Lindos was one of the cities that we visited on a day trip from our cruise. As soon as we got off the bus we were told that we could ride donkeys up the hill instead of walking. I was not all that excited about this right away because I have ridden plenty of donkeys in my life and they aren’t the most pleasant animals. My granddad always owned donkeys, mules, or horses so I have had my share of them. However, I had never ridden one in Greece and I couldn’t pass up the chance. While we were riding up the hill to the Acropolis I was taking in the Greek culture and thinking of my childhood donkey rides with my granddad. After saying goodbye to my donkey and walking up the hill I was still thinking about my family and about home. Then I walked up to the Acropolis and there was a breathtaking view of the ocean behind it. I could see for miles from here.  I just sat down on the edge and soaked it all in. The great thing about visiting ruins is that you get to feel like you are apart of something’s history, but today I got a great reminder of my own.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the Bible, so getting to be in this place where the recipients of this letter lived was a great privilege for me. The city of Ephesus was better preserved than the other places we had been. We were able to see the mosaic floors of their buildings, a backgammon table, and even their toilets. A lot of the ruins still had great detail from their original decorations but the thing that stood out the most to me was the library. When I am not in school I work at a library at home and I have always had an intense passion for books and for reading. I loved being able to stand in between these walls that had once been lined with shelves filled with books of philosophy and stories. Getting to see the ancient library really hit home with me because it was proof that something I love was cherished thousands of years ago as well.

Learning about historical sites and what happened in them is often enjoyable and very interesting, but our trip to Greece put us in the cities and sites we had been learning about and made the stories we had heard realistic and breathtakingly moving. The theatre of Epidaurus is the best preserved theatre around and because of this we were able to see the theatre almost as it was in ancient times. Just stopping to think about how many people stood where we were and performed for thousands of people in the audience was overwhelming. The incredible acoustics made the audiences capable of hearing the softest of voices from the actors who performed there. Our group sang “The Greatest Command” in the center of the theatre and could be heard clearly on the highest step of the stadium. In doing this we became some of the many people who have sung, acted, or performed somehow in this theatre, and we became a part of its history.

With time comes change, and in the years that have passed since the Roman Empire was at its peak, thankfully, many things have changed. I loved getting to visit the Colosseum because I have always found the Romans during this time period to be very interesting. Through my fascination I have learned more about this culture and it is astonishing to me how cruel they were. For people to gather in numbers of over a hundred thousand to watch “lesser” people fight each other to their deaths is beyond belief. Reading “The Roman Persecution of Christians” gave me a greater insight into how different lives of Christians are now than in these times.   I am so thankful that I do not live in a time when people are this unloving. I am even more thankful that I am able to worship God without fear of the persecution that those Christians endured. It is sometimes hard to read about the horrific acts that Christians suffered, but I think it is extremely important because it humbles us. These Christians were willing to be tortured and killed for their faith, and often we find it hard to get out of bed for worship. As a Christian I hope I can use the example of people who suffered in this way to be thankful for every opportunity and freedom I have to worship and do the will of God.

I love studying and learning about Greek Mythology so much. I believe the ideas to be extremely farfetched, but it is so fascinating to me that an entire civilization was based on these stories. After watching the movie Troy, however entertaining it was, I thought it was very naive of the Trojans to allow the horse into their gates. I was happy to see that in “The Aeneid” they were portrayed to at least be a little smarter about it. The most interesting part to me was when they were going to kill Helen, who essentially was the ridiculous reason for the whole war. Preventing this, Venus comes in and tells them the gods basically used Helen to start the war. I cannot understand why people would want to serve these gods who are selfish, cruel, and manipulating of humans only to get what they want. I think I find their religion so intriguing because it is so different from my own. Each god and goddess is so distinct and this story shows how much power they had over humans, and how much influence Greek mythology still has on our society today.

The day that we went to visit Ghent, Belgium was just not a good day for any of us. It had been pouring down rain, we were all exhausted, and we all had tests that we had not studied for yet. I was getting really grouchy and I really wanted to go back to bed. However, when we got to the Saint Bavo Cathedral my mood changed a good bit. I had learned about The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in class, but you really can’t know what a piece of artwork is like until you see it in person. I went ahead and paid the three euros to see it but I was expecting this to be just like every other painting we have seen on this trip. It was so much more than that. The detail in it was incredible. We got headsets that told about each frame and the story behind it. I skipped through a few of them and I still almost didn’t get back in time to meet the group. I’m really glad I went in to see the original painting and not just the copy. The history behind it was very interesting and seeing such incredible work is making me appreciate art more. It definitely made my day less gloomy.

The day we spend on the Normandy beaches was a day of exploration and thought. The first part of the day Thomas and I wandered away from the group in search of something noteworthy, and we definitely found it. We followed a trail through some enormously tall blackberry bushes and continued walking past the “Do Not Enter” signs. That probably was not the best decision, but we were not very worried about that at the time. We walked through a field and eventually ended up at the edge of cliff. The scene was truly breathtaking. Straight below us we could see the ocean crashing into the rocks and the wind was blowing the smell of the salt water right into our faces. I could have sat on the edge of those cliffs all day, just taking in the beauty of it all.

Eventually, we had to meet up with the rest of the group and we left to visit an American cemetery for the soldiers who died during the D-day invasions. After leaving the sights of the beaches I was already in a very solitary mood so I spent the rest of my time there alone. As I thought about all the lives that were lost and about how those beautiful beaches were once stained with blood, it was almost too much to comprehend. Not only was the culture of America or the cultures of France and Germany affected, but the men who fought on that day changed lives all around the world. Knowing that most of the soldiers were my age or even younger is another incomprehensible thought for me, but being able to stand in the places they stood made it all so much more real. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to see the beaches of Normandy because I now have such a better appreciation for my country and the ones who have died for it.

All a person has to do is say the word “Paris” and people get excited. Along with Los Angeles, London, New York, and Hong Kong, it is a city of great reputation. I had read and heard a lot of things about Paris, France before leaving for this trip but I never understood the unique character of the city until I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time there. Obviously since it is such a large place there are going to be many different types of people, but in Paris I did not feel like any of these personalities stood out more than any of the others. Everyone seemed to be different and proud of the character they were contributing to the city. On the day this picture was taken we were sitting around waiting to get money for food and I was getting especially grumpy. It was hot and I was extremely hungry and tired. All of a sudden I begin to hear a familiar song coming from this guy sitting on the steps playing a guitar. There were hundreds of people on that hill with us. We were all from different backgrounds, had different agendas, and were all there for different reasons, but for that moment we all stood there and listened to the cute French guy play “Wonderwall”. It was a unique experience to enjoy this with various types of people and I love that Paris offers people from everywhere in the world the same opportunity.

“Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.” As I climbed the stairs of the most lovable book store I have ever been in, I read these words over a doorway that entered into a room filled with old books that were available for in house reading. I was stopped in my tracks. I immediately took out my camera because I had to capture the moment where I read these words of my God. This simple statement, with its hospitable message, reminded me of my simple southern home and seemed to give my heart a hug. Shakespeare and Company bookstore was our last stop on our Paris journey and it was such an incredible note to end on. Paris is a beautiful city filled with a unique culture and fascinating sites, but most people seemed to be too involved with their fast-paced lives to be friendly. I was so excited to find a place in this bustling city where people can slow down, read a book, and be reminded that kindness is so very important.

This picture was taken at the Dachau Concentration Camp. In the background is some of the original buildings from when the camp was running during World War II. The flowers were resting on a memorial reading the words “ashes of the unknown concentration camp prisoner”. The visit as a whole was beyond words. I cannot describe the emotion that flooded me the second we passed through the gates. I cannot imagine what it was like for the people who were brought here only to be tortured until they suffered painful deaths. But this stone and the others that marked unknown graves touched me the most. The fact that these people went through horrific events and are unable to be recognized is unfathomable to me. This was someone’s mom or dad, or someone’s son or daughter. This person was loved by someone. I hope that no one ever has to experience anything such as the Holocaust again. I hope that the world can feel this person’s pain and realize the importance of love and peace. We may not know this person’s name or where he or she came from, but they still are able to serve as a reminder to us of what happened and what should never be able to happen again.