Mykonos and Paros

The island hopping adventure continues! Thursday Journey to Greece students docked at Mykonos and immediately hopped onto a ferry to Delos where easyCruise had a set up a private tour of the archeological site. For most, this was a difficult endeavor due to the early departure time of the ferry from Mykonos (10:30 AM); most of the students had to be rolled out of bed but woke up on the rocky boat ride over to Delos. Upon arrival the students were welcomed by their tour guide who promptly escorted the group into the site; the first stop were the aqueducts followed by an upscale Delian mansion with its own mosaic and marble floors. The most amazing part of the island, though, was the summit of the “mountain”. Only a few students made it to the top, but the view was worth the climb. A panoramic view of the entire island greeted the weary climbers and provided a perfect background for pictures; the wind at the summit was blowing so strongly that students could lean forward and not fall. Friday Journey students entered the port at Paros. EasyCruise Life dropped anchor just outside the docks and the Journey students took small boats into the town. Most of the students hit Naoussa beach, went swimming, and sat out in the sun. After the sun began to set, all of the Journey students migrated back to the boat and the internet café in order to prepare for their arrival in Athens.

The Island Life!

Sorry for the delay on posting but we have been cruising the Greek Islands! easyCruise Life has taken the students on a week long island hopping excursion where there has never been a dull moment. As our master schedule stated the students were on the island of Kalymnos on Sunday taking in the sun at the beautiful beaches and enjoying the surrounding countryside. The students stayed all day in Kalymnos and broke off into smaller groups of four or five to go bike riding as well as to go kayaking around the island. On Monday, students were treated to a stay in Bodrum, Turkey where there is quite a shopping district. There were deals to be had and great food to be eaten while on shore. What was interesting about Turkey was that many of the shops preferred Euros or United States Dollars to their own currency while we were there grating the students even better deals on different clothing and accessories. At night, many of the students stayed on board the ship and went to the club located in the main dining hall to meet some of the other passengers; the ship holds quite a diverse population of people from the United Kingdom all the way to Australia! Tuesday holds the record for the best day on the cruise so far, the boat docked in Kos and the students all hurried off to hit the beaches. Kos was beautiful, to many of the students Kos was the epitome of what they had expected to see when they had come to Greece: beautiful beaches, small tavernas, and delectable food (I have never had better taramoslata). The water was as clear as glass, you could see the sea floor without a pair of goggles and there were plenty of small fish swimming around. After the beach, many of the students brought the day to a close writing in their Archeology journals or working on their Greeks in America projects that helped to wind down the day. Today (Wed.) the students landed on the island of Syros, a bit off schedule, due to weather near Paros that prevented the boat from getting near the island. This did not deter the students from going to see the beautiful Orthodox Church that lies at the peak of the town, or walking around the plaka in the island sampling all of the local Greek desserts. Syros is one of the smaller islands the students have visited but the food (every Greek rates the places they have been by the food!) again, was phenomenal. I only wish the food back in Athens was this good. As I bring this post to a close all of the students wish you the best and are looking forward to the rest of their island cruise, some are beginning to miss home and the certain amenities they took for granted (French fries and ketchup) but overall the students are having a great time discovering their roots.

For those who have not seen the schedule here is the remaining itinerary:
Thursday- Mykonos with an excursion to Delos
Friday- Paros
Saturday- Athens

E-Bulletins

Hello all blog readers! Please note that there are links to download the new JTG E-Bulletin on the right hand side of the page. We have spent a significant amount of time putting this together for you so enjoy!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD JTG Session 2 Bulletin #1

New Pictures!!!

Click for New Pictures

Four Days of Fun!

Thursday the Journey students had the opportunity to attend another symposium related to the topic of United States/Greek relations. The symposium covered the topics of the FYROM issue as well as the continuation of Hellenic ideals through AHEPA; all of the students who attended enjoyed the session very much as it gave some insight into the political climate of Greece and the United States. After the symposium, students were shuttled off to a basketball game between the AHEPA Team and the Greek national team. Almost all of the students rooted for the AHEPA team that consists of Greek American college students. The game was close with both teams scoring back and forth and FINALLY THE AHEPA TEAM WON! The AHEPA team pulled ahead for a 75-65 victory over the Greek National team and the students hopped back onto the busses to Syntagma square. Arriving in Syntagma square, the Journey students all hurried to get ready for the AHEPA hosted glendi at a nearby hotel. A local group preformed dances from Macedonia at the glendi and then invited the students to join them and dance for the rest of the night.

Friday began as many days do, the sun came up, the birds began to chirp, and the Journey to Greece students were at another symposium listening to politicians give roundabout answers to questions. The symposium was specifically geared toward the United States/Greek political relationship as well as the respective countries positions on the FYROM issue. All of the students took something from the symposium and finished their adventure at the local taverna eating chicken and green beans. In the afternoon most of the students decided to take a siesta in preparation for the "special event" that night in observance of the Fourth of July. What the students did not know was that the "special event" was a gigantic party at a Greek shipping mogul's home! The students were treated to some of the best food they had ever had and a view that rivals California.

Saturday was a free day with the students taking advantage of the Greek sun by hitting the beaches in Glyfada. The day did not entail any special significance other than it was HOT and the beaches were of course, beautiful.

Sunday the students got up early to go to church in Mitropoleos where His Eminence Arch Bishop Demetrios was performing the Divine Liturgy. After the service, students got a special session with His Eminence where the students got a firsthand account as to the status of the Orthodox Church. After the meeting students took pictures with the Archbishop and then left to get ready for a pool party hosted by the Glyfada chapter of AHEPA. The pool party lasted a few hours and then the students decided to hit the beaches for the second time that weekend.

New Pictures!

Pictures from the Glendi


Pictures from Orientation

Pictures from the Opening of the Convention

Greece Update

Tuesday students woke up to attended orientation. The University of Indianapolis, Athens hosted the students in the main lecture hall where the students filled out their registration information and were welcomed by the heads of the AHEPA educational foundation. Dr. Jim Dimitriou had all of the students give their hometowns and names during orientation as the Journey students found out how small the world really is! Many students reside in the same areas as other but have never crossed paths and now were becoming close as fellow AHEPA Journey to Greece members. After the registration, the students attended their first day of classes with a great eagerness to begin their coursework. The first day of classes admittedly is more of an administrative endeavor, but nonetheless each Journey student found each of their professors to be excellent. After the last class had adjourned, students were rushing to change for the opening of the AHEPA national convention. The convention opened on Tuesday with his Eminence Archbishop Demetrios giving a speech that praised both the efforts of the AHEPA in the United States and in Greece. The opening was spectacular. The students walked out of the meeting hall and into a beautiful reception with live entertainment and miniaturized food; there were tiropites that were rolled up like eggrolls! Students mingled with all of the AHEPA and Greek brass talking about politics and the experiances that each student had on the trip so far. All of the students had a great time and walked back to their apartments to rest up for the next day's classes after the event was over.

On Wednesday, students attended their first day of full classes (1 hour 50 min. each). Some of the students with early morning classes managed to make it to the beach, for the rest of us who were not so fortunate; we ended up getting frappe's across the street from the UINDY campus to combat the Athens summer heat. With the end of classes on Wednesday, students found themselves going to a glendi that was hosted for the national convention. A few of the students took pictures with the Supreme President of AHEPA, and some of the students DANCED with the Supreme President. The night was one filled with excitement and fellowship as non-journey convention attendees Greek danced with the students during Kotsari and Sirto. The students were served a full dinner at the glendi, the meat was so tender that it could be cut with a fork, it was the best food many of the students have had on the trip so far.