In the early weeks of summer, around 40 La Salle students including myself and numerous chaperones such as Mr. Sulages crossed the world to visit the beautiful country of Greece. In the nearly two weeks we spent there, we were able to learn about Greece’s ancient history, customs, and see all that the historic land had to offer. We roamed all around the country, getting to visit cities like Athens, Delphi, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and Nafplio, and we even went into the country of Turkey. We moved around frequently on the trip in an effort to get to visit all around the country, so we were only able to stay in each spot for between one to three days. 

Although all of the different places we visited brought their own positive additions to the trip, my favorite cities were Athens and Delphi. These two places are very different in that Athens is a bustling city and tourist hub, and Delphi is a small mountain town that was not nearly as visitor-oriented. I have always been a fan of exploring new big cities, so getting to explore Athens and visit all of the markets was really fun. However, it was also nice to be able to get to witness a more rural Greek life and have a little more downtime. Delphi also had some amazing views and lookout points because of its altitude. This contrast was really cool to see and allowed us to get a more well-rounded view of what Greece is like. 

Since different regions of Greece are known for different things, we were able to get a full understanding of Greek culture and partake in various activities. We went to beaches, made pottery, tasted locally made and sourced Greek olive oil, visited ruins, and were able to learn about the history of the ancient Greek people and the way that they lived. Having activities like this were super enjoyable and were fun ways to get out of the blazing heat. 

Overall, the trip was a very transformative experience that provided knowledge about how other people and cultures live apart from the U.S. I gained a lot of knowledge while visiting Greece and was able to get a better understanding of how to act in a place that was new to me and had so many differences from America. Greece is a much more laid-back country than the U.S., and I was able to recognize how much more relaxed and in the moment many of the Greek people we encountered were. I also thought that the people were much more friendly, as they were usually willing to talk to us and often wanted to know where we were from. They also spoke very passionately and highly about their country and seemed to have a lot of Greek pride, which I thought was interesting. 

I would recommend international trips like this to all underclassmen that have the opportunity to go. I now have so many awesome memories from the trip and feel more comfortable traveling more independently. It was an experience that I will never forget and probably would not have been given had I not gone with La Salle.