Αντίο Athens!

These days, when I’m not busy recalibrating my circadian rhythm, I’ve been spending my time missing Athens in every way. I miss my dear friends, the weather, the Acropolis, and the Greek people. I have spent time thinking about how the semester has shaped my views and my temperament, and what characteristics I adopted there …

Best of Salamanca

I love Salamanca. As my semester is drawing to a close, I’m reflecting on some of the best memories I have here and why this city is so special. Since I’ve been here around four months, I think I am qualified to give native advice about visiting and living in the city. Here are the …

Semana Santa

The Spain version of spring break is Semana Santa, or Holy Week. We had an 11 day break that ended on Easter, and this is is when students studying abroad take advantage to travel Europe. Luckily, my break coincided with my Hope roommate’s break who is studying abroad in Liverpool, so we traveled the whole …

Life at the Lake: Lago de Sanabria

A few weeks ago I took a trip with a small group of people from IES for a weekend trip to Lago de Sanabria. The lake is one of the largest lakes in Spain (nothing compared to Lake Michigan, though), and we hiked in the mountains surrounding this natural park. As we were driving into …

“Fast Friends” and Other Idioms

On Good Friday several weeks ago, there was a beautiful procession around the block of the church. Every parishioner was holding a candle and walking in a mob behind the priests who were singing hymns. On any given Sunday, I am often the tallest in my pew. Aside from blocking everyone’s view, this height difference …

Birth, Quarantine, and Death: My Trip to Crete

Last weekend, CYA whisked us away to the island of Crete. We took an overnight ferry from the port at 9:00PM on Thursday and arrived in Crete at 6:30AM Friday. I spent the entire night in my cabin feeling like a pirate/trying to forget the excessive amount of Greek meatballs I had just eaten (συγγνώμη …

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

On my last trip of the semester I fulfilled a life-long dream of visiting Ireland. I stayed with friends in a hotel in Dublin, but we also booked a day tour to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. Dublin is a smaller city but there are so many things to see. You can visit the …

Spring Break in Barcelona

Bon dia! Over spring break I visited Spain for the first time. Our spring break lasted from March 16 – March 19 (basically the length of fall break at Hope) so I had a short time to visit as much of the city as possible. This was a popular travel weekend. Flight prices were getting …

Xronia Polla

Hello everyone! Despite what you might believe about my health/safety on account of my prolonged and unexplained absence, I am happy and healthy and not overly stressed (the ‘elusive three’ in undergraduate life). I’ve been out of the game for so long because we took a wonderful field trip to Northern Greece, had a week …

A Double Holiday

Today, March 25, is a double holiday for the Greeks; Greek Independence Day, as well as the feast day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are celebrated on this day. Greece began to become independent from the Ottoman Turks in 1829. The exact date of the liberation was not March 25, but since …