Greece: Friday, January 22nd

So this is my final post of the Greece Blog, but not the final post of the blog! I plan to keep updating the blog with photography and smaller entries so there’s no need to worry. It’s been a lot of fun keeping up with the blog and I’m proud to say that I’m one of the few people who held out and didn’t cave in to buy an Internet card. It’s one of the things I noticed while I was here in Athens, that businesses are more than willing to let you use their Internet and will gladly give you their password, as long as you are kind and willing to pay for a coffee. This also goes for the rest of Athens: if you make and effort by learning a few words of Greek the people are much more likely to make an effort to help you. I know this sounds like common sense, but Americans tend to expect people to know English no matter where they are. Even a simple kalimera (good morning) or efkharisto (thank you) goes a long way. It was one of the improvements I put on our evaluation sheets for Hofstra, to make sure that the group knows some basic Greek before you go.
Overall the trip was great. People got along as a group until the end of the trip, but that was bound to happen when you have competing egos. The class went very well and was actually one of the more interesting classes I’ve taken. I also got to see more of Athens than most of the group, I decided early on that this was a great opportunity to see a city where they are in the process of restoring their past and building their future at the same time. There are major plans in progress to restore the Parthenon as well as a lot of the other temples and ruins throughout the city. Athens has realized that their primary source of income in Greece and Athens is tourism. One of their main exports (cotton) is no longer being exported because their prices are too high. Therefore Greece has decided to focus on updating their city with a rebuilt metro system, pedestrianizing streets to make the city more enjoyable for walkers, and placing a huge emphasis on their history. All of the improvements have made the city an extremely modern city that is an attraction for all ages.
The trendy cafes, the museums, the shopping areas, and plenty of activities for kids makes for a pleasurable experience in this up and coming European city. Also, as Greece continues to take charge in assisting the Balkan region in building the economies and infrastructure, the improved transportation through Europe to Greece will help them create a destination in Athens for travelers. Thanks to Greece's membership in the European Union, Greece has been able to give money to their neighbors to improve the roads and railways through the region.
This trip has been a great experience for me. I've been able to explore Athens alone when the group wanted to hang out, and I've also been able to join the group for big excursions throughout Greece and Athens. It was definitely a good thing that we only had 22 people in the group as we all became close and will no doubt continue to be friends into the future. It's also been a good amount of time away from home. 2 and half weeks is a good amount of time to fully experience a city without feeling too homesick. That being said, I can't wait to come home. I miss the familiarity of it all and I definitely miss all my family and friends.
So thanks again everyone for following along, I hope you've all enjoyed the updates and the pictures, I know I've enjoyed writing it all down. It helps me keep track of what happened! So be sure to check back in every once in a while to see any new updates and pictures, and thanks for following! Yiassas!