Farewell For Now

Back home in the United States, I've been thinking about my time in Greece a lot.  Of course, family and friends have wanted to know every detail of my time abroad, and in many conversations I've found myself pulling a blank on what to tell them.  It seems like even though I was in Greece for so many months I don't remember most of it.  After being there for four months, everything that stands out becomes familiar, everything that sets it apart from the US becomes the norm.  And I've noticed and learned about different modes of life, different ways of going about a day, and different ways of interacting with another person.

CYA offered me an invaluable opportunity in many forms: I learned from some of the most incredible professors, all very impressive in their fields.  All of my professors from this past semester were not only excellent teachers, but they were also eager to learn alongside me and my peers as we discovered new finds throughout Athens and the rest of the world.  The friends that I made inside and outside the classroom are some of the best I've ever had.  I know that there are a handful of people I've met here that I will stay in contact with because we've shared this unique experience.  My internship with the MediaLab taught me a slew of professional skills that I will no doubt bring to my next job, and I made more amazing workplace friends along the way.  Even though it was an internship, the responsibility and the respect involved made the position feel like a real job, a real career, and that is a feeling that I will keep with me as I finish school and start to enter the work force as a graduate.

As a whole, Greece was one of the most beautiful places I had ever had the pleasure of living in.  I learned to appreciate the outdoors and the casual din of the people around me.  I learned to listen to the city and look at the corners in new ways. I learned more than I ever thought I would about history purely by looking at one storefront; furthermore, the way Athens is built layer upon layer made me think about my carbon footprint, and the impact I have on the environment on a young person in America.  This city made me think about how I move through the world, and it caused me to think critically of myself and those around me.

One of the best memories I have of Greece, is one that occurred on my last day but brought me back to my first day.  I was walking to the academic center the first day I arrived in Athens, and I needed help unlocking my apartment door.  Having walked to the academic center one way, I thought that the person helping me would walk bak that way with me.  I then found out that there was another, seemingly more confusing way to my apartment.  She took me through winding streets and up and down crosswalks, and looking around I was completely confused and didn't have any of my bearings.  Before heading off to the Athens airport for the last time, I realized that the very same street that I traversed at some point throughout every day was the same street that the CYA employee had led me through on my first day in Greece.  It was a crazy realization to try and see the streets and all its storefronts and people without knowing all the history and experiences I've had with them–it was a surreal experience.  It was then that I realized how much I needed to come back to Greece, whether it's in this decade or the next.  Because the people in Athens knew me, and they helped me to discover who I was and wanted to be in this world.  So, it's a goodbye for now, and a very very large see you soon.

Hiking Up to the Gods

This semester I had the amazing opportunity to go hiking in the southern part of Greece. About thirty CYA students and a hiking guide from the area woke up early on a Friday morning, to take a six-hour bus ride. Groggily pushing ourselves onto the bus having forgotten to eat breakfast, we all used that morning ride to sleep a bit more and to mentally prepare ourselves to hike up the tallest mountain in Greece –which, of course, happens to be the one and only Mount Olympus

The minute the email about hiking Mount Olympus came into my inbox a few months ago, I jumped at the opportunity to sign up. My mom can attest to the fact that I had barely read the whole email before I was screaming with joy – how often was I going to get the chance to hike up to the mythological throne room of the gods? I knew that having chosen to come to Greece, I absolutely HAD to be on this trip, especially as I had spent the entire summer before thinking about all the possible experiences I could have on that mountain. Now that I’m back at sea level, I can say that the actual hike was nothing like I had expected, but it was still one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had.

We started the hike at the base of the mountain, which is in the town of Litochoro. Getting off the bus, I could already tell I would be in for a treat from the beautiful forest surrounding the mountain range. Going to school in Boston, I’ve come to love watching the leaves change, and I was really bummed that I wouldn’t get to experience that while I was in Greece this semester. But it seems like the gods had other ideas because the trees on this mountain range were some of the most beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow that I’ve ever seen. A lot of the friends I’ve made here at CYA also go to school on the East Coast, and we were spinning in circles for a solid five minutes because we were so excited about the foliage – it was one of the funniest situations ever!

After we calmed down from the surprise of the trees, we started our hike by walking across a bridge that overlooked a small waterfall and then we continued up some steps laid into the path. Within the first couple of hours we made an impressive gain in elevation, and within the first hour I was sweating but still having a fun time. It was incredible to see all the little hills and valleys, and it was really nice to be out in nature. I’m also someone who loves to talk as I’m doing something, whether it’s walking, driving, or doing arts and crafts, and the hike was a perfect backdrop for me. There were a lot of other hikers that I either hadn’t met or hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to interact with during the semester, and I got to meet a lot of new and really cool people that way.

We started our hike pretty late in the afternoon, around five pm, which gave us just a couple of hours of daylight (luckily this trip took place before daylight savings time ended), but by the time night fell we still hadn’t gotten to the shelter, so our day hike quickly became a night hike. I have very little hiking experience, and quite frankly the only time that I spend outside is when I’m swimming at the beach or having picnics with friends on the grass. That means I am by no means equipped to hike up a mountain at night! Even so, I surprised myself when I realized how much fun I was having looking up at the stars and hiking in the dark with nothing but a flashlight and the moon to light my path.

Not long after it got dark, we could see the lights emanating from the windows of the refuge, and even though it seemed like every time we came upon another switchback, the light seemed to get farther away, we eventually arrived at the shelter at around 9:30 pm. After a quick dinner, we all braced ourselves for the pain we’d feel in our legs when we finally stopped moving and prepared for the rest of the hike up to the summit the following morning. Once we had all gathered in the morning, we had breakfast at the refuge and got to meet lots of other hikers and climbers, as well as some adorable dogs, all on their own journeys up the mountain. Gearing up to continue the hike, my friends and I took a few minutes to take some photos with the sun and the trees – even though we weren’t at the summit yet, we still had a pretty breathtaking view.

The second leg of our mountain hike was definitely a little bit harder because my legs were already sore from all the hiking we had done the day before. There were some parts of the mountain that were simply extreme verticals, and even though I saw my feet moving, I had trouble comprehending that I was hiking upward; it was truly wild to see!  After a few more hours, we reached the summit, and once we saw the open expanse that took us to the mountain edge, every one of us seemed to get a burst of energy. Finally being on a flat surface, we all started running to the edge to see what awaited us there, and we were not disappointed. It was a little foggier than usual that morning, but the view was spectacular. We were surrounded by mountain ranges, the sky was so open, and we could see for miles in every direction; I was floored, to say the least.

I don’t know if this is a common trope at all colleges, but one of the jokes at Tufts is that when people go abroad they always come back talking about all the ways that abroad “changed” them. Even the first day I got to Greece, one of the first texts I got from my friend was “Has abroad changed you yet?” It’s all a joke, but it’s based on a lot of truth: the abroad experience is different for everyone, but there are always concrete experiences that change perceptions and the ways we walk through this world. I think that’s a really powerful thing, and it was one of the reasons why I was so excited to study abroad in the first place. I could tell from the first step I took towards the summit of Mount Olympus that this was an experience that was going to stay with me forever; the process of walking through a part of the world that was and still is both so mystical and so natural, sharing laughs with friends, straining my neck to look out over cliffs without falling, all of these experiences changed me.  I came back from this trip having gained a lot of different things: I’m now more aware of my surroundings and more critical of landscapes and how I walk through spaces as a pedestrian. I also realized how much I love the terrain of Greece as a whole. What’s more, I got to see beautiful rural landscapes and make great friends, and I discovered how much I love walking among trees and hiking, a pastime I’ll definitely continue once I get back to the States. Standing on top of Mount Olympus, I got me a taste of what it felt like to be next to nature, and I absolutely loved it.

This article was originally published for and by cyablog.net

From Small-Town Business to the Global Runway

One of the best parts about CYA field trips is that while we’re exposed to incredible archaeological and historical sites, we also get a taste of many aspects of modernity. This past week we were in the Peloponnese learning about ancient sites in Mycenae and the Palace of Nestor, but one of my classes in particular got a special treat in the form of a private viewing of an exhibition in Nafplio.  Taught by Athena Hadji, The Art and Craft of Curating focuses on all aspects of an exhibition space, from the work of the first curators, to different kinds of exhibition spaces and annual contemporary art festivals. During the Peloponnese trip, professor Hadji took our class to a special exhibition at Fougaro, a museum and artist collective outside Nafplio.  Originally a tomato factory, Fougaro has now been transformed into a beautiful open air space with lots of cafes and tables for people to sit and enjoy the outdoors, but this new creative space also preserves the original brickwork of the factory and its ever-iconic tall chimney. In its role as an artist collective that showcases work from many different realms of the art world, Fougaro has collaborated with the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation to put on a retrospective of the work of Yannis Tseklenis entitled “Tseklenis-The Years of Fashion”.

The exhibition focuses on the designer’s work through collections of clothes and fabrics, starting in 1965 -when he first introduced his collection- and ending in 1991, with his final withdrawal from the world of fashion. Tseklenis is well known for  creating intricate, delicate, and powerful fabrics that captured the attention of audiences all over the world.  After hearing bits and pieces about his fashion career in class lectures, I was really excited to see his work up close, and I wasn’t disappointed.  After we had taken in the beauty of the industrial artistic space of Fougaro and learned a bit about the history of the location, the exhibition librarian welcomed us and gave us some background on Yannis Tseklenis, explaining why he came to be one of the most prominent fashion designers in Greece.  Since the librarian only spoke Greek, professor Hadji translated for us, and watching the exchange between them was really interesting from a linguistic standpoint because she seemed to be translating word for word what the librarian was saying about the exhibition.  I’ve always found foreign languages so interesting to hear because the way sentences and conversations are composed is often so different from English, and this particular case was no exception. It was also surreal to be in an extremely visual space like an art exhibition because anytime the librarian motioned towards a piece of clothing or a design by Tseklenis, I could almost infer what he was saying from his movements and the cadence of his voice, which was awesome to experience.

After getting a good handle on the life of Tseklenis and his fashion successes, as well as his disappointments, we got to look around the gallery space and see his work up close. Fashion has always been really interesting to me because it’s hard to remember that the patterns on fabric are designed by someone.  What’s more, it’s incredible to get an insight into a designer’s artistic process and their inspiration, like being granted access to the inner thoughts of an artist. The fabrics in particular were designed and styled with such immense attention to detail and care that it was very easy to see how Tseklenis rose to fame so quickly in his career. Indeed, they encapsulate the history of Greece and the fluidity of the art scene in the 60s and 70s, and seeing them also gave us an insight into what visuals were most important for Tseklenis at the time.

Looking at all of those pieces of clothing reminded me of all the different kinds of art that exist in the world and how much they can mean to so many groups of people.  Coming from the United States, it can be really easy to forget that there are so many different artists and so many different modes of art, which I know I’d absolutely love if I was more exposed to them. This exhibition also reminded me that there are other ways I can get involved with my local art community while exploring the possibilities that aren’t necessarily right in my backyard. One of the most important things we’ve learned about curation on professor Hadji’s course is that an exhibition isn’t only deemed successful if it was necessarily good or exceptional, but if it is remembered and talked about after the fact. If an exhibition lasts in people’s minds, if it makes an imprint, then the curator has done their job.  I for one definitely left the exhibition space of Fougaro feeling honored, impressed, and excited to find more art to see and discuss in Greece.

This article was originally published for and by cyablog.net

A Lesson in Carving

If you’re in Greece, you can already engage with gorgeous views and experiences. Ruins, art, a beautiful Mediterranean landscape – this country has got a lot to offer. But if you’re a CYA student, you have another opportunity to take part in something truly extraordinary: learning how to carve marble at one of the oldest studios in Greece.  Let me give you some directions: if you’re standing in front of CYA, make a right onto Fokianou and then walk all the way down to Eratosthenous.  If you have time, stop for a pastry from Kekkos, and then continue along Arktinou until you pass a blue and white taverna. From there, follow the road upward past a furniture upholstery store and a leather maps store and antique shop.  Passing a few cats on your way, as well as some opaque windows, you’ll see an opening on your right. With soft light emanating from its wrought iron door, it’s almost level with the ground so you could walk right past it and not even notice. But don’t miss it – this is where the magic happens. Upon going through this door and down the steps, you’ll leave behind the hustle and bustle of Athens and enter into the art world of ancient crafts and, in this particular case, marble carving.  If you come in on a Tuesday, you’ll also see a slew of CYA students hammering away at slabs of rock, learning how to use chisels delicately and strike with accurate force.

Every semester CYA offers students the opportunity to take a weekly marble carving class, taught in a studio in our neighborhood.  I and many of the people I now call my close friends jumped at the opportunity to take part in this beautiful and historical tradition.  As an art form, marble carving is something that many people only see as the finished product: a sculpture in a museum or ruins on ancient soil. But here in Athens, I’ve had the opportunity to see marble close up and create a piece of art completely from scratch.  Working in the beautiful studio owned by Dimitris, and with the help of his son Giannis and friend Paris, I’ve been exposed to more marble than I ever thought was possible in my lifetime. I’ve gone from drawing a design to imprinting it onto a nearly 20-pound slab of marble to carving away at the said marble, and it’s been absolutely spectacular.Walking into the studio for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect, but Dimitris is probably one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and shares his love for his craft every time we enter the studio. In the very first lesson, he walked us through the different rooms and showed us past students’ work, as well as speaking to us about the history of marble carving and why it’s so important to him.  One of the funniest things Dimitris told us the first time we met him was that by the third lesson students are usually pretty good at carving. As someone who hadn’t done any serious art since high school, I had very low expectations that I would improve so quickly, particularly after my first carving session. But I can confidently say that this past Tuesday when I was at the studio, I found myself carving with ease and felt much more confident about where to place my chisel. While my lines still aren’t as clean as that of professionals like Dimitris, Giannis and Paris, I can definitely see in my own piece of marble how my work has improved.

Looking at a slab of marble, it’s pretty incredible to realize that you have the power to create a work of art with just a chisel and hammer; it doesn’t seem like either of those objects would be strong enough to cut stone.  But the even cooler thing is that it’s not just the chisel that does it, it’s the pure force of your own hands as you move around the marble surface. Going to marble carving every week has given me a sense of what it feels like to do art that is intrinsically connected to a country’s culture, one that is filled with the most spectacular stories that are all crafted through art.

This article was originally published for and by cyablog.net

Have You Ever Hiked Through a Gorge?

Hi! My name’s Alexandra Strong, and I’m a Tufts student studying abroad in Greece this semester.  After a hectic first month in Athens, I’ve finally settled into my new home here, but I’m realizing that it’s already October and I only have three more months here!  Time is moving by pretty quickly, but I’ve already learned so much from this beautiful country about different people, cultures, and landscapes.  While I’ve had tons of fun every day in Athens so far, my favorite activity was hiking through the Imbros Gorge in Crete.  

As one of the many incredible experiences CYA gives students here, we all went to Crete a few weeks ago to visit some archeological sites, look at some monasteries, and explore the history of the island.  I learned so much about Cretan history as well as got to walk through some amazing sites for my archeology class and see the ruins I was actually learning about.  On one of the last days, we all went on a hike through the Imbros Gorge, a beautiful land mass in the south of Crete.  As someone who had never really done any hiking before, I was excited to be outside and had no idea to expect from the day.  But even before we were halfway through the gorge, I was awestruck with the beauty and experience of walking among all these gorgeous rock formations.  The twists and turns, the trees, seeing the sky through little crevices of mountains up above–it all created such a serene picture that I absolutely loved.  Even though there were about 150 students walking through the gorge, as well as many other tourists making the hike, it was strangely quiet, which was so interesting to me as someone from a big city.  But there was something nice about how quiet everything was.  I got to look around and actually take in my surroundings.  As a whole, Greece has a different soundscape from cities in the US.  The more autonomous spaces in Athens are more based in the noise of cars and traffic, but even if you just walk down a street away from the main road, it’ll be much quieter.  Everyone lives in apartments here in the city, and the buildings are constructed so that they block out sound, which is pretty incredible to think about, because when walking you don’t even notice that the noise has dwindled.  On the islands, there’s a different kind of soundscape, it’s not as populated by traffic noises.  In Crete specifically, the wind was the loudest thing I heard, and I even saw it making waves on the water, it was that strong.  In the gorge, I could hear it whistling through the trees and the crevices in rocks, which was pretty cool to experience.  

 

On top of the beauty of the gorge, I was also walking through it with people that have now become some of my closest friends in this program.  Our trip to Crete was a mere three weeks after we all arrived in Greece, so we were all still getting to know each other, but the walk through the gorge gave us all a chance to talk and connect to each other.  There’s something about walking that makes people more willing to open up and share stories and identify with one another.  We talked about our colleges and universities back home, our families, experiences outdoors, sports, friends back home, families, and our favorite past times.  I had some of the best conversations of my life walking on those narrow paths, and when we all got back to Athens I came home with way too many bug bites for my liking, but some really strong friendships too, which made the bug bites pretty okay.