Secret Knowledge: Beyond what others can see

Kalimera!

Today was our first real day of class in Athens. We were greeted warmly by the staff at CYA as they talked to us about who to talk to about what and offered their help with open arms. Our first class was very very interesting, we talked about apocalyptic religion in Enoch. Some hidden knowledge that i learned was that when Alexander conquer the many lands throughout his reign, the jews believed that the reason for his ability to conquer so much was due to him being the son of an angel and a human woman. Fascinating!

After class a group of us went to a Arestoto for lunch. It was so interesting ordering from greek waiters with 11 people but it was definitely a success! As i was talking to the cafe owners i kept remembering a quote from the movie Agora that we watch yesterday, "More unites us then divides us." Even through we have the language barrier, it definitely does not stop you from laughing and enjoying your conversations and cafes along with them. 

I enjoyed a pasta salad that was dressed in olive oil that was heavenly! I enjoyed my second cup of hot chocolate with espresso of the day and we went on our way to tour more of the classical part of Athens. It was beautiful as you can see in the pictures below! 

All day while we were walking we had a dog companion, the first was named Mittens (see below)! He followed us almost for two hours it was amazing. On our way back we had a dog name Nichta that followed us all the way back to the apartments! Some more secret knowledge is that in Greece they have a lot of stray dogs and cats, but all of them get medical care! How cool is that? 

As we walked our way back to our apartments after our long day out, we all met up for dinner at a wonderful restaurant and talked and eat delicious food for almost two hours! As i sit here and reflect on how amazing this trip has been so far i realize how lucky we are to be in a place as beautiful as this! :)

Just remember, "More unites us, then divides us." 

Love, Alex!