Amanda Amari

​Today was our first full day in the city of Athens, Greece, and it was beyond amazing. I saw more culture and beauty than I ever expected I could in such a short amount of time. We started our day in the morning by climbing to the top of the Acropolis to see the Greek Parthenon. The view of the city as we climbed to the top of the Acropolis was the most spectacular part. You could see everything in the city from the top of it. We learned that the Parthenon was used to store gunpowder during the Persian war. One night during the war the building was shot and all of the gunpowder exploded. The inside of the building and the walls was almost completely demolished but much of the outside structure and columns still remains intact. You can still see how beautiful the architecture is and imagine how it must have been when it was first built. 

​After the climb to the top of the Acropolis, our tour continued on to the archaeological museum. The museum was built on top of the old ruins. The floors at the entrancewere built of glass so that visitors could see the marble ruins at the bottom below us. The museum had hundreds of finely carved statues throughout it. The tour guide told us that the statues were all buried in a cave hidden during the Persian war. The statues represented everything from everyday Greek citizens to the mythological gods. It was a great representation of their history because many of the statues were still very well intact. 

​Our day of exploration continued on even after the guided tour. Many of the group went to these beautiful gardens in which they had little ponds and quiet, enclosed areas with benches. From the garden, we walked to the temple of Zeus next. Again the building was somewhat destroyed, but we could still see the outlining structure and the beauty of it.

​The last part of our exploration was of the Olympic stadium. It was absolutely breathtaking. We all took turns standing on the winner’s platform taking pictures. We met some other people in the stadium taking pictures after us that we struck up a conversation with. As it turns out, they were from Indiana and Wisconsin. One of them mentioned that he had a brother who is currently attending Purdue and I happen to know his brother. It was a really cool experience meeting someone halfway across the world that I have a mutual contact with and who happens to live near to me. It just goes to show that this is a very small world and you can make connections anywhere. It makes me appreciate Purdue even more knowing that I can find these connections through my school anywhere in the world. Today was by far one of the most amazing days, and I’m so grateful to have experienced it.

Virginia, myself, Samantha, Hailey, and Kathryn on our way up to the Parthenon! 

This is the gorgeous view of the city looking down from the steps up to the top of the Acropolis!

Samantha, myself, and Mariela striking our victory poses on the Olympic winner's platform!

This was the remnants of the temple of Zeus that we visited on our exploration today!

Courtney Emerick

Hey all! Well today is the day that we left Thessaloniki for Athens and it was definitely bittersweet. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to leave what had been our home for the last two and a half weeks. It's the place of gelato runs, crepes, conversations by the sea, and heavenly chocolate cake made by the gods. It was also where I made new friends that I hope can last throughout the school year. 

The trip to Athens was a long one. We had about a six hour uncomfortable bus ride through Greece. In between naps we would look out the windows and catch a glimpse of the scenery. I never realized how many mountains were in Greece! It seemed like everywhere we looked there were these gorgeous mountains and hills. For lunch we stopped at a cute little cafe/rests top. It was nice to move around for a bit after sitting for so long. 

Once we made it to Athens we hit the ground running by going straight to the National Archeological Museum. Fun fact about me, I absolutely LOVE museums. I think it is so cool that we get to go and learn about an ancient culture. The museum had so many beautiful statues and sculptures. One of the cool things we learned was that marble was actually in abundance back then so it was pretty normal for a statue to be made of it. It was special to have your statue made of bronze, and that's why you don't see many bronze statues from that era. Our tour guide told us that the museum we were at was the equivalent to the Metropolitan back in the states. It was amazing to see how much our guide knew about each exhibit. I wish we would have had more time to look at everything but there was just so much to see. 

After we left the museum we had some down time at our hotel before we went to dinner. It was nice to explore somewhere new for a bit. I'm really looking forward to our stay in Athens. There's so much that we are able to see and do while we are here. It has been such a privilege to be on this trip! I've had so many great experiences and I know I will have more as the days go by. I want to thank everyone who has made this trip possible for us. It really has been life changing! I know we are ready for all the adventures that Athens has in store for us! Adio! (Goodbye)

The biggest statue that I have ever seen at the National Archeological Museum.  

That's me in front of the museum ready to explore! 

                                      The whole group at the cute cafe/rest stop that we had lunch at!

Hailey Gloden

It's our last day in Thessaloniki!! 

To wrap up the final day we all split up to do one final scavenge of the city.  I went with a group to the Byzantine hill area for one last view over the amazing city that we have lived in for our time here in Greece.  As we started our journey to the hill we got a little lost and Josh had to asks for some directions, but we eventually got to the right bus stop. Like any other bus experience we have had it was crowded and slightly sticky, but oddly enough I have grown to be used to it. 

I went with Josh, Katie, and Matt to an old prison and it was a great experience.  We didn't get to go too deep into the prison which was upsetting but at least we got to go in right? After we left the prison we explored around the surrounding land and stumbled upon the best view I've had the entire trip! The four of us climbed up a slightly rocky area and once we reached the top we overlooked the entire city and it was so humbling. We were able to see a section where rain was falling and it was beautiful.

We took some pictures and Josh realized he forgot his memory card at the hotel and got a little salty about that discovery. Once we snapped some photos we walked down a ways and caught up with another portion of our group and from there we walked back to the hotel. I can't imagine a better way I would have wanted to end my time in a place that has oddly enough become a sort of comfort to me.

I am excited to go to Athens but I am equally as nervous. I know it is going to be a much more crowded place so we may not get to do as much exploring. A positive to that though is that I will most likely get some time to hang out with all of the amazing people here. I couldn't be more blessed to be here with all of these other awesome Purdue students. We have a six hour bus ride in store for us tomorrow so I am looking forward to the bus shenanigans that will take place during the drive! This trip has been one of a kind and has caused me to grow a lot. I can't thank Horizons or the ISA staff enough for allowing me to be a part of such a life changing experience. The journey that I've had so far on this trip is unparalleled to anything I have experienced in my 19 years.  There have been many memories made the past two weeks and even though I'm sad to leave Thessaloniki I'm looking forward to what Athens has to offer. It's time to say goodbye to the comfort of Thessaloniki and hello to new adventures in a new city!

                                      

The shadowy area to the left is where the rain is falling, I thought this was super cool.

Here's me behind the entry door of the prison!

Matt, myself, Katie, and the stunning view of the city.

This is the entrance of the prison!