By: Marelyn Natividad
The second day of our virtual experience consisted of a tour and a cooking class. The tour took place in Thessaloniki. To our surprise, our guides spoke English very well. We found out that English is incorporated into their education. The guides showed us very popular touristic places such as the boardwalk that leads to a series of umbrellas hanging. It is literally called “the umbrellas.” As for the cooking portion, we learned how to make three different dishes. My favorite one was the tzatziki sauce. It has a thick texture to it because it has Greek yogurt. The other two dishes we tried were Greek omellete and Greek “horiatiki” salad.
By: Jennifer Dixon
The Boardwalk of Thessaloniki, the pier area, was so beautiful. I could only watch for a short time because of the camera’s movement. There was nothing the tour guide could do about the vibration of his phone. But he knew a lot about the surrounding area. He taught me something that I had never seen before. In their town, they have lines embedded into the road so that the blind or people who may not pay attention will feel under their feet when they are walking in traffic (car/bike lane). That is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen.
Greek Cooking Class
I was in the group that got to make the Tzatziki Sauce. It was a great experience to make traditional Greek food. Sadly, I did not try it because I am allergic to yogurt. But I did watch as some of my group members enjoyed it. I also got the opportunity to see a Greek “Horiatiki” salad being made. Boy, it made me want to go home and make a big batch. The look and smell of a fresh vegetable salad are everything. It was nice to see how Greek people prepare their food. I enjoyed the cooking class. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
By: Maegan Moser
The Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece. We started our day off on the boardwalk with our two tour guides. I really enjoyed looking at the White Tower and the statue of Alexander the Great. The White Tower is a monument and a museum. We weren’t able to go inside but our tour guide showed us a virtual tour of what is inside. You can also go to the top of the tower and see a beautiful view. There is also a cafe for people to go and get food and coffee. The weather was perfect during out tour! The weather is usually always sunny and beautiful.
By: Diana Nicolas
We visited Thessaloniki “The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece’s cultural capital”. It was founded in the Thermaic Gulf after doing away with 26 smaller settlements in the region soon after Cassender’s wedding (daughter of Philip II) to Thessaloniki in 315 BC. Created as a political act- Cassender was attempting to consolidate his position in Macedonia and promote economic development. It was a new city carved out according to the Hippodamium system. It seeked to promote the economic development of the region. Grid plan of hellenistic city remained. Modern day Thessaloniki is built on-top of the original Thessaloniki.
We did enjoy some amazing fresh Greek breakfast. I was really surprised that they use olive for most of their breakfast, I’m not really a big fan of olive but I really enjoy the food.
My group did this great egg omelet.
By: Katelyn Santello
I was so excited because it was our first tour. The tour was the thing I was most excited for because we got to see Greece. We got to “walk” along the boardwalk which was so cool. Growing up at the Jersey Shore, the only boardwalk I know is at the Jersey Shore. It was so cool to see a boardwalk somewhere else. Thessaloniki is stunning. After the tour we had a cooking lesson. I got to cook at home which was so nice. The steps were very easy and well explained. Having hands on activities was super fun during this program.
By: Tyshona Robinson
Our second session consisted of two students at ACT giving us a wonderful tour of the Thessaloniki boardwalk. This is considered the bottom half of the city being that it is at the bottom off the hill from the castle. I know now that I must travel to Greece because out of 365 days in a year 300 of those are nice and sunny days. To be able to wear a dress or sandals for that many days in a year to me is ideal living. Some cool facts that I find that America should take notes from Greece began with the white lines on the boardwalk ground. These are for those who are visually impaired and allows them to easily find their way around if need be. They make sure to keep the white lines far from the Sea so that they are no accidents giving them a different route and keeping their safety in mind. Another thing that I find my country should take note of are the yellow lines they use there in Thessaloniki. Those lines represent the people traveling on wheels regardless of skateboard, bicycle, motorcycle. The dots on the ground light up in the dark which I’m sure helps establish navigation at night.
The boardwalk has many cool things going on that you could find yourself getting lost in the amazing amenities it brings. It has a Alexander the Great holds a very special place in the heart of those who reside in Thessaloniki. We are very proud of him in Greece and they show him in many ways, one being the huge statue of him riding a horse ride on the boardwalk near the Park. It also has a pure for boats that take you all around Port Allen other means of transportation. But it also provides beverages including alcoholic and nonalcoholic with snacks aboard for those who are willing to purchase. The boardwalk also gives you access to the white tower which is now a museum in the city for tourist to visit or even those who live there and wish to and gave some selves more in their history. I also see that nature preservation is very big there. It is very uncommon to have a sea next to a group of trees majority of the time trees are cut down specially here in America to build things but to see that Thessaloniki takes care of nature is amazing.
Yes I did. I enjoyed the experience very much. It is a unique class compared to the rest of the classes available at GCU. This is what made me initially interested in taking the class and learning about other cultures. The tours and video calls were very well organised and set up to teach and inform us about the Greece culture.
My favourite part was the cooking. Cooking can be very simple but very useful. I made a Greek salad and sent the recipe to my mum so she can make it back home. That is me taking a piece of Greek culture that I learned and taking it with me back home. I would have been unable to do this if it wasn’t for the experience.
The most interesting part was the tour through the Thessaloniki town. This was great as it was as if I was there myself and spending g my day there. We were put right into the center of the town and passed people going about their normal lives so we really got to experience the reality. The most interesting thing about the tour was finding out about the dotted lines along the boardwalk for blind people to be able to walk down the boardwalk and experience the outdoors with safety.
Overall the experience was a great addition to the class and my semester at GCU. I would highly recommend taking this course if you want to learn about other cultures and even if you don’t think you want to learn about them, you may also find that you really enjoy learning about other cultures.