Katie Keifer

Beautiful Disasters

We have officially started our last week in Greece today. To kick off the morning we got a much needed extra hour to sleep before class. Our class was on the Greek economic crisis, but it also put the crisis in a global perspective. Then, after class, a group of us decided to go to the war museum in town. We had seen signs for it on our earlier museum excursions, but we didn't know much about it or its location. So we went on the hunt, and we got turned around a couple of times due to bad signs. Once we found it, we wandered a few halls filled with displays of metals and weapons. Then a tour guide named Kostos came up to us and asked if we would like him to guide us through. He started off by explaining some of the metals and weapons, and he caught us off guard when he was explaining a particular handgun and he said, "This is the gun your police use to shoot black men". I was shocked, and I gave a nervous giggle because I was speechless. It is amazing how news travels, but I was somewhat sad and almost disturbed to know that people across the world see us through the lens of the media and the stories on the news. Kostos's comment also put into perspective the lecture from the morning and how we view the Greek economic crisis through a lens that sensationalizes the crisis more than what it should.

After that comment, the tour continued more normally. It really got interesting when we ventured to the second floor and walked through the exhibit on WWII. In all of the classes I have taken thus far over history, we have always talked about wars from the U.S. perspective. Hearing about the war from the Greek perspective was like hearing personal stories of an event from two different people. It is important to look at things from all perspectives to get the full picture because some people, or in this case countries, were affected in different ways and take something different from what happened. 

To end the day we went to an outdoor cinema. The only movie playing in English was “The Humbling”, and I will say it was… interesting. Most of us were confused, and the awkward giggles and the exchange of facial expressions was the best part of the experience. After the movie was over we took the bus back to the hotel. Even though we have now ridden it at least 6 or 7 times, we forgot to press the stop button and we all had to run out of the front door laughing and in a panic. To say the locals love us would be a stretch, but at least we entertain them. 

This trip so far has been two weeks of fun, beauty, and “ beautiful disasters”, but these are the memories that I will treasure for a lifetime. 

 

 Our group with Kostos the guide. I'm the one in the white in the front left

Our group in a carrier tank at the war museum (cameraman Josh not in the picture)

The Outdoor cinema

Movie poster of "The Humbling"

Mariela Carrasco

  ​Today was our last day in Cyprus. Although we did not have an entire day to spend there, it was full of adventure. We finally took a group picture with all of us in it, and it was beautiful! The scenery around us made it the ideal spot for our "wish you were here" picture. Also, by walking to our picture perfect spot, I was able to explore the city a little more. On our way back, I stopped by a few spots that I found interesting. One was a handmade arts and crafts exhibit. There were beautiful pieces, my favorite were the wood carved hair brushes. From there we visited many souvenir shops.  At the shops, I found a beautiful little turtle sculpture, which is so far my favorite souvenir purchase. 

​After a bit of shopping came my favorite part of the day. Virginia and Gabi decided to go parasailing and I went with them. Although I did not go up with them, I got a beautiful view of the city from the boat. I was honestly too scared to go on the parasail, but I am so proud that Virginia and Gabi had the courage to do it. At first they were nervous, but after the fact I could tell they had an amazing time. I hope one day I am able to partake in such adventurous events.  

​After being in Cyprus for the weekend, I am excited to go back to Thessaloniki. Cyprus was filled with beaches, beautiful, and fun, but I'm ready to go back to the homey atmosphere that Thessaloniki provides for us. In my opinion, Thessaloniki has more of a true Greek culture, probably since they do not get as many tourists. While in Thessaloniki, we always encounter people who are so friendly and excited to meet us; that was not always the case in Cyprus. Also, I feel as if I got more authentic Greek food while in Thessaloniki, and I really miss it. So far I have loved every dish I have tried. 

​I cannot believe how fast time is going. We pack our day with so much exploration that it is over in a blink of an eye. Now, we only have a week left. Although I am very homesick at this point of the trip, I am enjoying every second of our Horizons Greece Adventure. The people in our group are amazing and the programs are so fun and full of information. I hope that one day I Can come back and continue to explore Greece.

Me getting my feet wet

Horizons group picture

Virginia and Gabi parasailing 

Garrett Swisher

Blog May 23, 2015

​Dramatic is a good word to describe Cyprus. Today, we got to see a different side of the island. Our day started off slow as we all got up and had a leisurely breakfast followed up by a quick gelato run. We didn’t have any definite plans for our day so we went down to check out the beach. We spent a few hours swimming and relaxing by the crystal blue waters before heading back to grab a quick lunch from the supermarket to save some money. We ate and shared some laughs together over our food. In the afternoon, a few of us decided to go deeper into the city away from the touristy beachfront in hopes of finding some cool places to check out. We walked no more than half a mile and we found an old Roman theatre built into the hillside. Today it is left in ruins, a shadow of what is would have been like centuries ago. It was haunting to think how old it was and that today it is still standing quietly right across the street from someone’s house. 

We continued walking and found foundations of ancient buildings dating back to the time the theatre was built. Nearby was the quarry cut into the Earth to supply the stone for these Roman buildings. Walking through this man-made cave was very cool. Steps cut into the rock and little narrow tunnels led to other areas of the quarry before coming out in the large cavern were the large stone pieces were excavated for the Roman building projects. We left the underground quarry to come out across the street from the Pafos Mall, a huge modern shopping mall. It completely caught you off-guard as it brought you suddenly back to the 21st century. It just seems very strange having these breath-taking old places sewn into the daily life of people today. You would think these places would be somewhere much more remote, but the fact of the matter is that the history is all around you. There probably isn’t many places void of history here. It is rich with it. After travelling back to the modern age, we continued down the street to find Ag. Solomonis catacombs. We were able to walk into the catacombs for a short distance but a gate kept us from the deeper sections were bodies of the ancient people of Pafos were laid to rest. From here we made a short 10 minute walk back to the hotel.Later that evening, I caught up with Rosa’s crew at a Syrian restaurant and had dinner. We got to try some interesting dishes including eggplant and some amazing seasoned hummus on pita. After that we hit a little bar on the way back where a Michael Jackson impersonator was performing. We stayed for quite a while and all had a great time. 

This study abroad experience has been amazing coupled with our great group, we have been learning cool things and making memories that will last a lifetime.

Me on a rock

Entering the quarry

The main room in the quarry

Having fun after dinner

Faith Dalton

Today we headed to Cyprus for a weekend adventure.  Our day started out with an early morning, since we had to catch a bus to the airport.  We expected the bus to be less crowed since it was early.  However, the bus was packed and this time we all had our carry-on luggage.  After the bus ride we arrived at a small airport. The airport was very efficient with getting us through the line quickly and onto our small Ryan Air flight. 

We arrived ahead of schedule and hopped right into the taxis that lined the sidewalk of the airport.  I have never traveled before this trip, so when I hopped into the taxi and saw the driver on the left side I was confused.  Then when we started to drive away, we also drove on the opposite side of the road.  Many of my classmates have traveled and have been to countries where they drive like this, but I was so fascinated by this experience.  Finally, we arrive to our beautiful hotel.  We arrived ahead of schedule so we couldn’t check in right away, but this wasn’t a problem because we all were starving.  We grabbed our maps and headed out to find a unique and non-traditional place to eat.  A small group of us stopped at a seaside café.  The prices here weren’t what we were use to in Thessaloniki, but the food was worth the money.  While relaxing and taking our time to enjoy our meal, the small group I was with began to people watch.  We all concluded that Cyprus must be a place where retired people choose to move to and hoped that one day we too would be able to retire to somewhere beautiful.  Once we paid and did some souvenir shopping the group I was with headed back to the hotel to wait to check in.  The staff at the Pryamos hotel worked hard and was able to allow us to check into our rooms a little early.  This was wonderful since all we wanted to do was change into our bathing suits and hit the beach.

I was finally standing on the sand after a short walk from our hotel.  I just stood there for a while taking in the wonderful breeze, the fresh air, and the friendly locals.  After Katie and I found a great spot, I couldn’t help but dip my feet into the clear water. The spot we were at had sand and also some large rocks that were perfect for climbing.  Then, I positioned my chair perfectly and settled in for a couple of hours of relaxation.  

Once the sun had set, it became very cool so Katie and I changed out of our bathing suits and headed to the market with some others to get dinner.  We all grab random items and sat along the seaside and had a picnic together.  This was a wonderful way to end a perfect day. 

Love,

Faith

Waiting for the bus

The first look of the sea

Spontaneous picnic 

Me at the beach!

               

Taylor Rhymer

We are coming near the end of the trip we have a little over a week left. This trip so far has been such a great experience, and there have been so many friendships made. Greece has been a very welcoming place the locals are all very kind and helpful. Today we started out our day with a Guest Lecture on Greek History, after that we had some free time. With our free time a group of us decided to go to the White Tower and take a tour of it. The White Tower had six levels to it and as you went through each level you got to learn more and more about how Greece’s boardwalk was formed, and what happened during the fire that took out a lot of the city of Thessaloniki. So we kept climbing the tower and learning all of this new information on the Greek history, then we got to the top and at the top of the White Tower there was the most amazing view. We could see so much of the city just from this one spot. 

After the White Tower tour we went to find lunch, we ate lunch in an outdoor restaurant. It was very nice, our waitress did not speak much English and the menu was for the most part in Greek so interacting with her and learning new ways to ask questions was fun.  We pointed to pictures to ask questions and when she spoke to us she used the little bit of English she knew, she spoke with her hands and she also pointed to pictures. It was neat to interact with her even though we did not speak the same language. 

After lunch every one relaxed until our cooking class. Antonis Theodorakis who is a chef here in Greece taught a cooking class, we made two different dishes. The first dish was called Tzatziki Sauce; it is like a cucumber and yogurt sauce. Some of the restaurants that I have tried while in Greece serve it with fried zucchini or French fries. Then we made Dolmadakia Yalantzi with herbs. It is vine leaves stuffed with rice, dill, and spearmint leaves, then you bake it in the pan with onions and fresh lemon juice. Learning to cook these dishes was a lot of fun because that is something we can take home with us and share with our family and friends. The trip so far has been amazing and taught me so many new things and I hope there is only more new and exciting things to come as we finish the trip. 

Adio(goodbye), 

Taylor Rhymer

At the top of the White Tower

Chef Antonis Theodorakis and I 

Dolmadakia Yalantzi in the pan and ready to be cooked. 

Learning how to make the Tzatziki Sauce.

Samantha Fisher

I wish I could tell you about everything I have done so far, but that would be impossible.  This experience has defiantly been one for the books, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share it with. Within the short amount of time being together, a group of strangers became great friends, and I know that we will extend these friendships beyond Greece.  

This morning we survived our first storm, I’m sure the locals thought it was amusing seeing a group of Americans running as if we were going to melt.   It only lasted a couple hours, and that Greece sun came right back out to brighten up the day!  We started our day off with class at the Folklore Museum where we learned about the history of Greece, and then ended it at the Byzantin Museum.  It was really interesting to have a guest lecturer come and teach us about the history because it was very memorable.  

The best thing about Thessonaliki has been the many adventures that we go on each day.  Even for the couple hours that we had free today, we managed to explore a part of the city that we hadn’t seen yet.  Only ten days in and my perspectives on life, cultures, people, and traveling have changed in such a great way.  Before being in Greece, I didn’t take much time to think deeply about my life and my abilities as a student.  We often get caught up in our busy, daily tasks to take a moment to see how blessed we are or taking time to experience different parts of the world other than what we are accustomed too.  Trust me, just within the time I have stayed in Greece, my eyes have been opened to a culture that has impacted me with not only cool adventures, but personally.  I know that I will leave here with a different perspective on life, and it will help me become a better leader. 

Lastly, I want to go over a few of my favorite things about Thessonaliki, Greece!  I absolutely LOVE all of the cafes that are around the city.  Each café has a different style, and wandering the back streets of the city is where you will find the best ones!  It’s been really enjoyable sitting down and just talking to people instead of, what we are used too, having our phones in our faces the whole time.  My other favorite time so far was our adventure to Halkidiki, where a small group of us were beach bums for a day!  We laid out and napped on the beach for six straight hours, and I got to enjoy some seriously delicious seafood.  

To say I am thankful for this opportunity is an understatement; studying abroad here in Greece has impacted me on so many different levels!  I will not go home and just remember the things that happened in Greece.  Instead, I will leave with new friendships, a new perspective on culture, and a new outlook on life.  

​

Thanks Greece for all of the adventures so far!

Samantha Fisherfolk

This is me at the Byzantin Museum

My adventure in town this afternoon!  Authentic gyro for lunch and Katherine and me in the taxi.

 A few of the MANY cafes around town. From left to right (Me, Quynh, Katherine) with our juice and coffees! 

Our adventure to Halkidiki.  My yummy fish I got at the restaurant.  

Rosa Villarreal

While Josh hiked with 17 students on Mt. Olympus I gave the remaining students an option to take an overnight trip to Halkidiki, a peninsula and part of the region of central Macedonia in Northern Greece. We got up bright and early to catch a train to Ouranoupoli, a part of Halkidiki. Luckily, our hotel in Thessaloniki has a sister hotel where we were able to get a wonderful corporate rate of 16 euros each for the night.

We easily found the hotel and headed straight to the beach, later on that evening we ate at a beautiful ocean front restaurant. The receptionist at the hotel called the restaurant and a waiter actually picked us up and took us back to the hotel once we were done eating!

The next morning we took a three hour cruise around Mt. Athos. It is a self governing island off of the Halkidiki peninsula. Mr. At how is currently home to 2300 monks that live in one of the 20 breathtaking monasteries. The first monastery was built in 963 on Mt. Athos.

The monks live according to the sun and not traditional time. Their days consist of three parts of eight hours each. Prayer, work, and sleep. No women or children are allowed on the island and few male outsiders are granted privelage to visit.

After our amazing tour we hopped on the bus to head to Thessaloniki in time for our sunset tour. Overall, the trip to Halkidiki was seamless, peaceful, relaxing, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring. The girls and I easily navigated travel and language barriers with ease, although we missed the rest of the group we loved every minute of our adventure!

The peninsula of Halkidiki

The five students who ventured with me to paradise

Our dinner near the ocean

Our cruise ship

The gorgeous waters

Mt. Athos

A closeup of the monastery 

Kathryn Moro

As I have enjoyed everything so far on this study abroad, I find it hard to settle on one thing to discuss. We are about a week and a day into this now and  I feel like I have been here forever. I feel like it is fairly easy to fit in and find our way because everyone is so nice and friendly. Greece has beautiful sites and I love exploring the city. So today after a wonderful Greek style breakfast and our class on self-efficacy and stories (which was one of my favorite classes thus-far), a couple students and I went to visit the market and the square of Thessaloniki. A lot of us wanted to go back and to buy some souvenirs, so we spent today doing that! After buying some, we ate some delicious sandwiches and then visited the Crepe shop that everyone had kept talking about. We really wanted to experience it for ourselves and we for sure did enjoy it! I ended up splitting a nutella and banana crepe with a couple students with me because the crepes were just too big for one person! After tiring ourselves out from the shopping and stuff we came back to indulge in the “siesta time” that the Greeks follow (really trying to experience the culture…lol). 

After naps and dinner, a couple of us found ourselves anticipating the time until the artist was coming 

to share his artwork. His name is Φώτης Ασπρομάτης (Fotis Aspromatis). Little did we know that we 

were going to be able to actually draw a little with him and edit some of his work. When he arrived at 

the hotel, which is where one of his biggest artexhibits is, he told us a little bit about his style and 

work. He worked through a translator because he only spoke fluent Greek. After telling us about his 

art and showing us his favorite pieces, we then all went to the room and he took out “pre-drawn” 

pictures that he didn’t fully complete. He had left them that way so that we could embellish them in 

our own ways and then color them when they were finished. The pictures portrayed sites of Venice, 

Thessaloniki, dolphins, and one of his famous portrayals of women. He had only made 6 and there 

turned out to be 7 of us that attended the workshop. I got lucky because he then worked with me to 

draw a new one and I got to see him in progress as well as he let me make changes and embellish it in 

my own way. Out of all we have done so far, I have to say that this was truly my favorite activity. I 

really enjoy drawing and being able to work one-on-one with a Greek artist was an amazing 

experience. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this amazing opportunity will turn out to be like!

ΚΑΛΗΝΥΧΤΑ (Goodnight), 

Kathryn Moro

Me in the square of Thessaloniki, after shopping for souvenirs, enjoying a delicious crepe.

A collage of me working with the artist and one of his pieces on show in the hotel.

A “before and after” of the art I worked on with the artist. (still not fully complete)

A group photo of all of us with the artist after working on our art pieces.

Meagan Hughes

Today marks a week since we arrived at Thessaloniki.  It was set on our calendar as a free day and I woke up at 8 a.m. exhausted, running on a busy week with little sleep.  I was very tempted to turn off the alarm and bypass the museum visits we planned to go to on our own.  Somehow I dragged myself out of bed and grudgingly got ready for the day ahead despite my extremely sore calves from hiking Mt. Olympus yesterday.  Good news: what I assumed would be a day full of dull, lackluster hours turned out to be my favorite one on the trip thus far!

We started at the Greek Agora and Roman Forum where we brought out our inner goddesses by posing on pedestals and saw the crumbling ruins of where the city used to come together to settle their important business transactions.  This museum taught me so much about Greek history that I hadn’t the slightest clue about.  Anything from what they did in their pastime to how a boy became a man.  The security guard even shared a fun fact: playing games with a ball was started in Greece (specifically..not Spain!).  

A few of us decided to have lunch at the rotating tower. AMAZING VIEW!  It took an hour and a half for a full rotation and was definitely worth the visit.  I also tried a FreddoCappuccino for the first time and as a coffee guru, I must say I definitely approve and will be requesting it when we get back in the states. 

After lunch we went to the archeological museum.  Here I personally was so inspired by the ancient art that they dug up from centuries ago along with other artifacts like weapons, armor, jewelry, and even skulls.  The museum had a lot of modern technology that made it interactive which was a lot of fun!

After a day full of a boatload of information, we literally got on a boat!  The sunset cruise was the most relaxing end to an exciting day.  Sitting on the bow of the boat, bonding with classmates, and taking an insane amount of pictures…what more could you ask for?

It is hard to believe that a week has already gone by.  We still have two weeks left in this beautiful country but I know time is going to fly.  I can’t wait to see what other exciting adventures are in store for us!

Best,

Meagan

  

Courtney, Gabi, and I posing on pedestals at the Greek Agora.

My amazing dessert at the rotating tower. Walnut pie!

 Jenna, Anna, Sara, and I on the bow of our boat! 

 Matt and I at the beginning of the sunset cruise.

Josh Milligan

When Rosa asked me to write a blog post about our hiking trip to Mt. Olympus I jumped at the opportunity. Undertaking this hiking trip was one of my goals for this year's study abroad experience, I knew that they would all be familiar with Mt. Olympus and I wanted to give them the opportunity to hike this storied mountain. I fully expected them to enjoy our trek and to be blow away by the beauty that surrounded them. What I did not expect was how much the hiking trip, and our students, would impact me.

In my mind, before we left, I was envisioning starting at the base of the mountain and hiking up as far as we could, then hiking back down. Instead we were taken up into the mountain and dropped off at a monastery. Initially we were going to just undertake a short hike to a cave and back, however, many of the students wanted to hike more so instead our guide suggested we hike down the village at the base of the mountain and our bus would pick us up there. 

What we did not know at that time was that it was 7.7 km (just under 5 miles) to the village. At the start of the hike everyone was in good spirits, there was a great deal of laughter, and we stopped to take pictures often. As the heat of the day wore on, and we were, seemingly, no closer to the base students began to get sore, tired, and cranky. As I look back on the day with fresh eyes (and no longer sore, tired, and cranky myself) that's when I see what was truly awe inspiring about the day. 

Our students.

Many of them had only hiked a time or two in their lives, they were wearing tennis shoes and at best athletic gear, and they were not mentally prepared for what ended up being a five hour hike. And yet, they made it down that mountain. They encouraged one another, they shared their food and water, they lifted one another up, literally at times, and they finished the hike. Together, as a family. 

I think this trip meant so much to me because it so perfectly encapsulates what I love about Horizons. Our students are often faced with seemingly impossible challenges, and under the banner of Horizons they meet those challenges headfirst. They find the connections, and the family, they need not just to survive but to thrive. They are the embodiment of perseverance and they demonstrated that on the mountain. Olympus National Park is an absolutely stunning place, but the beauty of that place is nothing compared to the memory I'll cherish of my students succeeding together.

 

"Tricky stream crossing"

"The group at one of the many bridges"

"The same bridge, this time with context"

"Towards the end of the hike, our energy was a little low"

  

Shenetha Sheperd

I went hiking on Mount Olympus today. Before I go on, I want to start by stating that I'm not a very outdoorsy person; I’ve only been hiking once besides today and it was a very thrilling and terrifying experience that I swore I would never do again. Despite that promise,  when I was given the opportunity to go hiking today, I couldn’t pass it up. Seriously, how often does one get the chance to go hiking--on Mount Olympus, IN Greece. I had seen the mountain from the plane and I knew it would be even more spectacular up close. And it was. The group of study abroad students that chose to go hiking (which includes me, of course) got to the mountain around eleven in the morning. We were driven to the top and let out to hike down a  trail that led to the bottom of the mountain. We started out by touring the ruins of an old church, but eventually we moved on to regular hiking. Everything started out really exciting; my group and I were constantly stopping to take pictures of the clear-as-glass rivers, the unbelievably gorgeous waterfalls, and the view that stretched on forever. About an hour and a half into the hike, everyone began to really focus on the hike (and less on selfies), which was good because focus quickly became a necessity as loose rocks threatened to undo us. We traveled across so many bridges and up so many stairs that exhaustion quickly became a shared emotion among the group. At that point, we were stumbling and screeching our way through the mountain and some of us were getting worried that we’d end up trapped and injured in the mountains with no way to call for help. If I’m being honest, I was one of those someones (give me a break, though, it was my second time hiking). I couldn’t be too scared though, not with my fellow classmates and friends encouraging each other to push on and keeping the mood fun. Matt, who is also a study abroad student, was especially helpful; he came prepared with snacks, extra water, and a first aid kit (which came in handy on several occasions). 

The trail itself was encouraging, as well, as each rounded border led to another view more beautiful than the last. The trail, in an effort to torture our muscles, repeatedly changed direction taking us down the mountain and then all the way back up. Eventually, we made it to the end of the mountain, though--slightly worse for the wear, but it was definitely worth it. Mount Olympus was more beautiful than I hoped and I’ve never felt so appreciative to be a part of nature.

I'm the one in the front, hiking on Mt. Olympus

The waterfalls were so amazingly beautiful!

Horizons Study Abroad  2015 hiking in Greece!

Amazing view from Mount Olympus

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