Talk about an awesome Spring Break...I spent a week in Athens, Greece with 23 other Steinhardt students and four chaperones as we learned about "Humans and Nature" and environmentalism. I'll try to keep my commentary about the trip to a minimum but all in all it was an incredible trip!
First of all, the trip was part of a Steinhardt program known as the Dean's Research Travel Colloquium--one of the Scholars programs within Steinhardt. Each year, three sites are selected with three different themes and students elect to apply to one or more of the programs. Once admitted (to only one), students attend classes about every other Friday for the whole semester preceding the trip. Then, over either Winter or Spring Breaks the students travel to their respective locations and conduct research projects that are presented upon return (my presentation is tomorrow!).
I selected to go to Greece because it tied into one of my education classes last Fall (2007) that focused on Environmental Education, and I have also been wanting to go to Greece...and this was an amazing opportunity! Fortunately I was accepted along with 24 other awesome peers who made the trip even better than could've been expected!
A quick rundown of the program with some descriptions of my favorites:
-We arrived on Sunday and immediately walked to a restaurant with a beautiful view for an authentic Greek lunch (one of many absolutely delicious Greek meals). We then went on a walking tour around Athens and to the Acropolis and Parthenon. For dinner we went to a restaurant in Plaka where they had live music and after we ate we were invited to learn some Greek dances--it was great!
-On Monday (my 21st birthday--St. Patrick's Day too, had we been in the States), we did some really awesome things. First we stopped at the Corinth Canal and then continued on to Mycenae and Epidaurus. When we went to lunch everyone sang Happy Birthday to me (the tour guide sang it in Greek too) and they gave me an ice cream sundae--delish! But, the best part was on our way home when we stopped at a unit of biological cultivation of olives. This was possibly the most authentic experience someone could ask for when going to Greece. We walked through trees (and wondered where we were being led) and finally arrived a little further in where a table was set up with bread, wine, olive oil, crush olives, and whole olives--and an awesome Greek man who spoke to us about his olive farm. His presentation was in Greek so it was translated by our tour guide and professor. We then had the chance to feast on everything which was soooo good. It totally made my birthday! That night a bunch of us went out for a low key but fun night to celebrate.
-Tuesday we went to the Antonis Tritsis Park at Ilion where we learned about the park and the services and amenities it offers. We were also videotaped to be on the Greek news doing a segment on volunteerism. That's because after the presentation and the tour of the park, we did some community service to help beautify the park. Unfortunately, I was too enthusiastic and after three digs into the dirt to replant something, I got a thorn stuck under my thumb. How come I wasn't even going to be able to participate in one of the things I was most excited for? Well, that wasn't okay with me so after we disinfected it, I put a band-aid and a glove on and decided that I would help the garbage picker-uppers instead. We had a lot of fun! After the Tritsis Park we went to Archelon in Glyfada which is a sea turtle rehabilitation site. They take in sea turtles with any injury and nurse them back to health. We got to see some turtles and hear their stories--and I did some research for my project! The sun was setting while we were there, right on the water, and it was absolutely beautiful!
-Wednesday we went to Delphi and had a tour and learned a lot about mythology and how the site was affiliated with the stories. Lunch was with the group at a taverna on the way back to the hotel.
-Thursday, due to a national strike, some of our trips were cancelled so I went shopping with 3 other girls in Plaka before meeting up with the group for lunch and a tour of the Agora (former marketplace). Then it was back to shopping, a nap, and a 16-person outing for dinner!
-Friday was our last day there and we went to the island of Aegina...it also happened to be the only day that it rained. It was still really interesting because we went to a wildlife rehabilitation center (EKPAZ) where we saw a baboon, rabbit, rooster, owls, foxes, a snake, vultures, flamingos, and some other animals. It was sad hearing some of their stories but it was also another experience that I would never have had without being on DRTC. For our last night we invited a Greek girl we met out to dinner. We also ended up hanging out with Greek cops we had met earlier in the week and we all danced to the live music they had at the restaurant. It was a fun last night.
-Each night a group of us went out to dinner to a different restaurant near the hotel and had the opportunity to try all different Greek meals--and eat lots of Greek salads (in case you forgot, I love food!) We often walked around and explored different areas after dinner which was tons of fun.
So that was our itinerary but it doesn't do the trip justice. We had a great time and had some very unique and memorable experiences. The fact that Steinhardt offers this opportunity is amazing and I'm so fortunate for having been able to take advantage of it and benefit from it!