Last Day in Spetses and back to Athens

The final day in Spetses and we decided to swim and have lunch in the town. Time flies when you’re having a fun and surrounded with fun people. No matter where we go in Greece we always find kind people who go above and beyond with their hospitality. Those little gestures are what make or break a good trip. A little while later the boat comes to take us back to Athens. Everything went smooth sailing ( no pun intended). What was meant to be a 45 minutes drive turned double the amount since there was traffic. Then we rushed to get ready for our farewell dinner with the school ambassador and president. We for sure paved the way for MCC & Greece to have future connections.

Christopher Hernandez

One of my favorite experiences in Greece was interacting with a senior citizen while I was riding carriage with Shane and Maddie. I took a video with them, and I still capture the moment when the man and people around town smiled at us when we were saying “yaazas to them. Even though he did not speak English, his smile was a sign of hope. His smile reflected the most important thing that really defines humanity. HAPPINESS! Finding happiness in every little moment can help us live a better life. He doesn’t care about the fact that Greece is going through an economic crisis. He doesn’t care about wearing the best clothes or driving the best car. He is a happy person because he is satisfied about his current life. I now realized more than ever than living in the United States has given me the opportunity to get the education and living conditions that I dreamed of ever since I was a kid. I realized my American dream has already come true by being able to get an education, a job, and quality time with my family and friends. 

Interacting with this senior citizen took me back home and reminded me of the many struggles my family went through. But it also made me recall that even through these struggles we were always HAPPY! I sat down like a Greek philosopher to come realize that my goal should be to cultivate happiness and great experiences out of every moment possible. At the end of the day, we had a farewell dinner at the university, in which we recalled and showed our appreciation for the amazing experiences and great hospitality provided by the Hellenic American University. Speaking of HAPPINESS! Below is an amazing picture of our faculty advisors and the study abroad program director at the Hellenic American University that reflects this philosophy of living with happiness. There’s no doubt that they really live by this motto of Happiness and love providing happiness to others day-to-day.

THANK YOU! APPRECIATION NIGHT

Juan Breton