Over the past twelve days I have been fortunate enough to have gone in the grade 8 Greece trip. This trip consisted of numerous opportunities and challenges, all of these challenges we were able to overcome with the help of our peers and amazing teachers. The many things that the Greece trip offered were great ways to learn about a culture different from ours, connect with new people, and learn things about ourselves, and our classmates, that we may not have known otherwise. Some of the many activities that the Greece trip offered included the mini triathlon, going to many castles, the multiple hikes, visiting Olympia, visiting the acropolis, going to Athens and learning about sea turtles. My personal highlight of the trip was probably the excursion to Apollo's temple. Apollo is my personal favourite Greek god, so the opportunity to see a temple of his was truly an amazing experience. Though the history and myths were my favourite part of this trip, the opportunity to interact and meet locals in Kyparissia was another fabulous experience. Because of that opportunity, my peers and I have made some amazing friends that we will have for a long while yet. Overall, I believe that the SMUS Greece trip 2018 was an absolute success, and a trip that I would go on again a hundred times over if given the chance. Thank you to all of the parents and teachers for making this trip happen, it wouldn't have been the same without you!
~ Emma Curry
The Greece trip was a fantastic way of ending the grade 8 year. I could feel the excitement in me the moment I stepped out of the airport in Athens. As the blazing sun warmed me, I thought to myself, "Wow! I've stepped foot on the famous land of Greece!"
Driving to a small town called Kyparissia, I saw some of the Greek monuments out the window. It really made me feel like I was surrounded in a completely different culture, but I still felt like I was welcomed and had a place in this new environment. A really cool thing I got to do during this trip was realizing that I was visiting the wonderous places that I've only seen online before in person now, driving all throughout different areas of Greece. Even if some of the drives were a little painful, The mountains, castles, temples, caves and the beaches at the end of our drives made it all worth it. Each location had its own sense of beauty and the views they provided was a true joy to my eyes. If I had to name one thing that was most enjoyable to me over the past 12 days, it would definitely be jumping off those cliffs at the beautiful waterfalls of the Neda river. The waterfalls themselves were beautiful but getting to interact with some of the locals and doing fun activities with them made this specific location a memorable experience. The Greece trip not only was fun, but holds a lot of sentimental value as well. It ended up bringing my classmates and I even closer together. It also created new friendships with the locals in Greece, who were extremely fun and welcoming towards us, that I can now contact from all the way across the world through social media. Greece now has a little part in me, and I will never forget such a mesmerizing trip.
- Jamie
The Greece trip has been an amazing experience for all of us. From learning about ancient Greeks and their culture to exploring ruins; such as Olympia. First, one of the experiences I won’t forget was climbing 857 steep steps to a castle on a hill. In the castle we explored various rooms, breathtaking views and the dungeon; a single room that was situated underground. The only way to get inside of the dungeon was through an exciting series of low passageways and chambers. Second, during our stay in Kyprissia we got to know a group of local kids very well. Most of the kids had participated in the triathlon with us, so we had formed a connection that way. Moreover, one of the locals that we really got to know was a thirteen year old boy. His name was Odysseas and he spoke wonderful English (one of the factors that got to help up know him so well). Last, a factor that contributed to the trip was the amazing teachers and chaperones that accompanied us! The trip would not have been the same without them! A quick shoutout to Mr. Demerchant who had awesome music in his van! Also to Mark for never failing to take amazing pictures. Overall, I have had an amazing trip, and so has everyone else. From exploring ancient ruins to getting to know locals to the amazing teacher/chaperones that accompanied us everything has lined up to make a better trip than ever imaginable. I strongly recommend to all the future grade eights that if you have the chance to go on this trip please do, you’ll have the time of your life!
- Marina
The 2018 Greece trip was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my year. Some of the most memorable parts of the trip were having the experience of meeting and making new relationships with the Greeks, experiencing a new beautiful culture in kaprysia, Nafplio, and Athens, and learning more about that same culture and history.
I loved the time that we spent with the Greeks and getting to know them through swimming, beach games, the triathlon and much more. I made some really amazing friends on this trip and that is one thing I found really valuable. Even though this didn't have as much to do with the "Greece" portion of the trip I found this to influence a lot of the trip.
The weather also affected the trip a lot. It had been over 100 years, some said, since it had rained that much. Even though it did conflict with many amaizing activities, it did give us the chance to see many other things and practice the art of flexibility and patience.
I also felt that on this trip we as a group expressed all of the four SMUS pillars. Service; during the beach cleanup and all of the donations and work we put into being kind and helpful towards the Greeks. Honesty; after the few misfortunes that happened on the trip we all were honest about our wrongs which propelled us to be more kind and happier overall. Courage; from meeting and making new friends to pushing our own selfs out of our comfort zones to do things we wouldn't usually be able to do again. Lastly the last pillar of our school is respect which I thought we as a group demonstrated the most. I saw this many occasions, as an example to the chaperones on the trip, I thought that we not only found respect for them, but we also found a kind of friendship that personally made me feel really comfortable around them and will also make me miss the few teachers that I will be leaving from the middle school. I also thought that we showed a lot of respect for the spaces around us, and given that we needed a lot of flexibility from the changes of plans caused by the weather, we still had respect for the changes and generous people arrangong new activities and plans for us.
As I said earlier on, this trip was an extreme highlight of 2018, but the three suggestions I have will, in my opinion, improve it even more and make it that much better for the people next year. Firstly, the lunches got a bit dull after the first few days of eating it repeatedly. My second suggestion may be less practical, but I couldn't leave this behind with out asking to add in one of my all time favourite activities which is the sport of horseriding. My last suggestion is to add in more time with the Greek kids because by the beach games night, I noticed that a lot of us would have really valued more time with our new friends.
To conclude, I adored this trip through the new friendships, experiences and educational experiences that were given to us. I would one hundred percent go on this trip again if I had the chance, and I hope everyone's summer and next year goes well.
Send it (Sincerely)
- Elizabeth Cunningham
Greece was an absolutely amazing experience. I once was told to start with the bad news so I’ll begin with the “low light” of the trip. The worst part of the magnificent trip was leaving all the amazing people we met. We met so many amazing people and everyone in Kyparissia were so friendly. I hope to one day return and visit all my friends. During the trip I didn’t think to myself not even once “I wish I hadn’t came” The only times I second guessed any of my decisions were when I attempted to conquer my fear of heights. The first time was walking along the castle ledge. The funny part about it was the wind was blowing me around the less scary side but it still spooked me a bunch. In the end I didn’t regret it because the view from up there was stunning. While looking down at Cow Belly Bay we were on top of the world. The second time I overcame my fear was “rock jumping” at river Neda. I usually sit for twenty minutes debating weather I should or shouldn’t do something like that. This time was different because all the Greeks we met at the party were jumping but we didn’t know if we could. So a few of us just thought let’s do it and then we were all leaping of the rocks. When I think back I am so glad of my decision to go for it. But even though these were great moments there were thousands of others squeezed into those short 10 days which seemed to fly by faster then our airplane. Some of my other favourites were being in the “sing your heart out car” with Mr. D driving and Juliette and Anna as our DJ’s. Looking at all those beautiful photos of us flick by on the wall of the Hilton as other guests stared at us. Stuffing our faces with all the Greek food we could eat. Receiving mini pizzas instead of the sandwiches. Getting the Mediterranean in my mouth and then into my stomach while body surfing. Cleaning the beach in the warm rain (even if I was the only one who says it was warm) Sitting like a little kid on Christmas watching lightning and of course doing the Macarena in the rain. I could pretty much list these off for ten more pages because Greece was unbelievably perfect. Even though all those things were incredible the friends we made are what makes this trip so important and memorable.
- Alyssa
Today is the final day of Greece Trip 2018, and its time to reflect back on the whole trip.Of course this would not be a very good reflection for Greece if I didn't reflect on the Greek salad. Before very proper meal we had, there would be large bowls of Greek salad on the table. The first time we had dinner at the hotel, the salad was so delicious that by the time the main course was served I was already full from eating the salad. There were so many parts of the trip that I enjoyed, but if I were to talk about all of them, it would not be very interesting for you as the reader, so I decided to talk about the three things that I enjoyed the most. Taking first place is being able to swim on the beaches. The reason for this is because not only was it nice to be in the swimming in the ocean, but I learned to body surf and got to act like a washed up seal! In second place is hiking up mountains. Under normal circumstances I am the furthest thing from a hiker, but after our first hike in Greece it changed my mind.The view at the top of these mountains was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Looking out after every hike, the view was completely different. From the oceans and mountain ranges to ancient castles and cities, it was absolutely spectacular! Lastly, in third is the boat tour. Despite being cooked to a medium rare in the hot sun, it was still a great experience. I personally really enjoyed swimming and having lunch in the “Water Hole”. There was so much to see it was just awesome! There was this really cool cave where I almost got pinched by a small hairy crab. The view there was amazing too, the water was so clear and it was a beautiful mix of blue and green. The trip would not have been the same without these unforgettable experiences.
- Rocky Pan
- Rocky Pan
This Greece trip experience has been phenomenal. We have traveled to 3 cities in Greece, Kyparissia, Nafplion, and Athens. We’ve met so many great people in Greece that will be truly remembered. We’ve had so many exciting, fun memories that we collected over the past 10 days. These memories include racing in the steps of ancient Olympians in Olympia, the chance to experience to a Greek party, and the opportunity to go many ancient ruins. When it was time to go, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to all the locals. After the goodbyes we headed to Nafplion as mention previously, we climbed 875 steps up to a great big castle on top of a hill. The last and final day was spent in Athens, we visited more ancient ruins and chilled in the hotel lounge. Personally our highlight of the trip was the boat tour. Visiting different islands just off the coast of Greece and snorkeling in clear blue water was unique experience. In conclusion, this has been a great, unique, and learn full experience in Greece. From the race on the track in Olympia to the many great people we met this trip will be unforgettable.
-Ryan, Erik
This years 2018 Greece trip was amazing for me in so many different ways from travelling to ruins and to swimming in amazing water. On my first day travelling to Greece I was so excited for the hot weather and saying goodbye to the rain in cold Victoria. I think everyone was feeling the same way I was about getting to Greece. When we finally arrived in Greece I instantly saw the amazing surroundings and sun in the sky and was eager to get going on towards Kyprissia. After are long van ride there we were all feeling a bit tired but still in a positive mood. Looking off the hotel bow cane and the amazing ocean we all new this was such an amazing place to be staying at and what a privilege we had to be able to come on this trip as for some it was their first time in Europe. Already off to a action packed first day with the triathlon where everyone was already piled with sweat. But for some people on the other hand it led to breaking a wrist “Cole”. On the second day we travelled to Ancient Olympia where we were given the chance to learn about the Ancient Olympics that took place there and even getting to run on the same ground as Ancient Olympians did. Me personally I would have to say that was one of my favourite days. Another day which I enjoyed was when we learnt about the sea turtles and doing the beach cleanup although this was all fun we were unfortunate not to be able to do the beach sleepover because of weather. In the town we got to meet some locals and even some kids are own age where we could communicate to them about their lives in Greece and what they enjoyed to do. Meeting the other kids helped many of us make new friends and even are staying in contact now. Another great thing we did on the Greece trips were the hikes we did in various places around Greece where we all got to push ourselves as we hiked up the mountain where at the top we would always get a good view. Another day I enjoyed was when we travelled to the River Nadea where we got to do some cliff jumping right next to a waterfall which we obviously see the local kids did quite often. The boat tour would definitely be on the list for next year and I think everyone would agree with me on that. We got to experience swimming in the amazing ocean, get stunning views and explore a nearby town. On the final two days of the trip we got to visit Napleon and Athens. In Napleon we got to explore the beautiful town in our free time, go on a tiring yet amazing hike and swim in the beautiful ocean. When we got to Athens we were all started to to realist we were coming to the end of he trip but that did not stop us from having a great day by exploring the museum in Acropolis and the temples at the the top of the mountain. So that basically brings me to now where I’m currently travelling home thinking about the amazing time I have had and how grateful I am for all the teachers doing this for us. Thank you
- Nathan
Amazing trip for everyone! Thank you to the students for making the most of the experience, to the faculty for their work planning and facilitating, and to parents for supporting this incredible opportunity!
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