Greece Day 6

Our final day in Greece consisted of quite a bit. We started the day with a card swap activity at Starbucks. With coffee in hand, we worked to organize all of our thoughts and information that we learned this week. The crisis is far more complex than we initially thought, so this was a great way for us to put all of the different components out in front of us so we could discuss them. The group managed to organize our ideas and facts into five categories we could use to help put together our final product for this trip.

We then hiked part of Mount Lykabetus (we took a train to get all the way to the top). It had a wonderful outlook over all of Athens and the Acropolis. There was even a small chapel on top and a wedding was taking place inside. Then we climbed back down and headed for lunch. Most of us chose gyros for lunch since it was going to be our last opportunity to get them. They are so delicious and will definitely be missed!

The group then spent some time working on our project week presentation for the symposium. We developed a good plan before we headed back out to Monastiraki Central Market. The group walked around the market taking in the sights of the different shops and doing some souvenir shopping. It was also a night of celebration in Greece, similar to that of Halloween, so we saw a lot of people dressed up in costumes and there had been parades earlier in the day.

We had our final dinner at Anafiotikas. We ate a lot of greek salad and kabobs as well as grilled cheese (not the sandwich). It was all delicious and the group had no problem finishing our plates. We had a wonderful walk home even in the rain, just enjoying each other’s company and laughing about our times together on the trip. We will be heading out tomorrow morning to our flights back to the States where we will all be getting a much needed rest. It has been an amazing week and we have gained so much insight into the crisis and Greece and the issues impacting their ability to recover.

Visiting the Greek Islands

Today the group went to three different islands via boat off the coast of Greece. The islands we went to were Hydra, Poros, and Agina. The first island we went to, Hydra, was represented in the way of an amphitheater, in other words the houses and buildings were built up into the island all surrounding the port. As for Poros and Agina, their buildings were spread along the coast and they both consisted of narrow streets, stairways and interesting architecture.

The islands are a lot different in the winter. They are very seasonal: they flourish and have much more business in the summer because of the warmer weather. In the winter months people are still there but not nearly as many. There were many shops and small stores on these islands, and something that occurred, which doesn't in the United States, was that we were able to bargain with the store clerks to try and lower the price for different souvenirs.

It was a great experience going to the islands today. We focused on 10 topics; Greece, tourism, the crisis, tasty, history, economy, potential, I/we, pessimism, and optimism. We came across these 10 topics when visiting the islands, even if it wasn't right in front of our faces. We had to look but we were able to find them. We learned a lot about the islands and how businesses there thrive.

  

Greece Trip Day 4

Today in Greece, the New Hampton Huskies visited and were apart of many different meetings

and tours. We first woke up and started off the day by going to the super market Carre Four, a

european chain food market. The group was asked to accomplish these four tasks; How much

would it cost to feed a family of four for one night, how much does it cost to raise a baby for one

week, find a product which is imported from the U.S., and what was the weirdest thing we could buy for five euros? The tasks were completed and some of the results were astounding to us.

Next, we went to a local incubator near us called the EGG. We all talked about ideas

that we wish we could do and start as a company. We all brought up very cool ideas but almost all of them were already taken. That is something that the group learned as a whole and we

never knew how many ideas that we thought were original were actually in the process of being

done. We also got to see some of the start up companies and what they did.

After the EGG, we had lunch nearby and relaxed until going to an important local lawyer.

The group asked a lot of questions about the crisis that Greece is going through. A lot of the

focus seemed to be on Greece's entrance into the Euro zone: Was Greece ready to have the

Euro as currency or not? The group also learned about the hopeful optimism that the lawyer

shared with the group. Apparently Greece's GDP is calculated to go up by 1.7 percent. This is

great to know for the future of Greece.

After having a nice little break, we met a lady who was an entrepreneur herself. She started her

company because she wanted to operate a business when she was raising her baby. The

company sells hand-made goods made by Greek women to people in Greece and even in

Europe. She introduced some of her products and told us some of the difficulties she encountered when she started the business like high taxation and Greek bureaucracy. It was helpful for us to

understand the issue from the perspective of the entrepreneur.

Our last meeting was in the office of Impact Hub, a global organization under the umbrella of

social issues. Impact Hub creates communities for people of diverse professions, offering

members working opportunities, and developing programs for different businesses. One of the founders of the organization in Greece listed some factors for the crisis such as the expensive price of land, monopoly, legal issues, and even foreign mafias. We ended the night with a nice dinner at Giottys House.

Greece Trip Day 3

To begin the day we met our tour guide, George, and he brought us around the different sectors of Athens and gave us some social and political information about the city. He guided us through the politically divided area and explained the significance of that specific area's opinion. A fact that was quite interesting was that there are Neo-nazi representatives in parliament. We then sat at a coffee shop and had a discussion with George about his opinion on the country's economic turmoil. He provided vital information about Greece's entrance to the eurozone and the false statistics that were reported, causing a lot of the economic distress.

We then were split into teams to complete an activity in which we navigated through different blocks of the city and questioned small businesses about their economic situations as well as the reasoning behind many closed shops. We found that most shops have been struggling since 2008, and many shops closed down. However, coffee shops and cafes seemed to be one of the only businesses that were generally unaffected by the crisis because apparently nobody can stay away from a cup of coffee no matter the price. It was very authentic and hands on to be able to talk to the Greek businesses first hand, and get a primary opinion from everyday people who are affected by the declining economy of Greece.

After our tour we met a group of economists in a conference room at KEPE, and they discussed the economic crisis with us in depth. A woman named Riza gave us a detailed overview about Greece's role in the eurozone and in the European Union. She broke down the current issues of the European Union for us which consisted of the refugee crisis, the United Kingdom's potential decision to leave the European Union, and the failing of Greece's economy. She noted that the Euro is having a negative effect on Greece's poor economy because it is a fixed currency by the Eurozone, which revokes Greece's ability to devalue the currency in an attempt to regain a little control over their economy. We had a group discussion on the factors and consequences of the crash and learned that the unemployment rate is at about 26%, and the national GDP has decreased by nearly one third since the crash began in 2009. She informed us that the bailout loans given by Germany were used to pay off pre-existing loans, which isn't helping money filter into the actual economy itself. We also spoke with the director who explained that innovation is necessary if the Greeks want their economy to improve, and a social scientist filled us in on the refugee situation, and how nearly 850,000 refugees have crossed through Greece in the year of 2015. She told us that most European Union countries have closed their borders recently, so many refugees are getting stuck in Greece which they only intended on using as a path due to the fact that it is the frontier connecting the Asian countries to the European countries. This information was very helpful when we continued to learn about the refugee situation in our later meeting with Action Aid. 

The second meeting we had regarded the refugee situation in Greece. Going into the meeting, many of us did not understand the severity of the situation. For most of the group, our opinions of the refugee situation changed significantly. The reasons for so many refugees entering Greece became more apparent due to the living conditions in their previous countries. Our group agreed that Greece shows a lot of strength by the way that they are handling the refugee situation. Despite the economic struggle, Greece is welcoming towards the refugees and are trying to help in any way possible. 

Later on in the evening, we attended dinner at the Hellenic American Union. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the roof top overlooking the Acropolis, accompanied by live music and Greek dancing. After enjoying the food and watching the performances, we were then able to have our own Greek dancing lessons. Everyone in the group had great enthusiasm to learn something new! 

Greece Day 2

We started our first full day in Athens by taking the Metro to one of the seven man-made wonders of the world, The Acropolis. The Acropolis is arguably where the most famous landmark of Athens is: the Parthenon.

We started with a guided tour of the New Acropolis Museum. The tour guide was able to give us insight on what the native Athenians thought about the museum. As we continued on the tour, we learned much about the architectural and historical make-up of the Acropolis and surrounding region. After the tour of the museum we continued on to the Acropolis itself. After the epic hike up uncountable sets of stairs. We finally reached the summit of the hill and we got to see the infamous Parthenon that is the symbol of Athens. The view was breathtaking as we could see the expansive city of Athens and the faraway Aegean Sea. After we took the obligatory group photo, we got back on the metro, where our adventures continued.  

We all headed in to the heart of Athens, Syntagma Square. Whilst in the square, we enjoyed a simple yet delicious lunch of Gyros. After lunch, we walked to a money exchange near by where we exchanged our US Dollars for Euros.

We then went to the Hellenic American University to talk to the founder of the university himself, Chris Spiros. Mr. Spiros leads a very distinguished life with highlights being the leader of the democratic party in New Hampshire and running for the governor for the state of New Hampshire. After we did this we went for a nice dinner on the coast and had some delicious Greek seafood with Giotty’s family friend. After the amazing meal we enjoyed a bus ride back to hotel filled with laughter and many good times.

Overall, this day was a success as we learned a great deal about ancient Greece. Armed with new information, we are going to be able to find more meaningful and deeper connections with contemporary Greek culture and its economic status.

And We Are Off In Greece!!

It has been a whirl wind 48 hours. We left New Hampton Monday afternoon with a lot of anticipation and energy during flurries. Our flight was overnight with a two hour lay over in Zurich. Although we did not get much sleep on the flight we were all still excited to finish our journey. We finally landed in Athens on Tuesday afternoon; yes, we lost 7 hours, but it was in the low 60s with a light breeze. A very nice way to start off our adventure.

We checked in to the hotel and began our orientation with our wonderful Atlas tour guides. As a group we set goals for what we wanted to accomplish and learn this week after hearing about the busy itinerary we have set out for us.

Even though we were tired, our hunger won out and we went into downtown Athens for dinner. Everyone took the leap of faith and tried something new from the many different family style plates we had set out for us. We all were filled to the brim with delicious meats, cheeses, and salads. For dessert, Adam (our tour leader) had us try these traditional greek donuts called Loukoumades. They were amazingly delicious covered in brown sugar and honey. We have a big day tomorrow including visiting the Acropolis so it is off to bed for us for now. Pictures will be attached tomorrow!