Benaki Museum, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parliament Building, Dora Stratou Dance Theater, Hellenext Reception

July 7

Students met at our favorite Taverna in Plaka and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. At the conclusion of the meal, students met at the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus and were briefed by Dr. Dimitriou about the world famous, Benaki Museum. Dr. Dimitriou discussed the wonderful archeological artifacts at the museum and went into depth about the Greek Independence Collection of artifacts at the museum, including the pistols of Lord Byron, the original Constitution and the original National Anthem and flags!

The Journey family then took the short walk to the museum, where they were given an informational pamphlet by AHEPA advisor Lou Eliopoulos. The students were then given time to explore the museum for a few hours, before we congregated at the museum’s Greek Independence collection to take a group photo. Together, we made the short stroll back to our apartments for dinner and prepared our official briefing at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Parliament building. 

July 8

Today, we congregated at the UINDY, Athens Campus in business casual attire for a briefing at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the Ministry, Spokesman, Gregory Delavekouras, spoke to the students about Greek Foreign affairs. Mr. Delavekouras explained how Greece has been unfairly shown in a negative light by the media, despite having an increased amount of tourism and making significant strides towards improving their economic situation. The students also learned about Agenda 2014, an initiative that aims to get Balkan countries into the European Union. During the hour-long briefing, students also learned about the FYROM, the Cyprus issue, and the Patriarch issue. After the lecture, students like at the US Embassy were prepared with questions. Our group asked questions about: how to encourage foreign investment, how to stop illegal immigration, and would the title Upper Macedonia be an acceptable name to resolve the FYROM name dispute. Other areas of discussion included, the Turkish overflights in the Northern Aegean; the Cyprus conflict and renewed efforts by President Christofias; the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the re-opening of the Halki Seminary.

Our delegation was then given a short break and returned to our private briefing room for another meeting, with Nikos Kotrokois, Deputy Director A7 Directorate of North America. Mr. Kotrokois conversed about the Souda Bay facility, the building of a fuel pipeline, and the hope to get President Obama and other senior American officials to make a visit to Greece. Mr. Kotrokois discussed the economic crisis and its impact on Greece and the Greek people. Again, our students were able to field many questions in the following dialogue.

Following the meeting at the Foreign Ministry, our Journey students were escorted for their official, private tour of the Parliament building. The students went through security and then were met by two Parliament officials. Our group received a tour and was given a presentation about how the Greek government operates in a parliamentary form.  Also, the students were taken on a tour to the old Senate Chambers, the old Throne Room and had time to explore the history of the Parliament and the Greek State.  As we explored the parliament, the Greek television station ERT covered our visit, which was to be shown on the news later that evening. Before leaving the building, students departed with a famous book, Pericles' Funeral Oration, from the Greek Parliament and headed to our favorite Plaka taverna for lunch. 

Our group received even more media attention at lunch, as a local Greek newspaper interviewed program director Dr. Jim Dimitriou about the Journey to Greece program, our efforts as volunteers in the Special Olympics and our views on Greece during this time of need. When the plates were finally empty, we returned to our apartments and prepared for dance lesson and performance at the world famous Dora Stratou Dance Theatre. 

The world famous, Dora Stratou Dance Theater, was our evening destination for a dance lesson, explanation, and performance! Here we were greeted by a professional dance instructor and received our private dance lesson. We learned six dances; each one represented a different region of Greece. Shortly after our lesson, we headed from the dance studio to the open-air theatre where we enjoyed a dance performance from the world-renowned Dora Stratou dance troop. 

At the conclusion of the program, students headed to their apartments and prepared to attend a reception hosted by the Hellenext Next Generation Initiative at the "W" Night Club in Glyfada. Following a long day, students returned to their apartments and prepared for another exciting day.