Monday, May 18, 2015

Antonio Rosa

We’re just about a week in. If I could, I would sit here and type up every little detail of what has happened so far and how I feel about everything. Unfortunately I can not, otherwise you would be sitting here all night reading. Even though everything has been amazing, I want to try to express to you all how much I appreciate and love the group of people who I have been blessed with to spend these three phenomenal weeks with. 

I am usually a pretty shy guy, and I typically stay to myself when I am around people who I don’t know. I was worried that I would be closed off from the others on this trip and not be able to really enjoy it due to my shyness. I was completely wrong! RIght from the beginning everyone was getting along. By the first night it felt like I have known everyone for years. We even started having inside jokes with one another and felt comfortable enough to playfully pick on each other. What really impresses me the most is the fact that there aren’t certain groups or cliques that people stick to. When we have free time and we decide to explore the city it is never the same people together. I would feel completely comfortable and excited to go out to eat or visit the market with literally anyone in the group, and it seems like everyone else feels the same way. 

Since everyone gets along, it really makes the group activities that are planned for us way better! We feed off of each others energy and it makes every experience ten times more enjoyable. Today we were able to get a demonstration of some greek dancing and then we were taught a few steps to impress all of the Greek ladies and gents. This experience involved us getting very close to each other even though we were hot and sweaty. Instead of complaining or refusing, we all laughed it off and did the best Greek dancing we have ever done in our lives. Then later that night most of us went to visit a salsa club and had a blast. As I was dancing I looked around and saw everyone dancing with each other and switching partners. It seems like every event that we attend, the bond between the group continues to grow and grow. 

These are friendships that I know will last longer than the three weeks we have here. The people who you travel with definitely makes or breaks the experience. I still would have enjoyed learning the culture and all of the sights, but having these amazing people here with me is truly a blessing. This trip so far has simply been τέλειος (perfect)!!


Some of us on the boardwalk after a long walk from the mountains

A group picture before the Greek dancing session 
(I'm the guy laying down on the left)

Hailey and Sara enjoying a run together. 

The welcome dinner