Γεια σας from the Hellenic Republic, also known by most of
the World as Greece!
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| The View on the first night from my hotel! |
I have been in this beautiful country for over a month and I
cannot believe how fast the time has flown by! Since being in Greece I have
explored Athens, I visited the Oracle at Delphi, tried my hand at Greek
cooking, met some stray dogs, learned the Greek alphabet, and flew to Barcelona
Spain.
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| There are stray dogs everywhere! I am in love!!! |
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| Souvlaki |
Since arriving in the land of over
3000 islands the days have been a whirl wind of exploring one of the most
unique countries in the world. AIFS (the American Institution for Foreign
Study) and DEREE (short hand for The American College of Greece that no one
knows the meaning of) started out the Study Abroad program by immediately
immersing all of the students in Athens and the History of Greece. During the
first weekend in Greece the Study Abroad Students were taken on a walking tour
of Athens. We were able to walk through the old neighborhoods that surround the
base of the Acropolis and see the small homes that made up the area. We were
then treated to a local delicacy known as Souvlaki. Souvlaki is what most of
the world knows as Gyros, however in Greece “Gyro” is the meat that spins
around an open flame that is shaved and then put into the pita. This meat is
than accompanied by a sauce either tzatziki or another sauce depending on the
meat, then there is tomatoes, onions, sometimes lettuce, and always fried
potatoes.
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During the Greek Cooking class held in the Residence Halls we learned how to make ΝΤΑΚΟΣ (dakos) and TZATZIKI two typical Greek foods. The NTAKOΣ is pictured above.
I have been asked by a lot of
people how the current situation in Greece is and I would like to address that
question here as well. Before I say anything I should point out that I have not
be reading any information on the situation from any news sources American or
Greek. This is because I want to get a feel of how the Greek people are
reacting to the New Leftist government elected. So all of the opinions stated
are from my observation by talking to locals and what I have learned in my
Modern Greece a Troubled History Class if there is false information stated I
apologize... To begin I would like to talk about the feeling surrounding the
elections. The Sunday of elections two of my roommates and I traveled to
downtown Athens, in the shadow of the Acropolis lay Monastiraki one of the
busiest squares in Athens. On this warm Sunday afternoon the streets of Athens
were deserted except for hundreds of news cameras that were interviewing the
few locals that dared to wander to narrow streets. The people of Greece had
scattered to their neighborhoods or cities of their birth to cast their crucial
vote and Athens looked like a deserted city that tourists had no idea was no
longer functioning. The days following the election results I went back
downtown with Alice who is the AIFS representative that is an asset to have in
Athens and she mentioned how different the Greeks felt now that their
government was supporting the views of the people. Before the election there
were cops stationed outside all of the government buildings and the people felt
like they were in a police state, since the elections there are cops that just
sit on the main roads watching cars drive by because they have nothing to do.
The people are hopeful for the new government and the metaphorical light that
has shown itself, instead of protesting against their government the people
have gathered in support of the government standing up to the European Union. I
do not know what lays ahead for Greece but I completely support the views of
the citizens, a government should represent what is best for the people and
what the people want. Even if the government may not stand in favor of what
more powerful countries believe.
Changing pace completely I want to
talk about visiting the Oracle of Delphi.
The story goes that two fishermen
were visited one night by a dolphin (delphin) that could talk...after realizing
that this wasn’t a normal dolphin (shocker) they followed it to the mountain
side. The area Mount Parnassus was said to be the center of the world at the
time (Zeus let two eagles go on both sides of the globe and where they landed
was where Delphi was) and actually according to scientists the location of
Delphi was in fact the center of the known world at the time it was
established. The two fishermen worried about how they would survive in the
mountains since they were fisherman that were accustomed to the sea and the
dolphin told them not to worry because soon people would be bringing them gifts
that would more than make up for the lack of fishing...
flash forward and the
Oracle at Delphi became the most important Oracle in Ancient Greece...even
Alexander the Great consulted the Oracle before going out on his famous
conquests...however when he went, the gas that caused hallucinations in the
priestesses was too strong so the priestess refused to see him, not taking no
for an answer he grabbed her hair and she said “You cannot lose,” satisfied
with that answer he left. It is easy to see why people of Ancient Greece would
travel to Delphi to consult the Oracle not only is it beautiful, but standing
on the mountain side and imagining what the ruins looked like covered in gold
is thought provoking and the idea of how important the area was for the Ancient
Greeks draws up stories from all over the Ancient World.
In one of the walls
there are inscriptions written by people that were once slaves, but were freed.
The path leading up to the temple of Apollo is steep and the fountain where the
people had to wash themselves before entering the sacred land is intriguing. If
only the ruins could talk.
A couple of weeks after visiting
Delphi the AIFS Group was taken on a tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon. I cannot
begin to explain the feeling of walking on top of the Acropolis, the first area
inhabited in modern day Athens.
The great people that walked on the path, saw
the view, and built the Parthenon that even in shambles is more beautiful than
any modern day monuments. No words will ever begin to describe the beauty found
in Athens. So I will post some pictures that will do this Ancient City more
justice.
Finally, since arriving in Greece I
travelled to Barcelona, Spain. While in Barcelona I attended a Barça game and
visited Montserrat. Pictures are below. If you enjoyed these pictures you can
stay up to date on all of the pictures I post of Greece via my Instagram @KitKatLage!
