'Life-changing experience' in the cradle of Western civilization with Summer Abroad
This summer, Joe Zi Zhou travelled 8000 kilometers to attend class. But he had no complaints about the commute: in fact, it led to what he calls a “life-changing experience.”
A psychology major and member of Woodsworth College, Zhou was one of 25 students enrolled in this year’s U of T Summer Abroad class in Greece. The course he took — Modern Greek Culture: People, Tradition, Languages & Cuisine — was taught by Themistoklis Aravossitas, who teaches modern Greek language and culture at the Centre for European, Russian & Eurasian Studies in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.
Over the course of four weeks, Aravossitas’s students were given a unique chance to learn about the history and contemporary reality of a nation that has made essential contributions to philosophy, science, architecture, history, music, literature and politics. Travelling from the capital of Athens to coastal towns and mountain villages, they gained both a fundamental understanding of ancient history and a thorough lesson in how Greeks live today.
