2014 GREECE
My journey of being a foreign exchange student
Facts of Greece
Many of the people from Greece speak Turkish and Albanian. Greeks seen them selves as individualists, brace, and hardworking people. They value their family, religion, tradition, and education. They are very proud of their culture and heritage. A man praises the food served in his home and usually portrays themselves as the hero's in his own tale. The clothing they wear is influenced by Western European fashion. Fashionable clothing is popular among the young generation. Greek women mainly wear dress more than American women do. They also wear traditional costumes are work at folk festivals and special occasions. The older women that live in the rural parts of Greece often wear scarves around their heads.
Education
The education here is free and its required until the children are 15 years old. All children begin school at age six. They have to complete 6 years of elementary school, 3 years middle school, and high school is offered in 3 year courses that they call orientations, that will help prepare the students for high educations. Private schools will offer International Baccalaureate. Religious schools are very rare in Greece. All books are free at any level of education from the university. Students take classes over literature, history, foreign language, math, physics, chemistry, biology, art, technology, home economics, and civics. They devote a large amount of hours devoted to studying in the classroom under teacher supervision.
Goodbye Nebraska, Hello Greece.
The Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is ancient building located on a high rock that's above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several of the buildings, such as the Parthenon. All the buildings in there have great architectural and historic significance. Each day Monday-Sunday 8:00am-8:00pm.
Parathenon
While we were in the Acropolis of Athens,The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian acropolis. Greece had dedicated the building to the goddess Athena. The building is 45' tall and it had opened in 438 B.C. The architects were Phidias, Ictinus, and Callicrates. The Parthenon was built as a temple of worship.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
We also visited the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. It is a huge temple that I ruined, and is located in the center of the Greek capital Athens. It was dedicated to Zeus, who was the king of all the Olympic gods.
It is truly beautiful here.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I am having such an amazing time in Greece! This is the house I have been staying in. My host family is awesome ! They have a daughter around my age named Amelia. We have a lot in common and we get along really well! I have been trying so many new types of foods, and i really would not mind eating Greek food everyday. Our main meal of the day is lunch which is served in the early afternoon (between noon and 2 p.m.) We eat dinner really late, (8 or 9 p.m.) It is really disrespectful to not eat all the food on your plate, the cook takes it as in insult. I made that mistake my first night. We eat lamb a lot, fresh seafood, several types of olives, and an assortment of cheese. On my first day here, they made a special dish called Souvlaki which is cubes of meat (chicken, pork, or lamb) and is was served with mushrooms and vegetables with onion, tomatoes, and a yogurt sauce. For dessert most nights we would eat Baklava, which is rich sweet pastry made with mutiple layers of filo dough and filled with chopped nuts, syrup or honey. I really recommend coming here! Miss and Love you so much, Lexie
Note to Self:
When greeting people you hug and kiss upon meeting, instead of shaking hands. Greeks are really expressive with their greetings. Men often slap each other's backs or arms at the shoulder. A man shall never kiss a woman's hand because it is considered old fashioned.
Event Information
Time to go home.
Today is the day i go home. I'm in Greece's second busiest airport! My host family has really treated me like their own child, and I am really going to miss them. Especially Amelia, who is their daughter. We got along so well together. Going to Greece is one of the best experiences I've ever had. After a few months in Greece, it will be different going back to Omaha. It was fun while it lasted.
When?
Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014, 09:00 AM
Where?