Greece

4/30/17

Today was our first full day in Athen’s Greece.  Definitely not a Greek-y thing to do, but for lunch I went to McDonald’s.  I was interested to see if McDonalds would be a little different from McDonalds in the states.  They did offer a couple different menu items that were adapted to fit some of customs of Greece.  For example, they offered a burger that was wrapped in pita bread.  Other than that and a couple other menu items, everything was pretty much the same.  

Once everyone got in, I went with some of the other students to go eat dinner at a Greek cafe.  I ordered a chicken gyro, a kebab, and also ate a little bit of tzatziki.  This was my first Greek meal and let me just say, it was delicious.  I’ve seen gyro’s in the states, but I’ve never tried one.  As I observed, it seems that when it comes to vegetables, Greek’s eat a lot of tomatoes and olives.  Pork, chicken, and lamb seem to be the choice of meat here.  Greeks also eat a lot of pita bread, and it’s amazing!  

One thing that really stuck out from today was how we were charged for water when we went to eat dinner.  In the states, it’s standard to have water for free with your meal.  It was funny because when we sat down, the waiter poured us all glasses of water and then when the bill came, we saw that they had charged us for water.  They asked us at the beginning what we wanted to drink and we said water, but none of us knew that water wasn’t free.  

I would say the takeaway from today was that in the states, everything is bigger and comes in a bigger quantity or in other words, American’s consume a lot more than Greeks.

5/1/17

Today was a Greek holiday and most places were closed.  However we had a full-day tour of the surrounding areas around Athen’s.  The places we went to were Corinth, Mycenae, and Nafplio.  Today I also was able to have my first breakfast in Greece.  They had cheese and a bunch of meats with cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives, as well as a bunch of bread.  I really enjoyed it.  Definitely different from your standard American breakfast.  Culturally, it seems that Greeks tend to eat a lot of breads, cheeses, and meats for breakfast.  

As far as our tour goes, it was awesome to be able to tour some of the places where the apostle Paul ministered thousands of years ago.  Costa, who was our tour guide taught us a lot about some of the history of Greece.  One thing that struck me was how there are so many empty ship yards and factories.  Because of the struggling Greek economy over the years, many business’s have shut down.  It was a little sad to see how there are these huge factories and buildings that are still in great shape but they are desolate and empty.  

My favorite part of the tour was traveling to Nafplio.  While we were here, a group of us went and hiked up to the Acropolis of the city.  It was a 900 step hike up to a castle.  Once we got up to the top, there were some amazing views of the surrounding area.  

Takeaway for today was appreciating the beauty of Greece.

5/2/17

Today we started the day off with a business visit to the Bank of Greece which is the federal reserve for Greece.  We were able to listen to a presentation from the chief economist about the economic crisis that Greece has been going through.  As I was listening to the different reforms and changes that they have been implementing, it was crazy to see that the issues that they are facing aren’t an easy fix.  That there isn’t a quick fix or easy solution to the problems they are facing.  One thing that he talked about was how the reforms that are taking place are opening up more jobs which is a great thing, but because of an increase in taxes, people’s disposable income is low and that leads to less consumer spending which doesn’t stimulate their economy.  

I couldn’t help but be grateful for the U.S. and how blessed I am to live in a country that for the most part has a stable economy.  I can’t imagine graduating and not having a job.  #blessed

However, the highlight of today was being able to tour the Parthenon.  It amazes me that these structures that were built 2000+ years ago are still standing.  I constantly was asking myself, “How did these people haul all of these stones up this mountain?”  “How did they lift these huge stones up after they had shaped them?”  The history of this city is amazing and to be able to have seen the Parthenon in person was an experience that I’ll never forget!

5/3/17

This morning we met with Ernst & Young Athens.  The visit was very informative and I was able to draw several great insights from it:

1. Expose yourself to ALL opportunities and be open to everything.  This will lead to success.
2. Find/surround yourself with those that are going to help you and with those who are wanting to improve.
3. Take advantage of opportunities abroad offered by the firm that you will be working for.
4. Take what you want and make it bigger through taking risks!

I left that business meeting with more of an interest/drive to pursue opportunities abroad and to take advantage of any opportunities that might be rare to come by.   Another observation I made about the business visit was that in Greece, it seemed as if the working environment wasn’t as uptight or stressful as it is in America.  It seemed a lot slower pace.

After the business meeting we checked out of our hotel and then got on a ferry to Rhodes.  The ferry ride lasted for 12+ hours so we were all looking for things to do. 

Takeaway/highlight of the day was having the opportunity to meet with Ernst & Young and being able to gain some valuable insights from the Sophia (Partner).