Greek Odyssey Reflection

When comparing book learning to experimental learning there is really no comparison

for me. I have been a student now for the majority of my life and I know that I learn better from

experiences rather than out of a book. At the start of the class we were assigned to each do

some book learning and make presentations based on the topics that we had selected. I must

say that these assignments were very straight forward and were important in gaining some

understanding about the ancient Greeks, but nothing could compare to the real thing. The

assignments were taken well and we completed them with a few corrections, but nonetheless

they were done right. Once we arrived in Greece is when we really started to absorb everything

around us. I believe there is a serious need for the pre-course work because it gives you some

understanding of the course and you need to have some academic investment in the class and I

believe that the assignments served their purpose well. Learning while on the sights however

was unparalleled. I couldnt have been more invested when we started learning I was asking all

sorts of questions and trying to soak everything in at once. We all would walk around the

museums and sites in amazement while we had Rula in our ear filling us with knowledge. One

of the most curtail parts to having a strong academic experience while over there has to do

with your tour guide. I can imagine that if you had a dull and boring tour guide that you might

not be as interested, but in our case we were blessed. Rula was so passionate and informative

and at the same time she called for a certain respect which made her impossible to ignore even

if you wanted too. By the end of the trip I could feel myself educating myself because I would

be constantly reading things on monuments and things of that nature just to get a little more

context behind what I was looking at. I had always enjoyed museums, but I had never really
invested myself like that before. Being on the sites and the museums was without a doubt the

best way to learn this material. As far as the presentations went I believe they went extremely

well. I know that everyone had to pretty much read off of the outline that they had prepared

before the trip, but I didnt see that as a hindrance. The fact that we were able to give these

presentations at meaningful locations and in some cases actually in front of the subject of the

presentation was amazing. There was no PowerPoint with pictures showing what they were

talking about all you had to do was simply look all around you and the contents of the

presentation was right there in front of you. All in all I know that the class gained a lot from

having such an amazing tour guide and I truly believe that experiential learning is the best way

to absorb and tackle a whole subject such as the Ancient Greeks.

The Greeks developed very well over time as we learned from all of our timeline

presentations. Ethan started with the first documented age known as the Neolithic Ages and we

went all the way to the Ottoman Empire. I thought that this was really important to cover on

our actual trip and it was amazing to see the difference in architecture and lifestyle change

through the ages. The presentations on the time periods I think were the most helpful because

it helped break up the history of the Greeks and give us some perspective on the sites. I found

the most interesting part about the time periods to be who was in control of Greece during the

time. The balance of power in Greece was always going in every which way and it was

interesting to see what each ruler did with their time. When alexander the great was in power

he conquered far and wide, but then when the Romans came in they used Greece for a cultural

center. On the other hand when the Turks came in they seemed to make everything either a

Mosque or a brothel. Another very interesting difference in the time periods was the pottery
and art that they made. The pottery started out very simple and then when we jump to the

Geometric age we see amazing line work and you can never tell where one line stops and

another starts. The classical form of pottery was beautiful beyond words and the man that we

visited at the pottery factory was amazing. His impressions of classical art were beautiful. I

believe it was very important that we learned about the time periods of Greece because it

helped us shape their history and give us some great perspective once we arrived at sites.

The western hemisphere has taken much from the ancient Greeks. Before the trip I have

to say I didnt really know the huge influence that the Greeks had on the world. Everything from

their art to their politics has been adopted around the world. An interesting thing that I found

in one of the museums that Adolf Hitler was very fond of the ancients. He even took a symbol

from some of their ancient art and used it as his party emblem and has now been known as the

Swastika. Philosophy, mathematics and astronomy were started in ancient Greece and have

been major studies ever sense then. Some of the first Historians were from ancient Greece

because history and stories were so important to them. Ancient Greece was also the first place

that a case was tried before a judge and jury in a court room. A method that is still practiced

everywhere around the world. The ancients even used a jury selection system where citizens

would be called to serve on the jury throughout the year. The origins of Theatre started in

ancient Greece, a practice that has evolved over time and also stayed very true to its original

roots. I found it interesting that the theatres that we visited are still used to this day for

performances. It really shows not only the influence that the ancients had, but also it is a

tribute to their ability to stand the test of time. The ancients also created the Olympic Games

which needs no explanation. This is one if not the most important competition on the face of
the earth. The ancients loved their competition and they were very active both in athletics and

in philosophy because they believed the perfect citizen was an amazing athlete and scholar.

In my opinion the most important part of any trip is self-improvement and reflection. I

am a very deep thinker and I like to really delve into my own mind and search for ways to

improve and analyze situations to get the best result the next time. I believe that this trip really

helped me grow and I saw visible changes in a lot of my classmates as well. There was a certain

uncertainty that lingered before we left on our trip because people didnt know how they were

going to be perceived or how they were going to interact with other people. My mission from

day 1 was to break down any stupid social barriers that laid between people and try to get

everyone to hang out together. I am confident in saying that everyone took to that and joined

me in my efforts. It wasnt even before we got to Greece that everyone was working together

and bonding. I personally believe that I grew more as a young man in a lot of ways. I worked on

being an individual a lot. I didnt rely on other people for plans and things like that rather I

made up what I wanted to do with the day and informed others and if they wanted to join they

did. This is where I realized that I have a strong influence on a group and have a lot of

leadership qualities. I was really proud of how much I got out of the trip and how much I

learned. I tried to be as respectful as possible to all of the classmates and the guides and it as

reciprocated which was very refreshing. I tried to look at everything with an open mind while

also keeping my values and beliefs in check. I must say though that this trip has confused me for

my future as far as what I want to do after school. I was always under the impression I would

work in Chicago, but now that I have the travel bug I cant help but wonder if I would enjoy a

few years across the pond. I know I have another trip coming up this summer to Spain so I will
use this as another experiment. Overall I loved the trip and what it did to me. The class bonded

well together and everyone got along great. Thank you for everything!