April 2 2017

Hi All! I'm sorry it's been such a long time. I went on my school trip to Greece, and just got back on Tuesday. Unfortunately when I got back the home Wi-Fi, which had been having many problems prior, decided to complete give up. Yesterday we go everything all sorted out, and now I can post this blog.

The trip was an amazing experience especially because I have always been fascinated by greek mythology. I got to see so many special places! The sad part was that because we did and saw so many things, everything was at lightning speed and I didn't have much time to really soak in the experiences or information.

Our very first stop, even before going to the hotel, was this temple of Poseidon on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

Cape Sounion.

 The temple was constructed in 444–440 BC, over the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic period 

Proof that I was there. 

The Corinth Canal. The construction dates back to the time of the Roman Emperor Nero.

Theater of Epidauro. The women in the center demonstrated the amazing acoustics for us. She dropped a coin against the stone and the people all the way in the back row could hear it.

 I learned that all the amphitheaters are built in the shape of an ear.  

The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae, southern Greece. It was erected during the 13th century BC in the northwest side of the acropolis. The two Lions represent Greece and Crete. 

The ruins of Mycenae.

Tomb of Agamemnon built between 1350 and 1250 BC. It was found robbed and there is no information of who or what was once inside.

From the inside.

During the evenings we were often free to hang out in Athens. The city center was only three metro stops away from our hotel. I thought this picture featuring Starbucks and the Parthenon is an interesting and funny juxtaposition. 

Free morning out with my friend Dario. The base of a temple for Zeus barely makes it into the top of this picture.

Little street market.

Baklava! I was always really surprised when my classmates would buy food that they could easily find in Ragusa rather than trying something amazing and typical. 

Temple for Hephaestus! 

Morning at the Acropolis museum where we got to see the Caryatides. These six statues supported the roof of the norther porch of The Erechtheion.

My favorite day of the trip was taking a mini cruise of three of the Island. To get to the first island, Hydra, it was a three hours on the boat. As almost every night, many of the students had barely slept. We had to get up at 6 in the morning and to make matters worse it was daylight savings. Walking around the boat it looked like a zombie apocalypse with bodies draped over tables, chairs and benches. 

Hydra, with typical donkeys. 

We walked all the way up the hill to check out the amazing view. 

Tiny little bridge and fishing boats.

After only 45 minutes in Hydra we made our way back to the boat, and had lunch. After lunch they put on some greek dancing music. Soon all the Italians and two other school groups were dancing.  

The second Island was Poros and at the top was this little clock tower.

My friend Ricardo and I coping all the memes going around Facebook. How Italians take selfies! (The funny thing is, it's not just a stereotype, this hand gesture comes out a lot.)

At the last island Aegina the weather started to turn gray, and I finally got a Gyro with some friends. Unfortunately along the trip, we mostly ate at the hotel and restaurants; both served very generic food and we didn't have the opportunity to eat many typical dishes. 

The highlight of my whole entire trip was talking with this great group of girls during our three hour return to Athens. They are all from India, but live in Dubai. As an exchange student I am always interested to talk to new people especially from different cultures. I started talking with one of the girls, and was then completely surrounded by the almost the whole school group. They asked the DJ who had been playing very loud traditional Greek music for some Bollywood songs. We rushed to the dance floor and they had a ton of fun trying to teach me Bollywood moves. 

Theater of Dyonisis.

The Parthenon! Unfortunately the visit was very fast, with very strong wind and I really didn't hear much of what the guid said.

Temple dedicated to the goddess of Athens, Athena.

The archeology museum. Gold death masks found in the tombs of Mycenae.

The Parthenon at night.

The typical walk of the guard change in front of the parliament buildings. 

It was a great trip and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to go. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to visit again, and see everything on my own terms.