Trip to Greece is a Memorable Experience for Young Travelers
Tue, 11/26/2019 - 2:33pm
admin
By:
Bonnie Kirchman
Cruising among Greek islands, walking through Athens, and touring ancient temples were part of the travel experiences of a group of Clearbrook-Gonvick students who took advantage of an opportunity to see new places and encounter a different culture. Kayla Ehlers, Danielle Faldet, Chase Voxland, Callie Sumner, Alise Sargent, and Annabell Phillips traveled to Greece in July of 2018 as part of a 10-day educational tour. Donations from the Clearbrook Community Club and Gonvick Lions Club helped make this trip possible.
The trip to Greece was organized by Megan Godtland, the guidance counselor at Clearbrook-Gonvick school. She led the group of six students and two adults, Eileen Miller and Jennifer Faldet, on the trip to Greece that was arranged through the EF Educational Tours organization.
Planning for the trip began back in January 2018, when Megan held an informational meeting for students who might be interested in this travel experience. Once the students enrolled in the tour program, they met regularly with Megan to talk about the trip and prepare for it.
The students departed from the Minneapolis airport, flying first to Chicago, and then to Frankfurt, Germany. The flight to Frankfurt, lasting about 10 hours, was the longest part of their journey. The group then made the last part of the journey, a one-hour flight from Frankfurt to Athens, Greece. The Clearbrook-Gonvick group traveled with two other groups from New York and Kentucky. Once the group landed in Athens, they met their tour director, John, a native of Greece.
While in Greece, the students stayed in Athens, the capital city of Greece, and also in Glyfada, a suburb of southern Athens. They traveled around the area by bus and they did a lot of walking. They were also able to take a cruise to the islands of Greece, such as Mykonos and Crete. While on the trip they saw archeological sites and toured museums. Highlights of their trip included the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum, Arachova, Knossos Palace, the Temple of Poseidon, Lavrio, East Attica, Delphi, Phocis and Glyfada.
The students found the scenery very different every place they went. One thing they really noticed was the color. They described the views on the mainland as having lots of pastel pink, white, oranges, and tans. On the islands, such as Mykonos, the buildings were mostly white. But the accents and trims such as windows, doors, and stairs would pop with colors like bright blue, red, orange or even pink. The olive trees that were everywhere were dark green while the grass was lighter and more tan-colored. The sky was clear and blue. The tall buildings also impressed the travelers as well as the many people they saw everywhere.
The students found the weather in Greece much different from what we experience in northern Minnesota. They described the Greek weather as hot, with an average of close to 100 degrees on the cooler days. The nights were warm, and although it was mostly very sunny, even when it was cloudy it was very warm.
While on the trip, the group tried many new foods. Although they had eaten some Greek foods before, these had always come from fairs or food trucks. While they were in Greece, they were able to eat these foods made in the traditional ways. Each of the students found different favorite foods, for example, Kayla especially liked gelato, the Greek version of ice cream. The group ate breakfast together and would sometimes meet together at restaurants for lunch and dinner.
The students found that in most ways, the lives of the people who live in Greece are very similar to their lives here in Clearwater County. While many of the people spoke Greek, a lot of the people they met were also fluent in English. They did find that some things are different in the Greek culture. For example, when the Greek people eat, it is more of a social gathering and an opportunity for social interaction where in our culture the focus might be more on just the eating of the food. And with the warmer climate, the people dress differently than we do in Minnesota. The people in Greece wore shorts and t-shirts everywhere.
Beautiful scenery, a warm climate, ancient buildings, and new foods made the trip memorable for this group of travelers. Kayla’s favorite memories of the trip are the dogs and mountain goats she saw in the area. Alise’s favorite part of the trip was the cruise to the islands and Greek night, where the group was able to experience an evening of traditional Greek food, music and dancing.
The words of Chase Voxland and Kayla Ehlers sum up the travel experiences of the students: “We would like to thank the Clearbrook Community Club and Gonvick Lions Club for making a donation to help fund our trip to Greece. The experience was one we won’t ever forget. We had a great time traveling, learning about other cultures, trying new foods, sightseeing, and meeting new people. Thank you!”