Studying Abroad: Ancient Greece Edition

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At the Parthenon in Athens!
This spring break I got the opportunity to travel to Greece through a Purdue University study abroad trip.  I found out about this program just by looking on the Purdue Study Abroad page because I just wanted to travel abroad; I had already done a previous study abroad program and I was itching to travel again.
  The focus of this program was on ancient Greece and we went to a bunch of archaeological sites all around the Peloponnese Peninsula.  Academic wise, we were all required to do a presentation on one of the archaeological sites we visited in order to receive credit for a history class at Purdue.

My friend and I doing our report at the Temple of Apollo
My trip started off departing from Chicago on Friday, March 10th and arrived in Athens, Greece on Saturday evening (it was long time traveling!).  Immediately after arriving in Athens we boarded a bus to go to Delphi.  At Delphi, we went to the Temple of Apollo, which is what I did my report on.  At this site, we were able to see the Temple of Apollo, the treasury buildings, and the athletic track for Delphi.  The next day we went to Olympia, where we saw the gymnasium, the Sanctuary of Zeus, the Temple of Hera, and the stadium where the early ancient Olympic
Ready to run the 200 meter dash at Olympia!
games were held.  Olympia was really fun because we got to run the 200 meter dash at the stadium.  The stadium itself is just a dirt field with natural seating on the hillside.  They do have the ancient starting blocks still there, and they are slabs of rock with indentations for your feet to go there.  Our Professor had us all line up on the starting blocks and race to the other end.  Olympia itself was really pretty because all the wild flowers blooming so there were fields of wild flowers at the site.  Next, we traveled to Nafpilo which is where we stayed for the next three days and just traveled by bus to a bunch of sites.  One thing that we did was go to the Palamidi
Views from the top of the Palamidi Castle 
Castle and we had to climb 900 stairs to the top!  Although this wasn’t an ancient site (the castle was built in the 1700’s), the views from the top of it were amazing!  The next day we went to Epidaurus and Tiryns.  Epidaurus was really cool because it has one of the best preserved ancient theaters in Greece; in addition is has really good acoustics.  No matter where you sit in this theater, you can still hear the actors on the stage perfectly.  To test this, our professor had us climb to the top (which is 58 meters high from the stage at the bottom)

Theater at Epidaurus
and he whispered from the stage and we were all able to hear him perfectly clearly.  We had a student stay behind to confirm that he did indeed whisper.  Tiryns was a fort on a hill that was built during the Bronze Age.  The next day we went to Corinth, were we saw the Acrocorinth and ancient Corinth.
The Acrocorinth 
  The Acrocorinth was really cool because there were amazing views and so many places to explore on the site.  The site itself is an acropolis, which is basically a giant fort and castle on a hill.  While we were in Corinth we also went to an amazing restaurant where they served 6 different courses and unlimited fresh squeezed orange juice, all of which was delicious.  Finally we ended our trip by finishing up in Athens where we were able to see the Parthenon—there are no words to describe it, it was amazing to see! Overall, this was an incredibly fun trip and it was even more special because I got to go on it with a bunch of my sorority sisters.

Studying abroad is a great way to take classes outside of the normal classroom.  In addition, you are also able to broaden your views and experiences.  Going to a different country allows you to experience new people and news ways of thinking, which is an invaluable experience to have.  Looking back on my time at Purdue, my study abroad experiences have been some of my favorite experience at Purdue, so I strongly encourage everyone to go abroad sometime during their college career, whether it’s just for spring break, a Maymester, or even a whole semester.  The world is a big place, and everyone should take the opportunity to explore it! 

Again at the Parthenon!

Where do you want to study abroad? Let us know by tagging #purduewiep on social media.

To learn more about studying abroad at Purdue, go here and here.

Have anymore questions about studying abroad? Contact us at purdue.welink@gmail.com, we are here to help!

-Ashley Devore
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