greecedlightning2020-blog

[greecedlightning2020-blog]

One of the most interesting things I learned very early on in the trip was just how relaxed the animal control laws in Greece are. The strays I see everyday highly outnumber the ones I see on leashes or with people. All of these animals look happy and well-fed and generally not afraid of people at all. This change from the American culture of strays is very welcoming to me actually. I thought I would find myself feeling sad about all of the strays not having homes and being miss treated, but I haven’t found a single animal that looks sad. There are several organizations throughout Greece that will round up strays to spay and neuter them and release them back into the streets so that they can’t add to the stray population. Many organizations also work to re-home these strays, and take care of those still on the streets. As you walk through shops and streets all over Greece you can see food and water bowls out for the strays to keep them well fed as well as some shops leaving a small gap in safety gates for strays to slip into to have warm places to sleep at night. I keep a total count of how many dogs and cats I see everyday in my journal as well as on my Facebook posts. 

(Caroline Bleick, Psychology major, class of ‘21)

[greecedlightning2020-blog]

The trip to visit the Temple of Poseidon was what I was most excited about on this trip. From a young age I loved studying Greek mythology and Poseidon was my favorite, probably due to my obsession of the sea.This was a place where Athenians could come to be in the presence of Poseidon and worship him. His temple sits upon Cape Sounio in the Aegean sea and overlooks the water surrounding the cape.  It is easy to see why this spot was chosen to be the place where ancient Greeks would come to worship Poseidon, due to its proximity to the sea. On top of the rocks, you could feel a close connection to the sea from the wind and the smells that greeted you on top of the rock. Further research showed that not only did the Athenians leave offerings at the top of the cape, they also left an enemy warship at the base as an offering to Poseidon after defeating Xerxes in the battle of Salamis.

Posted by Caroline Bleick, Psychology major, class of ‘21

[greecedlightning2020-blog]

Meet the blogger

Hi, my name is Caroline and I will be traveling to Greece throughout January to study art and architecture. I am a junior in college and studying psychology with human development and animal studies minors. Stay tuned to see and hear more about my trip!