"Once you got past the bus and the rock piles, the trips " were great. - junior TreoorGoertzen 24 11 student life greece students form relationships while traveling overseas at HUG boarding a plane to a far off coun try, 38 students anticipated the.ir 2003 fall semester abroad in Greece, known to Harding students as HUG. Reasons for packing their bags and leaving their families for three months differed from growing spiritually, to seeing new things, to having fun. But one goal remained constant among the HUG students: not to come back disappointed. " It was a blast," sophomore Katie Paul said . "Everyone shou ld do it." The semester was packed with trips, classes and free travel. Students walked in the apostle Paul's footsteps in Corinth and Ephesus, rode camels to the pyramids in Egypt, jumped off cliffs in Santorini and took a cru ise around the Greek Is les. Students reflected at places such as Mars Hill and Patmos Is land, and sang at the ruins of the earliest Christian churches. Many of the ancient temples and palaces the students visited were more than 3,000 yea rs old. "Once you get past the bus and the rock piles, the trips were great," junior Trevor Goertzen said. HUG students adjusted to the Greek cultu re through food experiments, sights and sounds. Among the fa vorite things of the students were the gy ros, stray dogs and Greek pride. However, the Greek language was the most difficult obstacle. " Italian is the language of praise; French is the language of love; and Greek is the language of confusion." Dino Roussos, Greek instructor, said. By the end of the semester, most students knew enough to at least say, "J want a gyro" and "That is not my dog," phrases that proved to be useful in day-to-day acti vities in Greece. Many students also walked away with strong, family-like bonds. "I came expecting to get close, but this is way beyond close," sophomore Brian Vesely said. Some HUG students said God used the semester to change Bves. Worship with Christian brothers and sisters from every continent at the Omonia church was inspira tiona l for some students. "God has blessed my life so much tlu-ough this trip," sophomore Betsy Stratton said. "He has used every experience, every ancient ruin and every person here to teach me something about Him, and in turn, something about myself." - uw ra Kniser Raymond Caldwell, of Athens, Greece, and junior Jacob Metcalf play together at the piano in the Artemis. Caldwell made trips back and forth between Athens and Porto Rafti in order to spend time with HUG stu– dents. (Photo by April Fatula)
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