On Adventures in Greece Part III: On Top of the World

In which a group of 16 students wander down a mountain

In life there are those things that you love to do but rarely make time for¹. For me one of those things is hiking. I love getting out into nature and taking it all in, and every spring I talk about wanting to hike and camp with my friends, or by myself, and it never seems to happen. So when I realized that Thessaloniki was so close to Mt. Olympus and that there were a number of hiking trails on and around the mountain I instantly got excited. Thankfully this would be one hiking experience that
would not be just talk.

This last Sunday I had the opportunity to take 16 of our 21 students to Mt. Olympus National Park and hike for the day. It was exhilarating, breath taking, exhausting², nerve racking, uplifting, stressful, and glorious. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Most of the students that were with me were not avid, or even regular, hikers. Some of them had only hiked once before and it was most likely a midwestern style trail hike at a state park. Almost all of them had on tennis shoes and carried with them a couple of bottle of water and a lunch. When we got to the mountain our guide who had be provided for us took us to a 15th century monastery part of the way up the mountain, after briefly touring the monastery (which was under renovation as it had been destroyed during World War II³

Initially the guides plan was for us to return the way we came and take the bus down to the village in the foothills and that would be it for hiking. Some of the students wanted to go higher up the mountain (something neither I nor the guide were comfortable with) but we discussed it and settled on us following the trail down the mountain and meeting him and the bus in the village.

If you noticed that the sign says Litohoro is 4 hours away congratulations! You realized what we did not. Though in my defense our guide never thought to mention that it was a four hour hike either. I only discovered this when I talked to a hiker after we'd been going for about 2 hours or so and he said that's how lone he'd been hiking up. I decided to keep that bit of news to myself for as long as I could.

The first half our our trip was great, the trail was pretty easy, we were feeling rested, and we stopped to take a lot of pictures.

Our bus was scheduled to leave and head back to Thessaloniki at 4:00, and that the rate we were headed we weren't going to make it. So we discontinued the photography sessions and marched onward. As the time past student grew more and more tired. There was definitely complaining happening, but they were also very supportive of each other.

My favorite quote from the afternoon was when Gabi asked: "If I break my leg, with they airlift me out of here?"

"I don't think they could get a helicopter in here," I replied, "They'd probably have to take you out on a stretcher."

"Not worth it." She told me as she continued past.

Since many of the students didn't have much hiking experience there was some definite confusion as to why, if we were going down the mountain, there was so much up and down. My stress level increased when some of the students, who were absolutely exhausted by this point, slipped in a few places. Thankfully it was when they path was easier and they just weren't paying attention, but I was still concerned. At one point we crested yet another hill and saw this:

That little reddish mass way off in the distance is the village of Litohoro, our destination. And while it was still a long, long⁴ way off just being able to see our destination was rejuvenating. We pressed on with new energy, or at least adrenaline, and we completed the last leg of our journey.

When we were about 45 minutes from the base of the mountain we met our guide who had start up the mountain to meet us. He took us the rest of the way out, which was helpful, because that little town was confusing and we'd still be wandering around looking for the bus.

Before we left the park we did stop to take one more picture, thankfully, since our guide was with us I was actually able to be in one, which is rare on these trips.

The students were all extremely glad that we made it off the mountain⁵. Most of them were asleep before we even got out of the village. I know that it was a challenging day for them all but I'm glad I got to offer them this opportunity. What was even better was the next day when they could look back on the hike with fresh eye. All of them were glad they went, and more than one said that ultimately they are glad that they didn't know what they were getting into. Because if they had they wouldn't have signed up to go in the first place.

As I reflect back on the day it was certainly my highlight so far. Even despite my own exhaustion it was such a unique experience that I wouldn't change for anything.

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1) Or maybe that's just me, because I'm such a 9.
2) Both mentally and physically.
3) Those damn nazi ruin everything.
4) Seriously it felt like it was forever way.
5) Except for the fact that they first WCs we found only contained squatty potties.

On Adventures in Greece Part II

In which a trip up a hill takes a disastrous turn, but ultimately ends positively

On our second day in the city we took a bus tour around different parts of the city which was really cool because we got to see a lot of the city all at once. But sucked at the same time because were seeing all these really cool streets and locations and couldn't get off the bus and explore them¹. I did my best to take what pictures I could, but it was very difficult. I got a couple of good shots though.

Here's one

As the tour went along we slowly made our way up a hill to the oldest part of the city which is still surrounded by an ancient wall. As we crested the hill the entirety of Thessaloniki stretched out in front of us in a beautiful panorama. I knew that trying to snap off a quick pic would be futile so I just enjoyed the view for what it was and decided to come back another day.

The very next day as it turns out.

After class the following day we were down at the city center for a walking/snacking² tour of the market. While we were at lunch I asked one of our contacts how best to make our way back up the hill to the old part of town. She told me that we simply had to hop on a city bus and it would take us right up there. Eventually. Also, it would be crowded. Like insanely crowded³.

She was NOT kidding. The buses in Greece are nuts. No matter how many people are on them more and more just cram in. It's like playing sardines with a group of hot, sweaty strangers. Needless to say our students are not huge fans of the buses. However, we hopped on and made our way up the hill. Eventually we arrived and found ourselves with this view....

It was pretty stellar. The students took a ton of shots⁴. Including some Titanic style "King of the World" shenanigans. After we were done with pictures the students wanted to hit up some souvenir shops before we wandered a bit. I didn't have much interest in that so I kind of meandered about, killing time. I was taking some pictures of the wall when a student came out and kind of slumped down on the curb. I went over to see what was happening and looked up at me and said, "My wallets gone."

She had been pick pocketed on the bus.

They got her driver's licence, her debit cards, and all the money she had for the trip.

It was absolutely devastating.

This is one of those things that, as the instructor, you realize is always a possibility, but you never really prepare yourself for. We sat there for a while on side of the street while she cried. Then we talked about the next steps and I helped her to make the necessary calls home. It was the toughest thing I've had to deal with on either of these study abroad trips. For many students something like this happening would have absolutely ruined their trip, but this student in particular is very tough, and while her day was pretty much shot to shit she's told me she not going to let it ruin her trip. Even shorty after realizing her wallet was gone she soldiered on as we descended the hill.

While we rode the bus up to the wall we decided to return to the hotel by walking. Thankfully Thessaloniki is on the coast, and our hotel is only two blocks from the water. So all you need to do is keep walking to the water and then make sure it's on your right. This gave us the freedom to wander nearly aimlessly back down the hill. On our way down we took some short cuts through, basically, some backyards, and took what appeared to be a locals only shortcut behind a cemetery. It was actually a very nice walk back, though when all was said and done we had walked 6.3 miles that day.

What hit me the most about the city during our walk down the hill was the crazy time paradoxes you encounter with the various structures. At one point we were waiting next to a 4th century Roman arch, which was across the street from some apartments from the 1970's⁵, which sandwiched a church from 1531, directly across from a Starbucks.

What?

The history of this city is crazy. Everywhere you turn you come face to face with some new discovery. There's so much to do and the fact that it's not a big tourist city makes it that much nicer to explore. I can't wait to get back down to the city square and get lost for a few hours.

_______________________

1) I will find all those places again. You will not best me tour bus.
2) Snalking?
3) She didn't actually say insanely crowded, but it's funny to think of her saying that in her Greek accent.
4) Pictures not booze, that would come the next day.
5) I'm guessing.

On Adventures in Greece, Part I

In which we acclimatize ourselves to the Grecian culture.

After exploring a bit of the city of Thessaloniki with some of my students this afternoon I found myself with a bit of free time before our next adventure. So I decided to do two things I've been meaning to since I arrived here in Greece. A) Try a greek beer. And 2) write a blog post. When I finish the post I'll give you my review of the beer¹. So I went up to the patio off my room and got to writing.

Oh, hey, that's my view.

We've been in country for about 24 hours already and while I wouldn't say we feel quite settled in yet we are getting there. Our hotel is in a nice location, not too touristy, but not out of the way either. They are doing all they can to make our students feel welcome. Which is great, so far there hasn't been much homesickness. The group is starting to come together. There were small pockets of students who knew one another previously, but most of them were strangers, I don't expect that to last much longer. Similarly, while I know about 4 students well the rest of them I do not. One of my big personal goals is to really connect with each of them individually and have a good conversation with everyone before we leave. Pretty lofty given how quickly the trip will go by, but what's the point of a goal if it's easy to attain?

This morning we had our first class. It was a guest lecturer who gave us a crash course in simple greek phrases. I thought it was a fantastic idea, whereas last year we had a number of students who spoke Spanish we don't have any greek speakers. So we are all coming from the same place. It was wonderful to watch the students try to apply what they've learned when we went out for lunch today.

Hold on a second I'll be right back...

Okay, sorry about that².

Greek is a very interesting language to try and learn. There are definitely words that are familiar, but over all it is very strange and new. However, we've had some wonderful teachers. Both in our class this morning and through our contacts here in the city. They have been very patient with us as we have muddled through the usage of their native tongue. I think that the coolest moment though was today at lunch. Myself and a few of the students tried a restaurant that one of the hotel employees recommended. When we got there we found that the owner didn't speak very much English. He basically new enough to tell us what the various dishes we were looking at contained. "Fish. Beef. Chicken liver."

We ordered and sat down and he would come by every once and a while to check on us. We utilized the little Greek that we knew/remembered, and he was thrilled at our attempts. When we mispronounced words he would correct us until we got it right then he'd shoot us the double thumbs up. As the meal wrapped up he thanked us and shook some of the students' hands.

After lunch we strolled around the area near our hotel a little before heading back to our rooms. In the midst of writing this I left for a tour of the city and dinner, but that can be saved for another update.

By the way. The beer was pretty much terrible. Though it got better as it went on, I don't know if that's because it was a little warmer, or if it was because I was 2/3rds of the way through 500 mls.

Kalinihta³!

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1) Spoiler alert: My rating was not too good for the beer.
2) For an accurate experience of this break stop reading this and come back 6 hours.
3) "Kali-neéck-tah" mean "good night"

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