Entry #3 6/5/17

The day trip and hike to Samaria has ended since my last entry. The gorge, for lack of a better term, was gorgeous. The hike was enough to make one feel insignificant to the cascading mountains that touched the atmosphere in every direction. After the hike (I was the first to finish, sorry not sorry), I had my first ice cream in Greece, and it may very well have changed my life. An ice cream after a 13 kilometer hike tastes even better than it sounds. However, I did still have a reserve tank of energy that had yet to be tapped into that day. So there I was, hiking an extra kilometer to the Ottoman fort that overlooks Samaria. The steepest climb I've ever seen, I can see how at least some of the Ottomans collapsed. The view of the small village however, was like no other. The small town and black sand beach in the distance on the precipice of the Libyan Sea was worth the pool of sweat I had perspirated. The day after, I took the time to work on my essay in a small cafe with a soda and relax a little bit. I felt productive and was glad to be a part of this weekend. Luckily I wasn't sore by the end, and I could get a good night's sleep. Until next time,
Teddy Miele

The Gorge and Beyond

9:00am
At Emmanuel, warm spring days generally indicate the start of "EC Beach", and tanning on the freshly mowed grass that lays in the heart of campus. Here, I wake up to the quiet meows of the institute's cat, whom we have affectionately named "Athena", and the smell of freshly brewed coffee provided by the kind woman who have helped make this strange new land a temporary home.

Hiking Somaria Gorge was an interesting experience, to say the least. At the beginning of our 14km trek, one of our classmates asked how the pathways through the gorge were made. Professor Vamvakas explained that some of them (the ones at the very beginning)  were made overtime by the goats who inhabited the area, as they moved and coexisted peacefully with their land.

I found it fascinating that we, as eager young students were able to step where they stepped.

6:00pm
As we sit on the boat leaving Ageia Roumeli, I am filled with excitement to head back to this new home in Crete... how nice is it, that I already have a place here that I truly miss once I'm gone? I've only ever had that once before, and it was when I chose Emmanuel to be the place where I continued my educational experience. How lucky am I to have had that feeling not once, but twice in the short 20 years I've spent wandering the world? The island's blissful tranquility has completely stolen my heart.

4:37am
The bus ride back from the ferry was long, and just about everyone on the bus was tired, hungry, and very ready for a nice cool shower back at the institute (I know I was!). The few of us who srated awake during the ride back got see the beautiful mountains that surrounded us at every turn. Every time I caught my breath, it would be taken away again by the stunning scenery. At one point, I looked over and Dillon and I couldn't help but grin at how joyfully breathtaking it all was.
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I just submitted my first essay for Geopolitics, and as stressful as it was, it was a great way to tie together everything that we talked about in class last week. Even more so, it helped me get out of "beach mode" and back into "student mode", which can sometimes be very difficult...good thinking Professor!

On to this weeks adventures....

My Week One Observations

This last week in Crete has been adventurous, difficult, and rewarding, but what I've loved and learned the most about was Greek culture and my surroundings. The women in the kitchen, locals, small business owners, and Yota all have made my experience worthwhile.

During the week we went to a market where fresh produce and homemade items were sold by vendors. This whole market is similar to the concept of a farmers market that we have back at home, but much better. Walking through the market I was often greeted for genuine reasons of trying people's food and not feeling obligated to purchase them. At almost every stand I was offered a strawberry or a slice of cheese, to me this concept was foreign. When going to an American farmer's market, items are overpriced and people are not willing to give without knowing you'll be spending your money at their stand. It was refreshing to know that people have so much pride in what they sell and do for a living. When conversing with many different men and women, I learned so much about the difference between Americans and Greeks.

When arriving at the Institute the first evening, we were greeted by all the other students, but the women in the kitchen gave even more of a warm welcome. With tight hugs and introductions, I had no idea how much of an influence these women would have on me here during my time in Greece. Everyday they make us breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I can't forget to mention how great every single one of these meals are. These women work so hard at a job that can be viewed as not rewarding. As I'm speaking for everyone else here, my appreciation for these women, what they do, the energy they bring to the room, and how they do all of it with a smile is remarkable.

The local baker reopened his bakery for us to see how he made all of his homemade bread. Baking has been a huge part of his life as it was passed down through his family. His talent and passion towards what he does was very evident as he showed us he made his bread step by step. After he made three recipes of different breads, he gave us all of them, even though this made him no monetary profit except for the enjoyment we gained from learning from his expertise.

With these observations in mind, I've come to the conclusion that from my short time here, Greek people do everything with pride. To the Greeks it isn't about money, it's about showing people that your strawberries are delicious and the profit you make is from everyone's enjoyment.

Post Gorge Thoughts

This weekend has been one of many ups and downs for me personally, yet the second I entered the gorge all those troubles just disappeared. In their absence, I found myself observing nature and taking it all in, in a way I would have never done before. When we finally finished the hike, there was an option to continue onward to the ottoman fort which was another km up. I decided to wait until today to climb the mountain and I did so alone. When I got to the fortress the first thing I noticed was the peaceful silence and absence of any noise besides the wind and the waves from the beach down below. On top of that fort I must have spent a good hour or so just sitting there taking it all in, meaning the fort itself and the views it offered into the distance. As corny as it sounds, when I got up there it was as if I had an out of body experience leaving all my human "ups and downs" behind and just existing within the clouds of this ancient and beloved island. 

Until next time, 

Yours Truly and Sincerely, 

Edward

WHATTA BIRTHDAY

Dear Diary,

Now let me tell you. The Greek know food and drink, and they know birthdays too. Yesterday I hiked the Samaria Gorge, one of the most important things I've ever done. It really put a lot of things in my life in perspective; we really are smaller than we care to admit. I also hiked a whole entire mountain with Professor and it's safe to say that mans it my uncle.

Here's another thing to check out.

Hostels: Homes for All

When arriving in Greece I had many expectations because of my strong Greek background. While my mom and dad worked full time, my yiayia raised me and brought me to Greek school every day for years. My immigrant grandparents on both sides of my family have passed down tradition, culture, and other aspects of the Greek lifestyle that I wouldn't trade for the world. As years passed, my appreciation for the love of my grandparents stories that seemed as old as Socrates slowly started to diminish. After coming home from school this May, my grandparents were ecstatic to find out I was going to be spending a month of my summer in the place they called home and fell in love with each other. As the trip slowly started to creep up on me, I became more and more excited.

My dad was driving me to the airport in Chicago for my flight before meeting up with Jamie, Nathan, Bailey, and Megan in Boston, and my flight turned out to have a three hour delay. The start of an extremely long day was already incredibly sucky, but in the end we ended up in Athens while battling jetlag and extreme sleep deprivation. We spent a day in Athens, it was absolutely everything I expected and more. We walked the entire Acropolis and as any other first time visitor, we were amazed at how something so old had maintained its structure and beauty. After we explored the entire city, ate some gyros, enjoyed a refreshing glass of wine, we settled into our hostel for the evening. For me personally, this was my first experience staying in a hostel, and with the preconceived notion that they are dirty and trashy I was completely incorrect. This hostel was my first impression of Greece and I'm so glad it was.

From meeting travelers around the world from Canada to Australia, we met people who were in Greece for the same reasons as we were. Connecting with these people we had just met was such a valuable experience. Although the tourists were as interesting as us, the staff, especially the bartender made us feel at home. The entire culture of the Greeks to me is about being comfortable and making others comfortable when exposing them to your own world. Greece to me has been full of life in ways that America has never been for me. Greeks have pride in their country, but in a way that opens a welcoming door to those who aren't part of the community. Inclusivity is everything to the Greeks and I really wish America would hop on that boat of being so accepting to those who are simply just looking for human connection and interaction.

Bread and Wine

During our first week in Crete I have been very struck by the experiences we have had with the local economy. Through our visits to the winery, the bakery, the open air market, and the packaging plant we have gotten a feel for different sectors of the local economy as well as different stages of production. The bakery was particularly striking because we were able to be a part of the production process and start to understand the labor that goes into making the goods. We were also able to ask questions about his business model and thoughts on the local economy. I was interested in how he spoke to the tastes of the locals and how he doesn't worry about competing with the supermarket because here more people prefer to buy from small producers than large supermarkets. This is something I see reflected in Crete as a personal society that upholds the values of knowing your local baker and having a real understanding of where food and other goods are coming from. The packaging plant expressed similar values about their quality even though they distribute their products on a broader scale. I would be interesting in comparing the sentiments of the workers at the packaging plant with more small scale producers of oranges and avocados who do not have their goods sold at the supermarket. I'm happy we had these experiences so early in the trip because now I feel like I will be more aware of the local economy's structure throughout my time here.