I apologize in advance for the length of this post...
The last hotel we were at had terrible wifi that would barely even connect, so I was hesitant to start a post only for it to get deleted or something. But now we have a 5+ hour layover in Thessaloniki (not Athens, as we thought) with internet! So that's exciting.
Since my last post, we have left Athens and stayed on two different islands: Mykonos and Santorini. These both have distinct and different roles in the Greek islands, but both are very touristy and popular. Mykonos is known for the beach and the partying. Santorini is known for its sunsets and smaller scale and more relaxed environment.
Mykonos started off slightly bumpy. After we got off the ferry, a man with our name on it met us to take us to our hotel. He informed us that our hotel had been changed, without notifying us, by our travel agency. All of the adults were extremely frustrated and infuriated by this, and I just felt bad for the way that they were all yelling at this poor man who literally had no idea what was going on, or anything about our hotel. He was simply the messenger. This exchange made me realize how lucky we are to have so many people working for us and trying to help us on our trip, and we should have appreciated more what they were doing, rather than yelling at them. We were brought to the new hotel, whose staff was some of the nicest people I've ever met, especially here on the trip. They even helped us to try and get our reservation back at the original hotel. We ended up staying there, and it was great. It wasn't on the beach like the other one, but the service was amazing and the rooms were awesome. The people were so incredibly gracious each and every day. The travel agency felt bad about the mix up, and so they offered us a couple of free things at our next stop, which wouldn't have been able to happen without the mix up, and turned out to be incredible. I'll talk about that later :)
We took yet another boat to Santorini, and drove up steep steep cliffs until arriving in Oia, the town where our hotel was. There are literally so many steps you have to take to get everywhere, and the car couldn't take us directly to the hotel. There are beautiful white buildings everywhere, and many churches with blue domed roofs, just like the pictures. We relaxed the first day and then the next day, we left to take a tour around the island, given to us by the travel agency. A man named Gabriel picked us up and said "ok. Do you all want the tourist way or the traveler way?" We said traveler, and we looked forward to a day of seeing authentic parts of the island. Gabriel talked the whole drive about Greece and Santorini's history. The three hour tour was amazing, we drove from one end of the island to the other, and stopped at various points to take pictures.
At the end Gabriel talked about so many cool things to reflect on! The first was about how Turks and other immigrants coming into Greece, especially to Athens, are blamed for the high crime rate. This reminded me of the United States and its treatment of Mexican and other Latin Americans that are coming into the U.S. The profiling going on is terrible, and i'm sure something similar happens in Greece in order to "prevent crime". Gabriel stated that because of Greece's economic situation, people have no choice but to steal in order to feed their families, which happens in any country where there are immigrants or even natives without good jobs.
He also talked about how children are taught to think of Turks in schools and by their parents, and how when he went to Turkey when he was little, he was expecting to hate it, and was pleasantly surprised on the fact that the Turks he met were literally not monsters, because that's what he had bee taught. He talked about how the media sometimes portrays the same thing, and again, I couldn't help but think of the US-Mexico border. It's amazing how even halfway around the world, an issue so great can be so identical. He also talked about how one should trust their own eyes, and not depend on what other people say. This is a practice that I choose to use at Hendrix, and try to encourage my peers to do the same. Because Hendrix is so small, you are bound to have heard about every student and every teacher in some form through word of mouth. Before I make a judgment about someone, I meet them myself or take the class that I've told was "horrible". There are some people that others talk about that I refuse to listen to their input on them because I know them myself and even if they have been "mean" to others, they are always nice to me. He also said how there are good and bad people all over the world, and sometimes politicians make a bad name for a whole group. I could not believe how accurate that statement was for the United States.
I am starting to discover that as much as I appreciate staying at nice places and eating at expensive restaurants, it is not giving me the travel experience I yearn to have. My parents enjoy luxury, and they're lucky enough to have enough to be able to live in the lap of luxury every time we travel. I think I prefer cultural experiences where I can create relationships with people, and the luxury aspect isn't as exciting to me as it used to be. Something else to think about when traveling- what are your goals for travel and also, what should the role of travel be? I think tourism has become huge and yes, it helps economies, but I don't think it gives people the experience they could potentially have in a less- touristy location.
We'll be in Istanbul tonight- I'll probably post when I get to Madrid on Tuesday or on Wednesday!
-Anna
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Kalispera from Greece!!
"Kalispera" means "good evening" in Greek! It is honestly the one word that I have consistently been able to remember (along with "kalimera" or "good morning". Even "thank you" is too complicated. We arrived two days ago and I'm still very jetlagged- right now it is almost 7 pm while EST in the States it's 12 pm! I've been napping a lot and still able to sleep through the night, so I think by tomorrow i'll be over it! I haven't written yet because i'm always so tired and we've been so busy every day!
We have been in Athens, the capital, since our arrival on Saturday morning. Tomorrow we leave at 6 am to go take a ferry to the island of Mykonos! Very exciting! Athens is full of so many ruins, as it is the cultural center of Greece. Within walking distance of our hotel is Parliament, The Temple of Zeus the Olympian, the Acropolis, and more! (Pictures are currently uploading...it may take a while). Not only has the trip so far been an amazing touristic experience (complete with Segway tours and getting lost even while staring closely at a map), it has been incredibly reflective for me as well.
Going to the Border and being forced to write reflective pieces has made me rethink the way in which I travel, thanks to the lovely ladies who I was with, and Dr. Goldberg (if any of you are reading- much love!) Also, being an anthropology major and having taken more classes than before, I am constantly people watching and making observations about the similarities and differences between life here compared to the U.S. and other European countries that I have visited.
The first major difference is the way in which Greeks think about money and life. (From personal observation), I have noticed that people here are more concerned with helping you rather than trying to take money from you. Multiple times, people have offered up student discounts and the fact that people 18 and under get in free to attractions without us even questioning it, which has saved us a lot of money. I know that in the US, I have only gotten a student discount at places that I have asked directly, because they have no problem with you paying the full price if you are unaware of discounts. Also, tipping is not as common, and every guide or driver that we have tipped has looked back at the giver wide-eyed and appreciative. Greece, as many of you know, isn't at the best place economically, and they have an unemployment rate of between 25 and 30%. I can only assume that this causes Greeks to focus on enjoying life more than just making money; this is also disproving articles that we read before we arrived, saying that Greeks are generally unfriendly to tourists.
Along with this idea of enjoying life, I think this is a European custom as well. There is definitely a slower pace that I have noticed here as well as other European countries which I have visited. When you finish a meal at a restaurant in the States, the server is eager to clear your plates and bring you your check (I know I am, as a server, because I want the quickest turnover possible in my section in order to make the most money). Here, plates will stay on your table and the check is brought only when you request it, which usually for us is when we realize that they aren't coming to pick everything up anytime soon. The relaxed pace is something which we have to adjust to.
(Sorry i'm writing so extensively- we've done so much in just 3 days!!)
Another part of Athens which i'm loving is the history. Greeks are the basis for so much of what the rest of the world does, and seeing and hearing about the history of this is awesome. Seeing all the ruins of buildings that were built as old as 400 BC is just amazing! You never see anything that old int he United States, and being in the presence of something so ancient is astonishing.
This trip has also made me think about tourism more, something which I will continue thinking about and looking into as my trip continues. I realized this yesterday, when my mom and I were looking for another hotel, because they had a gym that we could use. The front desk at our hotel gave us a map with our current location, circled the other hotel, and gave us brief and simple instructions. Easy enough. It was early in the morning, and so I hadn't put my contacts in, and so I was squinting and holding the map close to my face to read the tiny street names. Someone walked by with his friends and muttered "que turista" as they passed us. Me, a Spanish speaker, understood that this means "what a tourist", and all I could think to respond was yelling "HABLO ESPAÑOL" at their backs as they walked away. I probably could have thought of something more clever, but I'm not very quick on my feet. Something I have always disliked about traveling to other countries is standing out. I'm 6 feet tall, have blonde hair, and speak English. How do I prevent myself from being a tourist, while still seeing what I want to see, generally touristy sites? Why does tourism have such a stigma in my mind? These are questions which I will continue to examine as I continue my trip! (more explanation of what i'm doing and why is in the description box of this blog)
Thanks for reading and sorry for rambling!
-Anna
We have been in Athens, the capital, since our arrival on Saturday morning. Tomorrow we leave at 6 am to go take a ferry to the island of Mykonos! Very exciting! Athens is full of so many ruins, as it is the cultural center of Greece. Within walking distance of our hotel is Parliament, The Temple of Zeus the Olympian, the Acropolis, and more! (Pictures are currently uploading...it may take a while). Not only has the trip so far been an amazing touristic experience (complete with Segway tours and getting lost even while staring closely at a map), it has been incredibly reflective for me as well.
Going to the Border and being forced to write reflective pieces has made me rethink the way in which I travel, thanks to the lovely ladies who I was with, and Dr. Goldberg (if any of you are reading- much love!) Also, being an anthropology major and having taken more classes than before, I am constantly people watching and making observations about the similarities and differences between life here compared to the U.S. and other European countries that I have visited.
The first major difference is the way in which Greeks think about money and life. (From personal observation), I have noticed that people here are more concerned with helping you rather than trying to take money from you. Multiple times, people have offered up student discounts and the fact that people 18 and under get in free to attractions without us even questioning it, which has saved us a lot of money. I know that in the US, I have only gotten a student discount at places that I have asked directly, because they have no problem with you paying the full price if you are unaware of discounts. Also, tipping is not as common, and every guide or driver that we have tipped has looked back at the giver wide-eyed and appreciative. Greece, as many of you know, isn't at the best place economically, and they have an unemployment rate of between 25 and 30%. I can only assume that this causes Greeks to focus on enjoying life more than just making money; this is also disproving articles that we read before we arrived, saying that Greeks are generally unfriendly to tourists.
Along with this idea of enjoying life, I think this is a European custom as well. There is definitely a slower pace that I have noticed here as well as other European countries which I have visited. When you finish a meal at a restaurant in the States, the server is eager to clear your plates and bring you your check (I know I am, as a server, because I want the quickest turnover possible in my section in order to make the most money). Here, plates will stay on your table and the check is brought only when you request it, which usually for us is when we realize that they aren't coming to pick everything up anytime soon. The relaxed pace is something which we have to adjust to.
(Sorry i'm writing so extensively- we've done so much in just 3 days!!)
Another part of Athens which i'm loving is the history. Greeks are the basis for so much of what the rest of the world does, and seeing and hearing about the history of this is awesome. Seeing all the ruins of buildings that were built as old as 400 BC is just amazing! You never see anything that old int he United States, and being in the presence of something so ancient is astonishing.
This trip has also made me think about tourism more, something which I will continue thinking about and looking into as my trip continues. I realized this yesterday, when my mom and I were looking for another hotel, because they had a gym that we could use. The front desk at our hotel gave us a map with our current location, circled the other hotel, and gave us brief and simple instructions. Easy enough. It was early in the morning, and so I hadn't put my contacts in, and so I was squinting and holding the map close to my face to read the tiny street names. Someone walked by with his friends and muttered "que turista" as they passed us. Me, a Spanish speaker, understood that this means "what a tourist", and all I could think to respond was yelling "HABLO ESPAÑOL" at their backs as they walked away. I probably could have thought of something more clever, but I'm not very quick on my feet. Something I have always disliked about traveling to other countries is standing out. I'm 6 feet tall, have blonde hair, and speak English. How do I prevent myself from being a tourist, while still seeing what I want to see, generally touristy sites? Why does tourism have such a stigma in my mind? These are questions which I will continue to examine as I continue my trip! (more explanation of what i'm doing and why is in the description box of this blog)
Thanks for reading and sorry for rambling!
-Anna
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