The Good Life

Austin and I had a great conversation today as we were sitting on the wall outside the Acropolis of Rhodes.  I asked him what his favorite day of this trip was so far and he couldn’t really answer.  Then we both laughed and began talking about how every single day on this J-term trip has been so spectacular and different from what we are used to that we couldn’t narrow it down to just one day. 

I continued pondering this throughout the day and now I think that I have come up with an explanation as to why this is.  For me it is the fact that each day I get to learn more about the history of this part of the world, both through class and through our trips around Greece, combined with the fact that our group has had a lot of fun together and gets along really well.  Just when I think that Greece has showed me it’s best we go on another day trip and I am yet again blown away by its majestic beauty.  Every day is unique and brings it own awesome aspect to the table and so I can see why we both had such a hard time picking out a favorite day.

stretching before the race

As I mentioned earlier we walked around the town for a bit and then headed up to the Acropolis of Rhodes where we also saw the stadium and theater where people used to gather together to socialize.  Finitsis had us either perform in our own version of the Olympic Games or do something on the stage in the theater to commemorate the Greeks who have done that for centuries.  Those who wanted to do the stadium portion got to race all the way down the stadium and back and then those who placed in the top three got anointed with laurel wreathes.  I was one of the ones that performed on the stage and we did a nice harmonized version of the song I’m Yours and then danced it out to the song Dynamite.  We had a very fun time as well as making fools of ourselves for those videotaping so it was a good time all around. 

We all admired the acropolis for a bit and then headed over and across the street to see the perfect view of the beach in front of us with the water lapping up on the shore and then sun shining above the mountains as it began to set.  Then we made our way back to the main part of town, browsed a couple of stores, admired and sampled some chocolate and desserts, and then headed back to the hotel.  A bunch of us then put on suits and headed out into the Mediterranean.  It was a bit chilly especially since it was already dark but it was fun anyway.  I’m a fish so I thoroughly enjoyed being in the water despite its chilly temperature. 

Just as I stated at the beginning of the blog, there really is never a dull day in Greece especially when you are American and travel in a group of 20!  It has been amazing so far and I expect nothing less for the remaining days.