Nhu Pham

Today was our fourth day in the beautiful city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Our lecture today focused on intercultural sensitivity which was a very interesting topic in my opinion. As my professor defined it, intercultural sensitivity is the ability to distinguish, experience, and act appropriately in different cultures. This topic is especially fascinating to me because of the vast amount of diversity that I get exposed to everyday on Purdue campus, so it is extremely important to be aware, accept, and make an effort to adapt to other cultures. Our lecture today made me feel very privileged to be a boilermaker, representing Purdue University on this wonderful adventure learning about Greece. During our discussion, we came up with several ways to help us become more interculturally sensitive at Purdue like engage in cultural events on campus, join multicultural clubs and organizations, take the initiative and reach out to international students, and be careful about our attitude and behaviors about other cultures. 

For lunch, a group of us went to get the traditional Greek gyro which had roasted pork, cheese, fries, ketchup, and mustard all wrapped in pita bread. I'm a meat lover so I absolutely loved it! The restaurant waiter was very friendly and welcoming. She knew we were tourists, so she tried to explain to us all of the ingredients in the gyro and gave us some traditional Greek cheeses and sauces to try. The longer I stay here, the more I fall in love with the Greek cultures, language, and people. I realized that as long as you make an effort to go out of your way and interact with people, you will be amazed at how much people take pride in sharing their cultures. 

Then we had our community service in the afternoon. We volunteered at a non-profit organization called Smile of the Child. This organization was inspired by a boy who was diagnosed with brain cancer. He believed that every child deserves to have a smile, a second chance, so the organization started with the sole purpose to help less fortunate kids. The organization now has 13 homes that support 380 children. We made small crafts like paper houses and cards that the organization sells to the locals during special occasions like weddings. All of the profits go toward helping the children. I had a lot of fun because I love doing crafts and volunteering has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I also enjoyed talking and getting to know my fellow study abroad friends who have been there for me, indulging in this adventure....

Hailey, Shenetha, Josh, and I eating our Greek gyros!

A more close up picture of the gyro. 

Varieties of cheese and fries that the nice waiter gave us. 

Me making the cards for Smile of the Child :)

Sara Morrison

After a wonderful breakfast of yummy yogurt, fantastic fruits, eggs, and cakes, we had a class over Global Leadership which was eye opening. Personally, I have the mindset of “focus on the markets”; however, global leadership is more than that. Learning how to collaborate, connect, share, and develop with all the nations. 

Heading to the market was an adventure in itself as we squished between locals on the bus, trying to validate tickets…this time. We certainly were noticeable with our giggles and decided that the silver loop during winter at Purdue was most similar to this experience.

The best word for the day would have to be: FOOD. We ate all sorts of delicious and interesting things such as pastries, coffee, bread rings, more pastries, olives, tomatoes with cheese, bread with cheese, cheese with cheese, and much more! Then there was the sausage. Smoked to perfection, this sausage would make my sister impressed (that is a tough challenge with smoked meats). Between our time eating we saw many shops and met many wonderful people. Everyone here has been so kind and accommodating that our most used word is Ԑυχαριστώ (thank you). Spilios set us up with a cordial tour guide who then introduced us to many friends from a café, pastry, olive, cheese, and fish shop.  

After our large lunch, groups of us went separate ways. Rosa headed down to the market for some shopping and Josh got on a bus heading up to the top fortress. I joined him and once there we split into small groups. Josh and some other members went to some souvenir shops. Some girls and I went exploring to the top of the fortress and were able to see more houses. Life at the top is quiet, peaceful, and full of curvy roads. The silence reminded me of back in my hometown where the only noise is of birds and the wind. From there we decided to head back to the hotel. Different groups went separate ways but we all made it back in one piece. Taylor, Samantha, and I certainly took the roads less traveled and immersed ourselves into Thessaloniki’s parks, college, and elephants.  

I feel as if I can speak for everyone that we burned off all the delicious food that we had and now we are ready for more. Off to dinner with free time afterwards! 

Love,

Sara Morrison

Me and Josh eating pastries

Our first stop on the food and market tour

Delicious Greek coffee and loukoumi 

Pastrami Stop

Chef Andonis and Antonio

Jenna DeSousa

Jia sa! Today we embarked on our journey in Greece. After a long day of travel and sleeping on relatively hard beds, everyone had to muster up the strength to wake up for class at 9am. Thankfully, we delved right into the Greek culture by learning the language. We learned phrases such as hello, good bye, good morning, where is, how much is, etc... I learned how to at least communicate by introducing myself: me lene jenna. I can tell others "spudazo, ime fititria" which quite literally translates to I study, I am a student. Now we can build upon our greek knowledge as we continue in our study abroad program. Some of us also got to experience technology from the dinosaur age as we purchased brick phones to send/receive text messages from in country. It was very interesting to go back to middle school days where the only way to text a certain letter is to press the number three times. 

Beyond class, we finally were able to do some exploring. For this, we took an open air city bus, but first we needed to travel to the bus stop. We took a city bus to arrive at our destination, and it reminded all of us purdue students about the busses on campus; You know, like the silver loop on a below freezing day where everyone is shoved in like sardines. Except this one was in 80 degree weather, more humid and everything was in Greek rather than English. Okay, so almost the same thing. Regardless, it was an exciting experience even though most of us failed to validate our tickets to get onto the bus, whoops! The open air bus city tour was absolutely breathtaking. We saw so many historical monuments, brick ruins, stray cats and dogs, random people laughing at us tourists, and of course, the highest point of thessaloniki. Looking out over the city, you could see millions of houses just packed right on top of each other all surrounded by blue water. I have never seen an area as populated as this city, and I cannot imagine what the rest of the country looks like. Tonight, we also experienced a taste of the Greek culture by attending a welcome dinner. The dinner consisted of 8 different meals, all ranging from cheese dips for rolls to chicken wrapped in grape leaves with a yogurt based sauce. The best part of the meal was the dessert, when we ate tree trunk. Don't worry, it wasn't actually tree bark. It was a sweet chocolate based dessert with bread pieces topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. If heaven had a taste, it would taste like tree trunk! Now it's time to get some sleep and do all over again tomorrow. Good night, or as we would say it, kalinihta! 

Me enjoying the view of Thessaloniki from a dock in the city!

The open air city bus

Traveling to get to the bus for the open air city bus tour. 

The site overlooking the entire city from the highest point in Thessaloniki. 

Matthew Basham

Our group flew from O’Hare to Frankfurt, Germany. When we arrived in Germany the first thought that came to my mind and I am guessing to everyone else’s was, "thank the lord we are off that plane!". That flight was about seven and a half hours where we felt squished and could not sleep.

On the positive side we were given a wide range of movies, music, and T.V. shows to watch that made the trip more enjoyable. Upon entering Germany’s airport it was as if I was in a sense of disbelief. The thought of not being in the continent of North America had not yet settled in my mind. We sat in Germany’s airport for about two and a half hours then it was time to board the last flight of the day to Greece. On both flights I can say that the airline food was pretty good. The first flight had a dinner and a breakfast, while the second flight provided one meal. When we arrived in Greece we were not welcomed with the most ideal weather but it still did not hide the beauty of the city of Thessaloniki.

 The city had a vibe of closeness and felt small even though it is very large. After loading on the bus, we rode to our hotel while just staring out the window to see what this opportunity would bring us. The city was full of apartments approximately eight floors high and each of them were full of character in the design. Some floor balconies would have greenery all over the railings so whoever was living there would be able to walk onto the balcony and have a beautiful view. Upon arriving to our hotel we received our keys and proceeded to our rooms, mine was on the seventh floor. We looked out on the balcony to see a view you just cannot get in Indiana. It felt so comforting and made me feel excited to know that as I stood there I was beginning a journey that would not only change my way of life but how I see the world.

 Ready to check-in at O'Hare

Finally in Greece! That's me holding the camera

The view from my room!

Class One: Greek Survival Language Course

Professor Maria Kalaitzopolou, American College of Thessaloniki

Students began their morning with a tasty breakfast followed by Greek language instruction.

Heading Out!

Departing Purdue University, see you soon Greece!