Kara's Reflections

Kara Szczepanski

5/30/08

Just How Modern is Modern?

If I had to pick between Greece or Egypt to live in, I would have to go with Egypt. This is not only because I find that Egypt mysteriously quenches my soul, but since I can find many comforts from home easily available at my fingertips. This trivia may seem strange even to the educated traveler who doesn’t expect to find modern Egyptian society still riding camels and living in tents. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that Greece is still setting itself up for the tourism trade, while the trade is just an old hat to Egypt. Though particular Western comforts may or may not be easily available, it is not politically correct to start labeling a country as advanced or modern based off of how comfortable a tourist feels.

When our class first met to talk about generally living in Greece, I was surprised that someone labeled Egypt as Third World. The context of this label came from comparing the technological advancements in Egypt versus Greece. The reason for my amazement is the fact that I was taught that this term is severely politically incorrect when addressing a culture and assumed the feeling was wide spread through the academic community. Apparently the use of the Three Worlds theory is still up for debate.

Just as my Human Geography teacher had done to me, the best way to show the ineffectiveness of this particular labeling is to relate it to another word that is used in the same manner. A parallel sentiment would surface when one refers to the Ancient Greek population that supported polytheism as pagans. The modern definition of pagan is a bastardization of its former self due to being manipulated out of context for use in Christian propaganda. Just as a historian is mortified to hear the word pagan describe a rich and evolved religion, an anthropologist’s hair stands on end when the labeling use of First, Second, and Third World toward a society occurs.

The meaning of First, Second, and Third World derived during the end of World War II and the start of the Cold war. The intent of labeling countries First and Second World was mostly in part to describe the difference between a capitalistic and a communist society. The term “Third World” was coined by Alfred Suavy during his 1952 article in L'Observateur describing the countries that fit neither the First or Second World categories. Sauvy’s description of a Third World country is that a country is underdeveloped or is in the process of developing. Sauvy drew connections to a French concept of Third estate in which they are “exploited by others” and “wants to be something.” The only problem is, how can one label a society as developing if no one knows the final end product?

One must realize that all three terms are propaganda in order to state that the Western standard of life is what all cultures are developing towards, taking little consideration for the culture living in those countries. There are also negative connotations that attach themselves to these labels, especially in the Western world. In the sense of a Classicist, using a term such as Second or Third World is like Herodotus using a term like barbarian. Both labels take cultural traits very little into concern and fit a wide range of ethnicities into one simple group. The term cannot prepare you for travel because it can only sum up the fact that the current culture there is different from your own and lacks any really information in what you should expect.

Of course, when we arrived to the “First World” country of Greece, we found it was not entirely what we expected. The problems in Greece were the same as Egypt, if not more so. Sure Athens boasted of cleanliness, but in retrospect the cultural development seemed stagnant compared to Cairo’s. I was surprised to find that there was only one mall in Athens, while Cairo boasts of not only an eight-story tower, but dozens of mini-malls scattered throughout the city. If I had to put my money on who was more capitalistic, I’d put it on Egypt even if the Egyptian pound is worthless in comparison to the Euro. Of course, as my boyfriend pointed out, the whole country of Greece is probably more capitalistic than Egypt because it has fewer pockets of non-capitalist elements of society.

As for technological advancement, it could probably be solved by a flip of a coin. Both Egypt and Greece have easily navigable subway systems (with a map), easy accessible cell phone plans, and boast of refrigeration for ice cream stands at every corner. I could probably put forth the argument that Egypt and Greece are more technologically savvy than the United States by the fact their cell phone service can reach far into the Aegean Sea or Sahara Desert, an ATM is never out of reach, and they are more Eco-Friendly by using Smart Cars. The state of Maine from the United States could probably be considered Third World in comparison by the fact our cell phones are always out of service, ATM’s are relatively new things in most towns, and most of us drive gas-guzzling trucks. Of course, most of Americans would argue that Maine is on the hinterlands of technological advancement in an area larger than Europe itself, but there in lies the problem. Can one really sum up a culture based on technological luxuries used in a particular area? Not really. In the end, every culture has its technological and economically weaknesses, but one must also focus on all the strengths it boasts in context to the cultural needs and the environment it has grown in.

Can I conclude though that Egypt is more modern in comparison to Greece or visa versa? Is one really more advanced? Not really. This is only because Egypt and Greece have completely different cultural needs it adapts to fulfill. For example, one could reason that Athens lacks Internet cafes is probably due to the fact that most Greek probably have personal computers, while Egyptians prefer the community setting of and internet café in part littering them everywhere. On the flip side, Egypt has been a major tourist destination since the 1800’s as part of the British Empire, so they have learned to adapt to tourists better to support their own livelihood. Greece on the other hand, hadn’t really experienced a facelift since the Turkish Empire, who cared little about the occupying population and more about keeping the territory secure. Our tour guide Dionysia even lamented on the bus one day that the Greek citizens of the country went through a lot of mixed feelings toward the money and hard work spent in order to prepare for the expected tourism of the Olympic games.

When push comes to shove, you can’t label a country based off your own ideals. If you do, you will surely miss out on all the benefits the culture has to offer because you will be come stuck on what they don’t. The important thing to realize is that we need to learn and experience one another in order to have a cultural relationship. If one starts labeling a culture prematurely then a psychological barrier scan to form even before you step foot to adventure on a cultural terrain. Instead, it is best to prepare yourself for the unforeseen circumstances through diligent research and then leave the rest to fate. It is part of getting over that cultural anxiety of the new that helps you immerse yourself better. One should attempt to be a traveler and not a tourist by forgetting about the labels and stigmas of your own “advanced civilization” in order to open your eyes to the behaviors and choices of another.

Tourist Verses Traveler

One of the most annoying things in the world to me is a tourist. I don’t know if it is because I live in Maine and I’ve had to deal with tourists all my life (*coughMassholescough*) or the fact that they always seem to get into your photographic shot. Either way, I find the majority of them rude, obnoxious, and their presence just plain unnecessary. Of course, it is easy to forget when you are standing in front of the Pyramids being hassled by camel drivers or at the Parthenon being heckled by postcard saleswomen that you are viewed as a tourist just as much as everyone else. So how did I come to grips with my dualism? Frankly I didn’t. Instead, after traveling and living in so many places, I have come up with my own standards of what it means to be a tourist and what it means to be a traveler.

First off a tourist doesn’t come to experience anything and travels only to record their personal legacy through external sources. They subjugate themselves to their own particular locale culture and have little respect for the culture they should be experiencing. If they do try to express any sense of modesty, they do so in a mocking manner. A few good words that would be best used for a citation would be “quaint” or the “cunnin” in colloquial Maine English. They take a million photos of things they don’t know what they are, take a million photos with themselves in front of the things the tour guides tell them what they are, and take little interest in doing any mental work for themselves. In conclusion, they are inactively along for the ride and their minds are permanently on vacation.

Why do I find this annoying? Well for the most part, they usually get in the way of those who are actively trying to connect with the site. I must confess, I do take 1001 photos at a site, but that is after looking at a number of previously taken photographs and archaeological records in order to know what type of shot, angle, and expression I want. For me, it isn’t just recording my presence at a site, but communicating how I personally connected with my surroundings. I have never seen more people who could look you in the eye as you are trying to get a photograph and walk square into your shot so they could take a million photos posing like Hercules. I can see one or a hundred if you take turns, but if you realize and recognize someone is trying to take a shot without you in it, you wait your turn and then move in for your photo. I feel bad for the other serious photographers who lugged around a tripod and found that a number of tourists lacked peripheral vision or ignored their goodwill to move about a foot over in order to share the experience of the site with someone else. It took me only two days to finally give up with our trip to Delphi, and I’m still just an amateur.

As good as I have become dodging most tourists who wander into my lens in Egypt, I must say that the breed of tourist in Greece were much more disheartening. Not only did the majority nip at their tour guide’s heels, but most had little respect for anyone outside their group let alone for the site itself. At the site of Knossos I witnessed the members of the same tour group numerously cross into the roped off area to pose sitting on the bullhorns. Several times the guard had to blow her whistle, only to turn back around from her post to see them clambering all over the stone statue again. I have only witnessed this once in Egypt in the temple dedicated by Akhenaten at Karnak when a Swedish tour guide scrapped the paint away with her finger nails when talking about the site and then cleaned the paint from her fingers. Both these scenes make the hair on the back of my neck stand, but I wasn’t alone as other’s mouths dropped in shock as well.

In both cases, as well as with using a camera flash in museums, it comes down to self-monitoring when a man with a gun isn’t present to deter touristy behavior as in Egypt. Plainly though, tourists just lack respect for the ancient culture and modern culture when they pull stunts like these. Why? Archaeological and personal ethics really come into play. Oils from hands and hair can ruin cultural remains no matter how permanent they may seem, flash from cameras disintegrate paint, and stealing any small artifacts disrupts the context of any site. In conclusion, tourists not only lack interest in respecting the ancient culture, but also preserving the remains for generations to come. They only care about their own selfish pursuits and lack any care about those who are around them or will come after them. In reality, they are thieves, stealing the experience from others in order to bottle it only for themselves.

These are also the types of people who locals usually hate as well. We had discussed very little in class before going to Greece about the “Ugly American” persona that lingers with any American traveler. Though some in the group may have felt our midnight revelries in Athens may have been in bad taste, they were probably more Modern Greek like behavior then what most tourists would exhibit. The “Ugly American” isn’t the loud and obnoxious drunkard (due to the fact all cultures exhibit those traits when they are intoxicated) as most expect, but instead the ethnocentric and intolerant tourist that pays little respect to the fact they are guests in a host’s country and displays a nationalistic conceit over others. This means, in order for one not to be an Ugly American, one must not only follow the country’s rules, but try to abide as best as possible the local culture’s customs without infringing upon one’s own morals.

The one thing Americans and other nationalities don’t realize is how easily recognizable their behavior is when they travel in groups. From my own experience, foreign cultures are more apt to act obnoxiously when they travel in groups of more than eight or nine people. When the group is smaller, they tend to feel more like outsiders trying to fit in and are more culturally cautious of their surroundings. When the group is larger, they feel more comfortable displaying their cultural habits and take less time to think of the effects of their actions on their current surroundings. Of course when they travel in larger numbers, they become more susceptible to being taken advantage by the locals because they feel a false sense of security.

I noticed when traveling in Egypt and talking to a number of the local vendors who would try to guess people’s nationality from the way the looked, walked, and talked. Other than the fact that most couldn’t guess my nationality from the majority of my mannerisms and strange look, most found that it was the way I walked that gave me away. Americans tend to carry themselves differently then other cultures. When I asked what it was about the walk, most replied, “I don’t know, it just seems filled with arrogance.” It is these small discrepancies that mark us as “the foreigners.” Of course Mainers have the same type of intuitiveness when bumping up against someone from Massachusetts during the summer tourist seasons and visa versa.

So as we have spent a majority of the time describing the characteristics of the ugly American and tourist, we should talk about what the true goal should be. So throw out your Indiana Jones hat and your invincible shield of nationality in order to take on the persona of the traveler. The traveler is one that tries to experience the modern culture with the deepest respect, asks questions, and understands there are consequences to being a guest. A traveler is willing to try new things and shake engrained cultural habits for whatever time they are spending in another culture.

In a way, a traveler is not only acting as a small ambassador of the country, but is trying in actuality to set up a relationship with a country. This relationship could come from opening conversations with street vendors to sitting down and truly trying to experience the environment around them through meditation. A traveler is willing to take small risks and leaps of faith in order to encounter something new, while at the same time pay attention to their own red flags. Travelers are also uninterested in recording their travels due to the fact that they understand that they will be living proof of their journey and will only spare the time to record what they need to communicate their experience. No matter the length of time, the culture will somehow change the traveler because they were willing to open up and allow themselves to be changed. It is in this way the traveler will fare much better than the tourist and will intrinsically be enriched by their willingness to establish a personal intercultural relationship with the country they visited.

Active or Passive Experience?

As I stated in my article of “Traveler Verses Tourist,” there is a fine line between their characteristics. One of these characteristics falls within the realm of how one may desire to experience the culture and the environment. While I grouped the tourist in with the willing to subjugate themselves to tour guides earlier, I must confess that one should not feel shameful if they are more comfortable in the company of a guide. Those travelers who allow themselves to enjoy tours usually are trading in their freedom of time management in order to allow for a more stress free experience. On the other hand though, it is nice to exercise your mind and relax your wallet by trying to research your own excursions into the unknown. It is this article I will address the pro’s and con’s of each experience in order to delineate the difference.

One of the hardest parts of my trip to Greece and Crete was allowing a tour guide take the lead around the archaeological site. Why was this concept so hard for me to grasp? Pretty much because I experienced the exact opposite in Egypt with Columbia University and longed for the same treatment. The pro’s of self-guidance or semi-guidance was the fact that we learned about the site before we entered the walls and only a small amount of time was spent pointing particular amenities. This gave us free time to experience the site how we wished to and to venture to the areas where our lectures covered. Each individual could take the time to experience the particular aspects of the site they were interested in and record their encounter how they chose. If questions arose about a particular subject, our guide could be easily found at our meeting point for explanation.

The only problems that can arise from self-guidance is if you or your guide lacks the particular knowledge in the area you are going to visit and thereby schedules an impossible day of travel. As I had been praying for self-guidance the entire trip for Greece, the trip to Santorini proved to be on the exact extreme of what I wanted. Our tour guide lacked experience in living in Santorini and judged our time inefficiently. She allotted us too much time at the site of Akrotiri (which had virtually nothing to see) and neglected to emphasize the obstacle of time constraints in visiting the city of Thira due the design of the city. The trip itself resonated a very unhappy tone with the majority of students in the group due to the high price paid for a stressful and unappealing experience.

On the flip side, self-guidance is virtually useless when you are lost and unable to navigate yourself to your destination. This happened our first day in Greece when looking for the Trinity Research Institute. Due to the lack of a sufficient map and inexperience of finding our directional bearings in Athens, our afternoon was spent running back and forth from street corner to street corner. This also happened to a smaller group trying to navigate their way to our mainland Greece tour guide Dionysia’s house. Eventually, after being lost for hours, they had to call her and taxis were sent in order from them to successfully find the tram station out of the city. When one lacks the proper tools, self-guidance and time management becomes almost impossible.

Of course these headaches can be completely diverted if one takes an extreme measure to properly plan out their day. As in Egypt and Greece, I found that I could navigate my way easily through Athens and Iraklion with little trouble. Of course this is due to spending hours bent over a map the night before plotting my course, memorizing street names, and visualizing monumental markers. Even by doing so, I still had to ask for directions and was not able to accomplish everything I needed to do because of time constraints. A great deal of stress in both the planning and enacting aspects of my journey was almost unavoidable. It is hard to stay on time without a guide who knows the shortcuts and can easily manage your time efficiently.

A guide is usually well received by those who don’t necessarily wish to deal with the extra stress in their day. Traveling in a new culture is hard even for an expert and sometimes many just have to give the reins over to someone else. Depending on the tour guide, you can learn a lot about the general history of the modern and ancient culture of a country. Usually tour guides keep things simple by delving into the bigger picture and giving finer details at various stops along the way. They also can point out some of the interesting parts of sites and museums that necessarily one would overlook. I can say that our tour guide George in Crete was absolutely amazing when it came to rare archaeological tidbits and cultural references. The fact that he could pick out an anchor from a haphazardly placed rock at the site of Knossos shows his expertise in his field. It was due to his enthusiasm and archaeological knowledge that I found I could put faith in following his lead.

Of course, one must be wary of everything a tour guide says. As the typical case in Egypt, I noticed that in Greece too, one must not always trust in the fact that a tour guide is certified to give you correct knowledge. As I am not one to be shy to share my feelings about tour guides, I usually warn others of the “Wikipedia” guides. These guides are the ones that seem as if they are lecturing for hours on something they read out of a source from twenty years ago or just watched a program on the History channel. They help perpetuate the common misconceptions of history by giving tourists what they think they want to hear. It becomes a dangerous game then to put your faith into a guide even if they hold a badge around their neck. It is important to remember that the badge not only represents their efficiency to talk for a length of time about Greece, but to herd large groups of people about by keeping them occupied. Sometimes guides are better trained in smoke and mirrors then in the actual subject they are suppose to be talking about. Just as a scholar has to be wary of their sources, one must be wary of their tour guide.

Another con about tour guides is when one is a bit too long winded. Though Dionysia is an intelligent woman, I found my attention span of listening to her was equal of about five minutes. Once we past the five-minute mark, I wanted to move around and view that particular area from a new vantage point. Of course instead of doing that, we were herded past our particular topic of interest to a new one, sometimes never to return. This situation in turn didn’t allow me to be as active with the site and instead forced my attention to remain on the guide. As I had explained earlier, I try to experience the site in many different forms in order to record not only through a lens, but also my personal connection to the site. I found myself constantly at odds trying to manage to listen to repetitive information, fight to get a good context photo among those loitering in my group, and distracted from really being able to enjoy the magnificence of the site itself with a constant chattering drawing me away. George in Crete had expressed his concern as one point to me that he may be talking too much for the classes liking at the site of Gortyn. I could only reply that everyone’s interests are different and it is hard to keep the attention span of twenty-six people occupied.

Another con of a tour guide is a pro listed above. They keep you on a schedule, but it becomes a problem if they keep you on their schedule and do not allow you enough time take pleasure in various aspects of the site. It seemed odd that so much time was spent talking about one topic, while we were rushed past some of the major monuments of the site in order to move on. For a tour guide, they have seen these things a million times, so it is understandable to pardon their lack of awe for the ruins before them. Of course, to those of us who have never been in their presence before, we need time to allow our senses to fully incorporate all the information that we can receive in order to fully process the experience. Sometimes a tour guide can forget that most of us need that time of silence in order to evoke the wonder the sites deserves.

In the end, it really comes down to the personal expectations one hopes to gain from visiting sites. It is up to the individual to choose how comfortable they feel in making a decision to spend the money on a guide or their time planning out their trip. The most important things to take into consideration is: how much money one is willing sacrifice in order to relieve stress and how much stress one is willing to take on in order to get the experience they wish for. Some enjoy the constant chattering of a guide, while others prefer to quietly indulge their senses. In the long run, one must find a way to communicate their desires not only to their guides but also to themselves in order to ensure an intrinsically pleasant experience.

“Seksi” Times

America, in comparison with most European cultures, is considered a rather prudish nation due to our puritan roots. Of course, even though we still display a more conservative attitude toward our behaviors and our sexuality, there is an hidden presence of late night debauchery and pornographic lust marketed to titillate even the most traditional mind (if you don’t disregard the late at night infomercials for Girls Gone Wild). A problem then occurs when people try to make assumptions about the local culture of modern Greece. How do they deal with their sexual past and the tourists who come attracted by the lure from the freedom of sexual inhibitions and modern Christian constraints? This article addresses the observed dualist nature of modern Greece and their attitude toward the body, sex, and revelries.

The American attitude toward ancient sexual Greek behavior differs between the more conventional and the liberal. The conventional would like to believe the founders of democracy and philosophical queries were men of rational thinking, free of their bodily desires, and exemplar saint-like moral figures. Of course most liberals are quick to point out the perversion of ancient Greek sexuality and their inhibitions toward devouring wine and flesh. Both concepts end up being wrong because both view points stem from a modern culture either trying to nail down morals or trying to burst free from them.

Our concept of the ancient Greeks comes the lust, desire, and disgust of our own psychological state of being which inhibits our understanding of the culture. In a sense we have to shed ourselves to understand the cultural significance of sexuality and late night drinking parties in order to understand what it meant to the ancient Greek. So now that our mind is in as non-biased-as-we-can-get-Anthropological view, how can we describe the ancient Greek’s viewpoint of sexuality in the most simplistic terms possible? We must look solely at the cultural record left behind without trying to dwell too much into the aesthetics.

We can deduce that every Greek city-state viewed human sexuality differently and gender played an important role. Women in Athens found their realm of influence strictly resonant in managing the household or serving as a priestess. A priestess could either stay in the state of a virginity for Athena, or act as a legal prostitute for Aphrodite. Some of the most prominent female minds acted as prostitutes in the Greek world and could wield a number of influences. Athenian men on the other hand took a more active role in Greek society in comparison to women because they held citizenship and associated their duties outside of the household realm. This allowed them to not only more choices in the politics and economics of the city, but also allowed themselves more power to govern their own bodies. Of course in Sparta both women and men played active roles in society due a completely different set of cultural values, therefore leading to completely different conclusions in regards to gender and sexuality.

We know that some Greeks enjoyed an inhibited sexual culture due their cultural remains. Museums in Athens are littered with displays of natural sexual narrations mixed in with scenes of spying on the naked form and various rape montages painted on various pottery. Various large wine goblets with these depictions were commissioned for special use during Symposiums or other gallant drinking events. As statues became more of a private function, the draping of nude-like or nude female figures became more prominent. The ancient Greek culture fully embraced sexuality as a natural state and a common desire of the body. When we gaze upon the same artwork today we are personally shackled with the same Victorian outlook as in the early 20^th century, the feelings resounding in our bellies is something much different than what the ancient Greeks were feeling. It is important to note though, that while Western American culture experiences some differences than the modern Greek culture toward sexuality and drinking, we also share some of the same ideals due to our common cultural past stemming out of the Christian reform. America still lacks the distinction between a nude form and a naked form due our own uncertainty of how we view our own bodies, gender, and sexuality.

I believed that many of the travelers on this trip experienced a kind of shock when experiencing the dualism of modern Greece. On the one hand, while you could find pornographic playing cards at every grocery store counter and find a number of “perverse” replica merchandise, most American parents would rather die than having to explain to their children what it is that they are looking at. On the other, most modern Greeks act rather conservatively by European standards. Young women are still wearing semi-casual dresses while members of our group were yelled at by a local Greek elders for their shameful act of exposing too much of their chest. In reality, their dresses were no more low-cut then most of the European clubbing outfits that littered the local stores. So how do the modern Greeks explain this dualism?

First of all, I believe it’s because of their cultural past that accepts dualism in particular contexts. For example, a female can go topless at a beach because it is a natural state of being, but in the presence of a church one must cover their selves at the beach in order to show piety to God. The Modern Greek understands that sexuality and flesh is a natural state, therefore allowing reference to it so one can feel comfortable enough to control it. In a sense, a dualistic nature of sexuality allows you have freedom of your own feelings, while also allowing you to be able to use your anxieties to control your freedoms. It explains how young women by day are dressed conservatively, but by night can wear more sexual clubbing outfits to fit into an entirely different cultural context.

Communal drinking in Greece is still as much a modern activity as an ancient one. Alcohol is virtually sold everywhere and bars litter not only tourist areas, but also the Greek neighborhoods. After running into a Greek about my own age named George, we had a discussion about the nightlife in Greece as he was attempting to lure me out to an art gallery opening. As I did everything in my power to avoid the invitation, I was able to collect information of the young male Greek attitude toward the nightlife. As George had said, “Every night is party in Athens till 4 or 5 am, we just never rest.” This attitude was shared by those living on Crete as we experienced living in the city of Hersonissos which is known for its clubbing venue.

An important experience to note is the clubs on Hersonissos is that they are rather calm in comparison to American dance clubs. American dance clubs are usually a place where one forgets who they are and completely takes on separate sexual persona with the help of alcohol or some kind of mind-altering substance. Greek or Egyptian nightclubs usually are different; you show up with a group of people, you enjoy their company, and the majority of the time you leave with that same group of people. Dancing and drinking still occurs, but you never forget who you are because you are with people who know who you are and care how you are getting home. The group never splits up and clubbing becomes more about enjoying the time with the people you are with, than the strangers who are around you.

Of course, as I had mentioned in “How Modern is Modern,” it is important not to subjugate the entire Greek culture to the same viewpoint. As with Americans, different age cohorts and localities are of course going to express their sexuality differently. The important thing to realize is the fact that most respect each other’s views and allow each other to coexist. A complete opposite attitude can be found in Egypt, where the closest sexual images you see of the Ancient Egyptians is in the relief scenery on various temples of the God tickling the Goddess’ feet in order to impregnate her. Does that mean the Ancient Egyptians were not a sexual culture? Of course not, the majority of sexual artifacts are locked in a storehouse underneath the Cairo museum waiting to be published. It is because of the modern culture’s anxiety that they are actually willing to eradicate a part of their past in order to preserve their modern image as a chaste culture.

So though the modern Greeks may be less sexually liberal than their European neighbors or their ancient ancestors, they do share in the common ideal of accepting their dualistic nature and the culture they have roots in. In the end, modern Greeks are able to accept what Americans could consider hedonism as a natural state of being in order to control their appetites and anxieties. As some Americans are disappointed to find a more conservative Greece, they must open their eyes to see what they can learn from a culture that doesn’t try to forget who they are and instead accepts the natural aspects of themselves.

Coming Of The High

Entering back into your own culture is just as hard and entering a new one. Luckily our trip to Greece was only about two weeks long, so the culture shock should be minimal. All in all the trip had some high and low points as most trips will have, but I would extremely recommend to anyone traveling to Greece, Crete, and perhaps even Santorini.

Looking back at the experience, I can officially say this trip was much like the others I’ve experienced when traveling to Ireland or Egypt. There are things I wish I brought, things I wish I didn’t, things I wish I bought, and dinners I wish I didn’t splurge on, butterflies that were missing in my stomach, and butterflies that suddenly appeared. It seems no matter how much you travel, there is so many little things you always forget to do along the way.

What I do have to say is new out of this experience, which I never really got to experience with either Ireland or Egypt, was the connections I felt from making a number of great friends on this trip. I’m not saying that I didn’t make amazing lifelong friends on my past trips, but this is the first time I actually got to share the experience with people that I knew and were returning home to the same state I was. I think that is the hardest part of dealing with culture shock coming into and out of a country. When you do it alone, the culture shock seems that much harder to deal with, but with a friend it makes it that much easier.

If I have learned anything from this experience, it has been the value of traveling with those similar to you. Even though on the one hand you are more apt to stay within your own cultural safety zone, on the other it is nice to discuss and share your memories with those just as interested in your subject as you are. I’ll treasure the memories, the philosophical conversations, the late night adventures, the daytime quarrels, the mindless banter, and games of catchphrase at the back of the bus.

As an only child, I made sure to take extra care in not over exposing myself to the group. In a way, I wish I hadn’t remained fearful of over saturation and instead shared a few more experiences with other people. Of course I am also proud that I was able to separate from the group and organize my own excursions in which I could gather the information I wished to gather.

It seems that two weeks just wasn’t enough time to experience all that Greece had to offer. Of course, one must also face the reality that there just isn’t enough time in a day to cover everything one wishes to cover and do everything one wishes to do. Though it has only been a short period of time since I departed from the group in Portland, the good and bad memories of the trip have already started to be immortalized within my psyche.

I can successfully say though, that the adrenaline pumping through my veins from the trip have finally ceased allowing me to catch up on my sleep.