Exploring Greece was a journey of discovery, going through its rich history and vibrant culture, leaving me inspired by the experience of the trip.
Some differences that you caught right away when first arriving in Greece was the transportation and infrastructure. Majority of the buildings here in Greece are low-rise buildings, that is on purpose so that no building will block and be as high as the Acropolis. Another major cultural difference is that even though their native language language is Greek, they make it standard to speak and understand English and even convert basically everything from menus to signs to English as well. In the U.S. it is mainly English all the way around. Greece also has a feel of a more quiet and relaxed pace of life.
Some key places we went to was the Roman Agora where the economic state of Athens through trade and commerce grew, as well as the Ancient Agora was the site where democracy affairs would happen. Some other notable sights from the trip were visiting the Acropolis. On the Acropolis we actually got to see the Erechtheion where the competition with Poseidon and Athena meet with Cecrops to dispute over who gains the city, we also got to enjoy the architectural details of the Parthenon and how it was designed as an optical illusion to correct the error of human eyes. Lastly we also visited the grand Temple of Zeus, the Arch of Hadrian, and the really cool olympic stadium.
This trip gave me the first hand view of the birthplace of democracy. I gain the knowledge of the importance of citizen participation and free speech. Learning about the big three philosophers; Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, I understand a little more the importance of the socratic method and logical reasoning and how their way of passing on their information was not just a transfer of knowledge but a transformative journey of critical thinking, self-discovery, and intellectual exploration. And from the Greek and Persain wars we got to see the strategies this empire used to have such a great defeat of Persia and that puts into perspective of preparedness and foreseeing. The history of Athens, included many times of conflict and rebuilding, which demonstrates the resilience of Greece.
