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.