Heritage Greece, an Experience of a Lifetime

Mimicking birthright, there is a new program aimed toward Greek American students: Heritage Greece. I applied for this program with little expectation of being accepted: they were only accepting 25 students from all over the country. When I received my congratulations email, I literally screamed and jumped in excitement. I found out that another student from UF, Johnny, was also accepted. We didn't know each other that well other than from Greek dance practice but we became friends over the duration of the trip. All the accepted students met in Washington DC, where we would embark on this adventure with strangers and return home with friends. Our first night in DC, we were hosted by the Greek Consulate for dinner and we all tried to get to know each other. Then, we were invited to a bar/club owned by, you guessed it, Greeks. Our short-lived trip in DC was just foreshadowing the fun and excitement yet to come.

Day One: When we arrived in Greece, everyone was too tired to speak. However, once we were on the bus heading to Agia Paraskevi (Αγία Παρασκευή), where the American College of Greece is located, I pressed my face against the glass window allowed my eyes to dart across the landscape. We were greeted with a welcome reception and some of my favorite Greek foods. I ate everything in sight (a common theme of this trip) and we were assigned to dorms. The dorms were designed like apartments: mine had four bedrooms with two beds in each, two bathrooms, a living room area, a kitchen, and a balcony. Too energized to sleep, we all gathered in different apartments' balconies and tried to find out what there was to do in the area. 

Day Two: One of the stipulations of the program was a class in the Modern Greek language. They split us into two groups: those who knew nothing and those who knew something. I was in the latter, a smaller class of nine with only two girls, me and Chloe. Our skill levels were all over the place but we still managed to all learn something and practice perfecting our Greek. After lunch, we met up at the gate of ACG and hopped on a bus. We took a driving tour of the city before stopping outside the Temple of Zeus and the stadium. Though both beautiful, none could compare to the Parthenon (Παρθενώνας) atop the Acropolis (Ακρόπολη), a glorious tribute to classical Greece. Seeing the Parthenon in person was overwhelming. It astounds me to think about the rich history that has passed through Athens, all while the Parthenon has still been standing. The sights of the city were also gorgeous, spots of ancient architecture intermingled with modern city buildings. I also loved seeing the Theater of Dionysus, which was visible on the walk up to the Acropolis. A country ravaged by debt and blamed for the European economic crisis can still be proud of its past and the impact it has had on the present. That night we went to a Cretan Taverna in Agia Paraskevi, trying foods from Crete (Κρήτη) that differ from those in mainland Greece and the other islands. When we returned from dinner, a small group of us decided to get a taste for Athenian nightlife with some of the native Greeks in our program, students at ACG. They took us to a club, where we were the awkward Americans trying to dance among the more statuesque and rigid Europeans. 

Day Three: I would not have made to Hydra (Ύδρα) had it not been for Elena. Exhausted from the night before and jet lagged, she managed to wake me up a few minutes before the bus was supposed to leave and I packed for the day in such a rush that I forgot to put anything in my bag, which only had a few pens in it. We took a boat from Piraeus (Πειραιάς) and that was an adventure all by itself. Much akin to jet ski or a roller coaster, every time we hit rough water (or any water at all), the boat flew in the air and bounced down with a lot of force. Some of the Heritage Greece kids got sick, but I was one of the few who actually enjoyed the thrill of it. When we arrived in Hydra, we took a short tour from a local islander and then split in various directions. One interesting thing about Hydra is the lack of cars: they aren't allowed. It was everything anyone could ever imagine about Greece, bleached-white buildings, clear blue water, and grapevines wrapped around lattices. I started off swimming in the Aegean Sea (Αιγαίο Πέλαγος), the most beautiful and clear water I have ever seen. After sunning for a bit, I ventured around the island, darting in and out of little boutiques and shops. I liked watching the fisherman, their leathery faces tanned by years slaving away in the sea, their hands worn from handling nets and fish. I tried to move around the island, hanging out with different HG kids. I had my first authentic Greek gyro (γύρο) and it changed my life. Never have I craved such a food as I craved gyros when I returned to the US. They are magical. That night, once we returned to the mainland, we went to a local bar to watch the soccer game against Russia for the Euro Cup. It was intense, but only for us soccer fans. Everyone else could have cared less. We won, advancing on to face Germany the next week (another great story and my favorite part of the trip despite our loss).

Day Four: As expected on any summer trip, we spent a day at the beach, soaking up the sun and playing in the waves. The beach in Marathon (Μαραθώνας) was unlike any I had ever been to before. It was a private beach with a snack bar and a drinks bar, volleyball courts, and a grassy area. The beach itself was sandy but you wouldn't know it at first glance because all the sand was covered by chairs and umbrellas, stretching up until the point where the waves lapped the shore. Unable to sit still for long periods of time, I didn't last long sunbathing. Instead, I socialized with the other HG kids and a bunch of us went swimming. I took a walk with Jessica and Andrea, my suitemate and my roommate, down the shore. We met some Greek guys wearing nothing but leaves, asking "photographia (φωτογραφία)? photographia (φωτογραφία)?" They took a picture with us and I couldn't contain my laughter. I had never seen such bravado on a beach before. Later, we engaged in a volleyball game with each other. By the time we were on the bus, I was exhausted and slightly sunburned. The program took us out for another nice meal in the neighborhood and then we had reflection time that night with the entire group. 

Day Five: More Greek class and more time spent in Agia Paraskevi. We were finally given a tour of the area, becoming more and more comfortable with our surroundings and navigating the neighborhood. That evening, we were driven through Lavrion (Λαύριο), on our way to Sounion (Σούνιο). It was beautiful but I was so tired that I slept through a majority of the drive. Sounion was really cool, the home to the Temple of Poseidon. One of the reasons I love Greece so much is the juxtaposition of mountains and sea, highlighted by these large temples atop mountains, reaching for the heavens and towering over the sparkling blue water. We had dinner at a nice open restaurant overlooking the water and the temple, made even more beautiful as the sun began to set. One of the ACG students, Nikos, gave us a tour and historical/mythological account of the temple's history. It's incredible to see so much culture seeped into the mountainside and such a large relic still standing.

Day Six: One of my favorite days of the trip, we started off with our classes and then all met up together for a dance class. I considered myself to be pretty good a traditional Greek dancing. A member of UF's Greek dance troupe, I thought that I would know everything and be at ease. However, our teacher brought in so many different dances from different islands and parts of mainland Greece that I was only familiar with a few. Even then, the styles are so different that my steps weren't the same as everyone else's. I loved the high energy of the dance class and the high energy of our instructor. After that, we were given host families and put into small groups. On the way to meet up with everyone at the ACG campus, however, I was stung by a bee (or so they say, I'm convinced it was something else). Considering how many injuries I have sustained over the years, this tiny dot of a sting was the most excruciatingly painful moment I have endured. It attacked my calf muscle, which was tensing and spasming. I was crying hysterically and I could hardly breathe. I was carried to the infirmary and one of the women, who sounded American, soothed me and rubbed an antihistamine on the sting. Chloe, who had become one of my best friends over the duration of the trip, also sat with me. The woman began talking to me to try to distract me and we discovered that she was my host mom! Also, as luck would have it, she was Chloe's host mom too and the two of us got into her car and rode up to her home in the mountains. The woman, Heraclia (Ηρακλειά), was also Greek-American and had lived in Greece off and on since her teenage years. She and her husband both worked for the university and her children attended school at the younger complements to ACG. We spoke mostly Greek during dinner and afterwards, Heraclia, Chloe, and I drove to a nearby monastery. We went home for gelato and listened to some popular Greek music. The views from their balcony were spectacular, lights glittering all the way up the mountain, spread out even farther as you looked up. 

Day Seven: On the seventh day, we were given some free time after class which I used to enjoy ACG's pool and to get a frappe (φραπές) from a local cafe, called a kafeneio (καφενείο). Frappes are delicious. They are akin to an iced cappuccino, a blended, frothy coffee drink with milk. I always ordered the same: ένα φραπέ με γάλα, μέτριο, σε παρακαλώ (translation: a frappe with milk, a moderate amount of sugar, please). Delicious. Most Greeks are big coffee drinkers and I embrace that stereotype wholeheartedly. After my relaxing afternoon off, we had a reception at the college president's house. Our host families were in attendance and we got to socialize with a lot of the prominent ACG staff. Again, the food was awesome. I may be biased, but I love Greek food and this reception did not disappoint. 


Day Eight: After class, we were taken via bus to Plaka (Πλάκα), a notoriously touristy area of downtown Athens. We took a walking tour of the city, culminating in a visit to the new Acropolis Museum. If you ever go to Athens, I highly recommend this museum. It was amazing to walk over glass and look down upon ancient artifacts. Nikos gave us another tour within the museum, spouting off information about history and mythology that I found to be fascinating. The trip to this museum inspired me to pursue my Classics minor and to take more classes about Greek history. The intertwining of history and mythology proves that, in some ways, they are one in the same. Some of the myths metaphorically represent the thoughts, feelings, and actions going on in Greece at the time. It was beautiful. When we left the museum, we were given time to walk through Plaka. Rather than buying touristy items, I gallivanted through the cobbled streets with my friends, enjoying the fresh summer breeze and the cloudless sky. I'm about 90% certain that clouds do not exist in Greece during the summer. Rather, every day is clear blue skies with light winds to cool everyone. HG treated us to another nice dinner, at an open restaurant in Plaka that had an abundance of feta and live music, including a bouzouki (μπουζούκι), which is a traditional Greek stringed instrument. That night, a small group of us decided to go out to Kifisia (Κηφισιά) to enjoy Athenian nightlife. Johnny and I ended up staying until the club closed at 6 AM. By the time we returned to Agia Paraskevi, the sun was already rising so we made the mistake to stay awake and hang out in the plateia (πλατεία), or square.   

Day Nine: Our final exams in class were quick, thankfully. Exhausted from the night before, I could barely keep my eyes open. I napped through lunch and was rejuvenated by the time we were expected to meet the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church. Though I am not religious, I was in awe of meeting the Archbishop. We were each given a cross that he had blessed and were given the opportunity to ask him questions. One of the most interesting questions to me was the one concerning Greeks in Constantinople, known as Istanbul to those outside of Greece. To me, this hit close to home since my family had fled Constantinople because of the tensions between Greeks in Turkey and Turks in Greece that led to a population exchange and mass slaughtering on both sides during the early-mid 20th century. We each introduced ourselves to the Archbishop, in Greek of course, and told him where our families were from in Greece. I was proud to say η οικογένειά μου είναι από την Κωνσταντινούπολη και Σπάρτη, my family is from Constantinople and Sparta. 

That night was the soccer match against Germany. Though to most Americans, it may seem like just a soccer game, to Greece this was so much more. Facing Germany in soccer mirrored the fights between Greece and Germany over the Greek economic crisis and the austerity measures. To, winning the game was more than that, it would have been a symbol of power and pride that Greeks wear on their sleeves. I was by far the most emotional of the Greek Americans. I bought a large Greek flag that I wore as a cape and I ran around screaming the word for soccer, POTHOSFAIRO (ΠΟΔΟΣΦΑΙΡΟ)! I learned Greek fight songs and game traditions from my ACG friends, Nikos in particular. We screamed together, cheered together, and, inevitably, cried together as the match ended. I lost my voice and was distraught post-game but I knew that the heaviness I felt in my heart could never compare to that of the native Greeks living through this crisis. I wept for them.

Day Ten: The next day, recovering from defeat and disappointment, we boarded the bus and embarked on an adventure to Delphi (Δελφοί), the site of the oracle. The day was hot and some of the group stayed behind in the shade rather than hiking up to the stadium. I flitted around, taking in the mountainous terrain and the ancient relics, a theater, a stadium, and, of course, the oracle itself. We also went to a small ski town nearby, eating lunch as a group and then splitting off to explore. On such a hot day, I found myself at another kafeneio, downing my frappe in record speed and enjoying the company of my friends. That night, ACG hosted a prom for its students and graduates. Our last big night in Athens together, we all bought champagne to celebrate. Like that first night in an Athenian club, the ACG kids were not receptive to our dancing initially but after the open bar had been drained, the Greeks joined the Greek Americans around the pool area and put the American in American College of Greece. 

Day Eleven: Our last day together was bittersweet. We drove through the countryside to the Palamidi (Παλαμήδι) fortress in Nafplion (Ναύπλιο). It was so beautiful and the water was especially bright. In the water, there is a castle on an island, small dot in a wall of rich turquoise. The colors were so vivid and breathtaking, I could hardly believe me eyes. Even now, when I look at pictures I can hardly believe that they haven't been edited or Photoshopped. Leaving Nafplion, we went to the Semeli (Σεμέλη) Winery in Nemea (Νεμέα). We were given a tour of the vineyard and then taken down to where the large barrels of wine are stored. Here, we had a wine tasting and they taught us how to properly taste and wine and what to look for in reds, whites, and roses. We had dinner at the winery, a farewell banquet overlooking the vineyards and they presented us all with a small bottle of wine, which I brought home for my parents as a souvenir. When we returned to the dorms, everyone packed for the airport except for me and a few others who had extended their stays in Greece or in Europe. As everyone headed for the bus, I stayed back, hugging everyone as they left. I started to cry a little, especially when I hugged Chloe good bye but then we realized that we would be seeing each other when I got to the States. She attends Harvard and was there for the summer and I was flying into Boston from Greece for my nephew's christening, so we agreed to meet up and hang out. Thus ended my Heritage Greece experience. 

The rest of my time spent in Greece was in Athens primarily. I met up with my new ACG friends frequently and I spent time with Johnny, who was also there, and my friend Alexa from UF who was studying abroad at ACG that summer. My days consisted of much of the same: eat, sleep, go to the beach, eat and sleep at the beach, repeat. I had some of the best gyros of my life as well as the best pastries, all in Varkiza (Βαρκιζά). Though I regret not going to more islands, like Santorini or Mykonos, I figure that it's just an excuse to go back to Greece in the future.   

Events occurred: June 12-July 4, 2012