The Elon University lacrosse team is spending Thanksgiving week in Greece as part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement for its students. Throughout the trip, we will bring photos and stories from their time abroad.
Athens - Part 1
Told by Camryn Levin
It’s finally here! Our first day in Athens finally arrived after a long weekend of travel: one seven-hour plane ride, five-hour layover, and another two-hour plane ride later, we were ready to take on the city and begin our trip. After a quick breakfast in our hotel, Athene Tiare, we hopped on the bus for a twenty-minute ride into the center of the city. We arrived at our first stop: the Panathenaic Stadium. This historical site is home to the very first modern Olympic Games. The stadium was huge, with a large ovular track in the center, surrounded by marble and limestone seats. As soon as we arrived, we were able to roam the site, climbing the steep stairs, running on the track, and seeing a beautiful view of the rest of the city. We also were able to go inside the stadium, where a cave-like tunnel led to a room that showcased old posters promoting the games and original torches.
After exploring the stadium and taking plenty of pictures, we got on our bus again and headed toward the National Gardens and Parliament. Once we arrived, our tour guide, Nikos, led us through the gardens while keeping us well informed on the history of the area. We saw statues, parrots, and even tried oranges from the local orange trees. We continued walking through the gardens until we arrived at Parliament; a big white building docked with Greek flags and men in guard uniforms. Here, we watched the changing of the guard. It was very interesting to watch the procedure as the guards went and took their hour-long posts. Once this was finished, we all headed off into the city for some lunch, where we enjoyed gyros, salads, and kebabs. It was a perfect start to our trip, complete with history and great views of the city!
Athens - Part 2
Told by Camryn Levin
After exploring the site, we headed back down the hill and toward the Acropolis Museum. Here we saw restored statues, models of the original Parthenon, and preserved ancient artwork. We learned about Greek myths, ancient conflicts, and the effect Greek way of life had on Western Civilization. It was a great second day in Greece: we couldn’t have asked for better weather, we learned a lot about the history, and we got a good workout in!
Clinics
Told by Camryn Levin
While spending our time in Athens we had the privilege of putting together two clinics at two different schools, where we taught local children how to play lacrosse. The first clinic was held at the American Community School, located in a suburb about 25 minutes from our hotel. We arrived and met the students at the school, all between the ages of 11 and 14. It was interesting because none of them had really played lacrosse before: we ended up loaning our sticks to most so they could learn to throw and catch. The kids were all so excited to play games with us and learn more about the sport and our team: after two 50 minute sessions, we had taught the basics of the sport, played a few games, and made a lot of great memories!
The second day of clinics was held at Athens College, another school not too far from our hotel. Here we held two sessions, one with 100 kids and one with 250 kids. The students were so excited to learn and see us! They were chanting and clapping as we demonstrated the sport for them, eager to get their hands on the stick. In these sessions we taught the basics, played a few games, and got to know the kids and their life here in Greece. It was a great day, full of new Greek words, autographed lacrosse balls, and a lot of Greek dancing!
Traveling to Olympia
Corinth Canal / Epidaurus Theatre / Nafplio
Day 3 of our trip consisted of a lot of driving, but also lots of sights to see! We had a long drive to our second hotel in Olympia from Athens, but it was broken up throughout the day by three stops: the Corinth Canal, the Epidaurus Theatre, and the town of Nafplio.
Our first stop was the Corinth Canal, which was about 2 hours away from Athens. We arrived at a little bridge on the side of the road, with a little market and quick walk-through museum. We all filed through the narrow bridge, looking down into the green-blue water below and snapping pictures. On the other side was the museum, which detailed how and why the canal was built. After that we did some shopping at the small market and got back on the bus to head to our next stop.
After another hour drive, we arrived at the Epidaurus Theatre, where we were greeted by a horde of stray cats. After a short walk surrounded by beautiful scenery, we were able to explore the theatre. Nestled in trees and surrounded by mountains, the theatre was circular with steep stadium-like seats made of rock. Many of us were experimenting with the acoustics: if someone stood in the center of the theatre, they could be heard clearly from the very top row, even if they weren’t yelling. We spent our time here taking pictures of the view, singing in the center, and learning about the history from our tour guide, Nikos.
Our last stop before our final destination in Olympia was the town of Nafplio. After a quick bout of rain, we were able to roam the town on our own, shopping, eating, and finding the best view. The town was beautiful; right on the water, with tiled streets, colorful roofs, and flowers spilling over every balcony. Some of us climbed as high as we could to get a view of the entire town, while others explored the streets window-shopping. We stayed in Nafplio for about three hours before boarding the bus and making our way, finally, to Olympia, where we enjoyed a buffet dinner and prepared for our first full day in the town.
Olympia
Ancient Olympic Stadium / Honey Farm / Greek Dancing
Our first full day in Olympia! We all woke up ready and excited to explore and enjoy the town. First, we went to the site of the original Ancient Olympic Games. Here we took a guided tour through the museum, where we learned and observed the artifacts found on the site: statues, armor, figurines, and parts of buildings. After the museum, we were led outside, where we were shown the original sites of where athletes trained, worshipped, spectated, and competed in ancient times. We were able to enter the original stadium, where we had a speed walking contest, in which Mikaela Buoscio was crowned the winner by our tour guide. After that we entered another museum, which explained more about each event and the equipment needed for each one. We left with a new understanding of not only the Olympic Games, but Greek history in general.
After the stadium we made our way to Klios’ Honey Farm. This farm was hidden away in the backstreets of Olympia, in a little house surrounded by trees. Here we met Klio and her mother, who welcomed us into their home and explained their honey-making business. Klios’ mother explained that her mother and grandmother were both beekeepers, and that they had all lived in the house we were sitting in. They then served us sweets from the quince fruit on a spoon first, then traditional Greek bread with honey drizzled over it. She then let us try the wax on our hands, which could be used as lotion, chapstick, and a method of preventing mosquitos. After this we were given a brief explanation on the history of beekeeping and the process of extracting the honey, all while being served coffee and juice. We also made sure to purchase the wax and of course, many jars of honey!
After a few hours of free time, we all rejoined again for Thanksgiving dinner, where we helped ourselves to the hotel buffet. Afterward we participated in a Maroon vs Gold Quiz put on by our professors, where we answered questions about everything we had seen and learned so far. After Gold came out on top, we hopped on the bus to head toward our final activity of the day: traditional Greek dancing. Upon arriving, we were seated and served wine and water, while traditional Greek dancers demonstrated for us different dances. After a few songs, they invited us to join, and we spent the next two hours holding hands, jumping in circles, clapping, and yelling ‘Opa!’ Some of us even broke plates as we danced, smashing them on the ground at random points during the song. Everyone was involved, including the coaches and guides, until at the end of the night we ended up teaching them the Cotton Eye Joe. It was extremely fun and a great way to end our stay in Olympia!
Nafpaktos/Delphi/Aracova
We left Olympia early on Friday morning, ready to make our journey back to Athens. But first, we made a few stops. First, we stopped in a little town called Nafpaktos. Here we were able to stretch our legs and roam around the shops, cafés and beautiful coastline. After plenty of pictures, we got back on the bus and headed to Delphi.
We arrived in Delphi ready to take our guided tour through the ruins and archeological site; both of which were much older than the ones we saw in the Acropolis. We climbed the mountain, learning about the priestess’ of Delphi and observing the beautiful view of the mountains. We saw ancient religious temples, a stadium, and ruins of buildings where people form around the world would come to have their future’s told by the priestess’. After the mountain, we also toured a museum, where we saw many ancient statues and replicas of the original city of Delphi.
After touring Delphi we got back on the bus and headed toward our final stop before returning to Athens: the town of Arachova. This quaint town was beautiful; tucked in the mountains and strewn with Christmas lights and decorations, it looked like something out of a postcard. We spent our time exploring the streets, eating a late lunch and window shopping. The view was breathtaking from that high up! Afterward we got back on the bus and headed back to Athens, where we checked back into our original hotel and got dinner.
Athens Part 2
We woke up on Saturday in Athens with a whole morning of free time: we had until 1:00 to shop, eat, and explore the city. Many of us went to the Placca, led there by our tour guide Nikos. Here we could buy little trinkets and souvenirs to bring back to our families. After our free time we all met back in the hotel to begin our journey to the Temple of Poseidon.
After an hour and a half drive, we made it to the coastline where the temple sits. We observed the temple for an hour, taking pictures and enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea. After this, we headed down to an ocean-side restaurant, where some of us decided to take a quick dip in the sea. We enjoyed drinks, pizza, and salad, and watched the sunset over the ocean before hopping on our bus and heading back to our hotel. After that, we had dinner, and before we knew it, it was 2 AM: the time we had to leave for the airport. From there, we would be traveling for over 24 hours, going from plane to plane to bus ride and finally, back to Elon.
We had an amazing time in Greece: we traveled to so many different places, including Athens, Nafplio, Olympia, Nafpaktos, Delphi, and Arachova. We learned so much about the history and architecture, and got plenty of pictures on the way. This was definitely a trip none of us will ever forget, and we are so grateful to have this experience. We arrived in Elon with a ton of new knowledge, and most importantly, memories that would last forever.