As my time in Athens comes to an end, I am reflecting fondly on the sights seen and memories made. After just a couple days in Athens, the city began to feel familiar. I enjoy how walkable it is, the sense of community, and the cats. The atmosphere of the Plaka especially is so energizing. On the first day, we had an educational tour of the city and Agora. On the second day, we had another guided tour of the Acropolis and got to see the Parthenon up close, which was exciting because that was my team’s project. The tour guide covered our project in depth and then some. My part of the project was essentially to cover the origination of the Acropolis. I thought it was interesting how it translates to “high city” in Greek, because that is exactly what it is– a center built with both strategic and religious purposes, that served to protect the city’s inhabitants due to its elevation. The view after the hike to the top was just stunning. Then, we had a tour of the museum. One thing that I remember finding interesting is during the guided tour of the Acropolis museum, I learned the origin of the commonly used word “hygiene”. The word hygiene originates from the ancient Greek word “hygies,” meaning “healthy”. This concept was represented by the Goddess Hygieia, the embodiment of health and cleanliness.
The next day, I got a chance to navigate the city on my own when we did our scavenger hunt. This day was so funny because when we were in some obscure alley in the city trying to find a building with both the EU and Greek flag on it, I ended up running into an old friend from high school! The odds of that happening were so slim, it was incredible to see her in such a big city across the globe. That night, we did some exploring and shopping in the Plaka.
My favorite location that we had the opportunity to see was probably the Panathenaic stadium. It was so cool being in the location of the the exciting games that were initially held to honor Athena, and later to host the revival of the modern Olympic games. The skill that it took to design the massive marble stadium is a true testament to the power of the ancient Greeks.
Overall, it was shocking to see how many Greek citizens spoke English, and how kind everybody was. It’s funny because in southern America, everybody smiles at you, but people are less likely to have genuine conversations and truly help you. In Greece, “southern hospitality” doesn’t really exist, but when you actually strike a conversation with them, they are so incredibly warm and inviting and more than happy to help you.
I loved Athens, and can’t wait to continue to explore Europe!
