With each day that passes we come closer to the end of our trip in Greece, but the fun is here and the memories will live on. As we prepared for Shabbat on Friday night we reflected back on the amazing week we left behind us and continued to learn about Ancient Greek in relation to Jewish history. We arrived at shul and were amazed by the unique customs and styles of the Roman Sephard people. Through this, we learned how over 2500 years, many of the customs of the Greek Jewish people have adapted to the surrounding society of the native Greek culture. Although, we looked and sounded different, our Jewish identities united as one.
On Saturday, the skies opened up and the water flowed down the main street in Athens like the Jordan River. Nonetheless, we hiked four miles to the Acropolis, where we all saw the Parthenon. Finally, the sun came out from behind the clouds and we were able to learn about the Ancient Greek people and their beliefs, from our wonderful tour guide, Rania.
The weekend finished off with a boat ride to Milos where we were able to enjoy sports and swimming in both beautiful Greek beaches and an infinity pool.
There have been many opportunities to bond with all the incredible people on this program and I am so excited to spend time in Israel with them this upcoming week and make memories that will last a lifetime. I look forward to the many adventures and the shawarma that is just around the corner.
Jayson Kreidstein was inspired on TJJ to spend a second summer on an NCSY program. He loves baseball, works part time as a super model, has 6 pet snakes, and lives in Toronto. His nickname on the trip is Jayson. After Euro ICE he is going to spend his days wondering the wonderful streets of Toronto.*
*Based on true facts