I got back from Greece a week and a half ago. Since then, it’s been a rush of internship days, three-hour French, and somewhat spontaneous adventures via train. I’m trying to savor Geneva and Switzerland more right now because I have some international trips planned in April. The program is halfway done already!

I’m writing this on the train to St. Gallen which is almost as far as you can get from Geneva on one train. As we move northeast, I’m enjoying the ability to watch the countryside go by. With my bag full of snacks and chargers, I’m set for hours in my little office setup. The reason I’m going to St. Gallen is to see my cousin who I haven’t seen in ten years. In an odd twist of fate, she’s engaged to a Swiss scientist and we’re all getting brunch together. Definitely unexpected, but infinitely cool. Last weekend I took this same train to Zurich just so I could walk around in the rain, see their old town, and check out the historic sites. I visited the National Museum of Zurich which has an incredible exhibit on Swiss history and the formation of the federation. It helped underline for me why the cantons are so important and how remarkable this peaceful formation is. While making my way up and down the riverfront, I also checked out the Grossmünster Protestant church which began being built in 1100. To give context, that’s the high middle ages. Despite the history, they had the most marvelous stain-glass windows I’ve seen in a church since maybe Notre Dame. I loved the union between modern and ancient which reflects the church’s stated mission to evolve with the times. 

Note: Public bathrooms are decently difficult to find, but the dependability of Starbucks still stands here. However, I’m still hurting from my seven-franc 12 oz Starbucks iced coffee. An expensive coffee on the train, however, felt totally worth it. The longer trains have adorable dining cars with white tablecloths and lanterns. As an old movie fan, it was a small price for the whimsy of feeling like Eve Kendall in North By Northwest (1959).

Now that we’ve moved into the second half of our program post-Greece, I have a new schedule. Mondays and Fridays are three hours of French, SIT seminars Monday afternoons, and the three middle days of the week at my internship with International Bridges to Justice (IBJ). I know that sounds like a lot of French, and while it is, we are learning at an accelerated pace and progressing faster because of it. Our big project for this second piece of the program is to write a paper related to our internships by interviewing at least three experts from the field. I am beginning to brainstorm who I want to talk to and what my prepared questions will be. However, It’s only been three days of my internship, and I feel like I have barely touched the surface. The first day was nerve-wracking as to be expected. Within a few hours, I was already assigned a project. This past week was an especially weird one to join IBJ I think because they were in a rush to finish a major grant. Before I knew it, I was writing a budget narrative, checking numbers, and formatting their grant application. What has been most reassuring about my internship is that there are three other interns, at least that I’ve met so far, who are from other programs based in Geneva. We sit together in the main room and it’s been nice to have collaborators/coworkers. It’s a small headquarters office of mainly upper-level administrators since IBJ’s real employment base is at its Justice Resource Centers offices overseas. The Geneva headquarters is kind of like the central nervous system to their employees, partners, and programs overseas.

I’d be remiss to not also briefly mention my other train-enabled escapades. 

Montreux: Gorgeous city of lake riviera and a one-hour train ride from Geneva. It lived up to its reputation as a place Hollywood golden age celebrities would escape to… Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel, and Freddie Mercury. However, that was just the beginning, since the real treat was taking the cog railway (Swiss pass applicable) up the mountain to the tiny ski resort of Rochers-de-Naye. I forgot about how snowy it would be and we scrambled/slid up and down the slopes to the viewpoint.

Versoix Chocolate Festival: This is serious business. This festival is the annual gathering of the best chocolatiers in the region for a showcase of chocolate sculptures and unique flavors. Don’t be fooled by the crowds of children running around with chocolate on their faces, Swiss chocolatiers do not mess around and hold court over their superior chocolate booths with reserved elegance. Behold my variety of emotions as I bite into a chocolate truffle I could not read the label of…

Joy? Intrigue? Disgust? Delight?

Finances (Thursday 3/16-Saturday 3/25):

– 25 CHF on chocolate

– 20 CHF for crepes in Yvoire

– 20 CHF lunch from Manor in Geneva

– 15 CHF on various coffees

– 8 CHF on museum pass

– 150 CHF on groceries/lunches

= 238 CHF/258 USD

*estimates, not exact figures. Not sure why so much at Migros lately. Might update.

Discovering ancient sites was a clear highlight in Greece. We had long days and field trips on Saturdays, but I left feeling very satisfied with the amount of time we devoted to studying Greek antiquity. 

For our second Saturday trip, we took an early bus ride to the Temple of Poseidon near the tip of the Attica peninsula. This was not only a holy temple but a fortified town and harbor for Greek warships. The location was raided and sacked over the centuries. The first temple was destroyed and a second was rebuilt on top of the older temple’s foundation. A large wall surrounded a one-street town (its foundations are still visible), a stoa (covered walkway with columns), and the temple. On a smaller hill across from the Temple of Poseidon is a less intact temple to Athena. I wish we had had more time to sit by the cliffs and watch the strikingly blue waves turn the sea.  

In a small cove between the cliffs, there are two traditional Greek tavernas serving fresh seafood and a small hotel. Our group split up between the restaurants and I ended up on the patio overlooking the cove and the temple up above. The water was dazzling and it was one of the most cinematic moments of my study abroad trip thus far. It was enchanting. So enchanting that a few people jumped into the water in their underwear! Back in Athens, our class took a field trip to the Agora, the center of political life in Athens. Only free men over eighteen could enter. It held not only temples but a courthouse, the mint (for coins), and a library. On display were the pieces of pottery with carved names that citizens used to vote. All the votes for a person were put into their bowl and if water did not leak out, meaning enough pottery plugged the bottom, they could be exiled. Under Athenian democracy, men who became too popular posed a risk to the balance of power. Therefore, they would be honorably exiled for ten years while the city took care of their business.

Hüseyin, our CYA archeology professor, gave one of his signature lectures, mixing improvisational comedy with a history lesson. Greek methodology is filled with comedic irony and drama but his lecturing style makes it even more hilarious. Athenians adopted the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine, pleasure, and almost every other indulgence. Dionysus, like many gods, was fickle and unpredictable. 

For our last field trip, Hüseyin led us on an entertaining tour of the Acropolis. The Parthenon literally means virgin and it was created to honor the goddess Athena’s virginity. That, of course, got some jokes. Athena and Poseidon fought to be the protectors of Athens. Athena won with her olive tree over Poseidon’s water spout. It was very windy so after we were released from our tour I took pictures and quickly descended the Acropolis. With the afternoon free, I rested and did a little gift shopping. I got mugs for my boyfriend and me at an adorable artists’ studio/showroom called Threesome Ceramics. (Sorry, that’s just the name!) They have beautiful handcrafted pieces and I would highly recommend them. 

Sunday = Beach day. After the Temple of Poseidon shenanigans, we were all itching to jump into the sea. A group of us grabbed Ubers to go to the “Athenian Riviera”. Vouliagmeni Beach has a snack bar, bathrooms, and sports areas about a thirty-minute ride from central Athens. For a five euro off-season entry, we had access to lounge chairs under umbrellas and an expansive beach in a protected cove. It was absolutely worth the money just to lounge in the sun like lizards and forget winter. It was in the mid-60s and getting cloudier by the minute so I jumped in the water before the weather gave me an excuse not to. After I got used to the feeling of my body going numb in the chilly water, it was really fun to be momentarily weightless in the salty Aegean.

That’s it for Greece. Next week I’ll return to my regular content on Switzerland. In fact, I’m writing this from a train dining car headed to Zurich! Thank you so much for reading if you’ve gotten this far.

Finances (Wednesday 3/9-3/15):

– 70 USD on food

– 20 USD on Ubers (about $5 per ride when split five ways)

– 60 USD on gifts

= ~150 USD ($90 covered by SIT food/Greece travel stipends)

* I wasn’t great about keeping track since most places prefer cash, not card. 

Athens is diverse, conflicted, and youthful. There’s a warm energy of people wanting to make something, but maybe in different directions. Politics is a clear example. 

But more viscerally, when looking around there are tons of new restaurants and cafes. Maybe some are for the tourists, but there seems to be a genuine push to create a renaissance out of what has been a dark period. Moreover, each Athenian neighborhood has its own vibrant character. Within a few blocks, you can go from an immigrant neighborhood with signs in multiple languages to designer luxury stores to authentic Greek cafes crowded with locals. The compact and diverse neighborhoods feel somewhat like San Francisco. The steep streets (note Lycabettus Hill) reminded me of climbing up to Coit Tower in SF with my boyfriend over winter break. Lots of green and lots of colors. Athens’ beauty earns its place under a wash of pink and orange sunsets. I can’t get over how much the landscape is imbued with magic.

I had a great time doing an Instagram story takeover for Whitman OCS (now in saved stories). I shared our lecture and trip to the Numismatic Museum of Athens to study Greek coinage. I also posted a bit about the art student protest and my expedition into the Exarchia neighborhood, known for anarchy and dissent, to talk to locals about the historical context for current student protests. Right now, the government is forcing the construction of a new metro station in Exarchia Square. Armed police guard a high fence that now covers the green space known historically for hosting anarchists and counter-culture. Some are calling it inevitable progress but others are highlighting the curious coincidence in location and the likely gentrification of a working-class area.

Many nights in Athens people would go out to the clubs or bars downtown. My friend and I felt like being homebodies but decided we’d venture out for a quick drink down the street. Greece has these incredibly romantic patio bars where people talk for hours. It feels like a semblance of a lost period in time when people meeting in a public place was the main form of news, gossip, and academic thought. While I still can’t make sense of it, the service was comically horrible at the spot we chose. We spoke to five different waiters repeatedly to order and then begged to be able to pay and leave. Each time they would say “just a minute!” and then take a smoke break, get a massage from a coworker (?!), and then help other tables while ignoring us. Two hours later we were hysterically laughing as we escaped bar purgatory by shoving our change in someone’s hand. 

Every other place I went to in Greece was extremely prompt. This is especially the case because it’s the law that you get a bill when your order is served. Sometimes restaurants would have a bill bowl on the table and we’d create a little pile throughout a dinner. It’s not too hard to split bills because waiters will typically come over with a mobile credit card machine when you ask. Note: Favorite meal bottom right at Ama Lechei in Exarchia.

We had a few wrap-up sessions as our day of departure neared. I presented my project: “Lost Faith: Student Protest in Light of the Greek Economic Crisis”. In addition to the students I talked about last week, I interviewed a police officer and a shopkeeper in Exarchia. To quickly summarize, the poor management of the Greek financial crisis created mistrust between students and the state. This has been renewed by anger over the train disaster. There is growing suspicion of corruption within the student community and frustration with negotiations. For the generation who grew up in crisis, there is little faith in the government responding to or solving issues.

It was difficult witnessing people my own age having such intense frustration. My encounters were corroborated by other students who did similar projects. While the older generation sounded more optimistic, elected officials do not seem to represent the students and consequently the future of Greece.

I haven’t known how to start writing this next blog post. Amazing beautiful things have happened but I also experienced a lot of stress before leaving for Greece. I felt that it would be disingenuous to not state that, though I will not be explaining further for privacy reasons. 

It’s necessary to explain that Greece is going through deep mourning and frustration with the government in light of the train tragedy. Today is the general strike where many unions and protest movements are joining together to protest at Syntagma Square in front of the parliament. I don’t want to sound ominous, but the amount of built-up emotion I’ve seen makes me feel nervous about what could happen next. While I have walked around Athens in blissful awe of the magic imbued in this landscape, there’s a subtext of tension outside the touristy places. I might be more on edge than typical because our classes are focused on the economic crisis. The protests today are inextricably tied to the difficulties Greece experienced with the Great Recession, the subsequent EU bailouts, the migrant crisis, and the political upheaval that led to the rise of the first neo-fascist party in Europe to gain power post-World War II. These would be heavy topics at any moment to discuss in classes but are even heavier because of the train tragedy.

 

Yesterday my friends and I talked to protestors outside the National Theater who have been occupying the building for over a month (Ziller Theatre Squat). They are theater students who have been told that their arts degrees are virtually worthless as the government has decided to downgrade their certificates. Our one assignment in Greece is to talk to locals and do informal interviews around a broadly identified research topic. We all felt drawn to the fact that people our age were engaged in such an ambitious movement and immediately wanted to talk to them. As our class passed the theater for the second time this week, we asked permission to break off and talk to them. The students were very friendly and eager to tell us about their cause in English. We talked to three young women who said that the cuts to the arts are spurred by corruption and that the train tragedy is the case in point of the government failing to do its job. I am not sure yet where I am going with my assignment, but I feel solidarity with the students. They laughed about their outfits being typical of art students and gleefully talked about their aspirations to continue studying the arts. One of them said she would do anything to go to Juilliard. At that moment, they could have easily been my friends at home in the United States talking about their dreams. This article explains further than I can here.

During the week, we have classes from around 9 am to 5 pm. This includes virtual French classes with our Swiss teachers. College Year Athens, which is hosting us for these two weeks, has amazing professors, a spacious student building, and a pleasant cafeteria where we eat on the weekdays. We are located right next to the Panathenaic Stadium in an up-and-coming neighborhood called Pangrati. There are plenty of nice restaurants and the food is absolutely incredible. I can easily say I have had the best food of my life in Athens (note Ama Lachei). The city is chaotic and the drivers are ruthless, but Athens is beautifully alive and friendly. The Mediterranean ease of living is evident and a welcome shift from Switzerland. This past weekend we went to Delphi to see the temple and visit the museum of ancient artifacts. I was blown away to be in a place with such historical and cultural significance. My time here has been a busy heightened sensory dream. I am awe-struck every day that I get to be here and surprised by how emotionally connected I feel to Greece.

Finances (Thursday 2/23-Tuesday 3/8):

– 58 USD at Migros

– 65 USD eating out in Greece

– 46 USD on groceries in Greece

– 21 USD for Greece/EU SIM

= ~190 USD (All covered by SIT food/Greece travel stipends)

* Calculations are not exact but close estimates. USD because confusing to show both Swiss Francs and Euros for Greece.