Tomorrow, July 3rd, the program officially ends and the departures conclude from this year's summer program. It's a bittersweet moment to leave such a fantastic place that has taught us so much in one short month. I'm going to attempt to summarize all our unique experiences in one blog post but it is hard to put into words all the amazing things we have done here.
Exploring the Village of Alikianos and Chania
During the first two weeks of being in Greece, we were able to experience a lot of what Alikianos, the city of Chania, and the surrounding area had to offer. We went to some beautiful beaches after we would finish classes for the day and had great authentic Greek food. Despite COVID taking a little bit of a toll on our first two weeks, we were still able to go to a local winery called the Manousakis Winery in a neighboring village, explore the old Venetian Harbor City of Chania, visit neighboring monasteries, visit the US naval base in Souda Bay, and hike the Samaria Gorge- a 10km hike and the largest gorge in Europe.
Archipelagos: Samos, Leipsoi, Arkoi, and Agathonsisi
During our third week at the program, we switched things up and flew out to the Greek Island of Samos to start a short program with a Marine Life conservation group called Archipelagos. This group is extremely dedicated to ensuring the well-being of marine and ocean life in the Aegean Sea as well as having a lot of first-hand exposure to the refugee crisis in the Aegean Sea. We set sail with this group and lived aboard among them on their Aegean Explorer ship for five days. Adjusting to living on the boat was difficult at times; however, as a group, we were able to really adapt and learn from a different style of life. We were able to explore Samos, a Greek island off the coast of Turkey that has a checkered past with the refugee crisis. As a group we took a trip to visit the current and old refugee camps that were very difficult to see; however an important lesson and hands-on learning experience. We were also able to visit the Archipelagos base in Leipsoi, a beautiful small island in the Aegean that had a lot to offer to learn and enjoy. We also stopped briefly at the small island of Arkoi, an island that is known for having more goats than people with a total human population of about 40-50 people. We also then went to the island of Agathonsisi where we were able to have a one-on-one discussion with the Mayor there that has been there to experience things like the influx of refugees, COVID-19 supply chain issues, and marine life conservation. All of these islands were unique and we got to experience all the good and bad sides of them that you would not normally see as a traditional tourist I really enjoyed this unique experience. A major added bonus of this part of the trip was a beloved rescue puppy that we all really enjoyed bonding with on the boat.
Wrapping it all up in the last week
During our last week of the program, we were able to neatly round off the program with a few great stops on our way back from Samos including a day trip to Athens, an overnight trip to Heraklion, and a road trip to Rethymno. After our few days of travel, we then returned to Alikianos to finish up classes and take exams. In Athens we may have broken a record for how quickly we were able to do a complete tour of the city including having Souflaki, visiting the bottom of the Parthenon, visiting the government buildings, and visiting the Acropolis Museum. In Heraklion, we were able to explore the biggest city in Crete and visit the ancient Minoan ruins and see and learn a lot about that history. In Rethymno, we were able to visit a beautiful monetary that dates back to the 1800s as well as explore that city and what it had to offer. These were all such incredible learning experiences and I am so grateful that we were able to fit it all in and see what a lot of Greece and Crete have to offer. Coming back after all this travel was bittersweet because we were all happen to be back at the institute but we all knew our time was coming to a close. We focused on finishing up our work for courses as well as going to an authentic Cretan concert in Kissamos, taking a few more beach trips, visiting the NATO NAMFI missile site, and most importantly, attending Professor Vamvakas' name day party- a Greek tradition that luckily fell under the time of the program. We took one last trip into Chania to celebrate our last evening together as a full group at the institute and then the departures began. I am so happy I was able to go on this trip and it has truly taught me so much about international affairs, the Eastern Mediterranean, Greek culture, and general life and educational lessons that will stay with me forever. I will always remember this trip and the people on it forever. Thank you Professor Vamvakas for an amazing experience!
Grace Viviano
