and food. This experience with city life will definitely be valuable to me in the near future when I am attending dental school in Philadelphia next fall!
