Greece May 2024

COR 375 with Tom Holsinger-Friesen & Luke Heumann

$1,600 student cost*

*Cost with the full university discount. $150 study abroad fee is not included in this amount.  University  discount applies to 1st CCS program only. Students who transfer in 58+ credits should contact the CCS  office to determine their level of discount.

There is a saying that when God made the earth, he saved the best for Greece. There are few places on the planet that have more beauty, more spectacular scenery, from mountains to islands to rivers and canyons, than the land of Greece.

Learning-intensive activities may include:

Athens

Experience ancient Greece, where the headquarters will be at Cosmovision Center. Visit Parliament, Syntagma Square, The Plaka, Acropolis, the 2004 Olympic Stadium, The Agora, Monastiraki Square, and Mars Hill. Experience the antiquities of Mycenae and Corinth. 

Thessaloniki

Experience contemporary Greece. Thessaloniki is a busy, vibrant city that is Greece’s second major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural center as well as a major transportation hub in southeastern Europe. Its commercial port is of great importance. The city has two state universities that host the largest student population in Greece. Home base in the north may be the beautiful sea-side village of Leptokarya. Additional locations and excursions in the north will include viewing Mount Olympus, Dion, ancient Philippi, the monasteries of Meteora and more.

Economics

Talk with local merchants in Thessaloniki and service employees in both urban and rural communities. Shop at the local food market. Meet with community professionals who provide service to the community (i.e., doctor, teachers and school administrators, lawyer, judge). Discuss the difficult economic issues facing Greece with the locals in many locations.

Education & Family

Talk with families in rural and suburban communities to become acquainted with traditional family customs. Visit primary and secondary schools to understand the Greek education system. Examine current social issues through conversation with local citizens of all ages and media. Eat meals in family owned restaurants with local citizens to engage in conversations with the locals and understand more about contemporary Greek life.

Government

Speak with local citizens about their perception of current government, membership in the EU, and understand the role Greece has played in democracy past, present, future and the current role of Greece in global issues and perspectives. Meet with a person from the American Embassy. Visit Greek parliament and hear a presentation by an official representative. Understand the challenges an island nation faces with immigration and migration of many people from Africa and the Middle East to Europe through Greece.

Religion

Visit the local Greek Orthodox Church. Speak with the local priest and parishioners. Examine the integration of church and state in Greek culture and society. Visit at least one non-Orthodox church and discuss the role of that religious perspective in Greek society. Visit and study historical sites identified in New Testament writings (i.e., Paul’s journeys). Visit with local missionaries and evangelists and examine the role of evangelism in Greek culture. Engage in helping ministries in Athens to learn up close and personal about the immigration issues facing Greece and evangelical ministries to the illegal immigrants and people migrating from areas of conflict. Talk with people involved in NGOs helping women entrapped in prostitution through poverty or trafficking.

“The Greece CCS program changed my life and how I look at the world. I learned so much about Greek culture, history, and myself. The people we met will forever be on my mind. Greece is an absolutely breathtaking country and an amazing culture. Our guide and our hosts were very kind and gracious when it came to teaching us even simple Greek words. Visiting with Greek students was such an eye opener to culture. Being able to hang out with some of the students in Katerini was a lot of fun. Visiting places that are mentioned in the Bible made the Bible incredibly real to me. The food was delicious! I’m so happy I decided to go to Greece, it really changed how I view the world, and deepened my faith.”

Jennifer St. Charles

“I do not know if I will ever feel as beautiful as I felt in Greece. It wasn’t that I felt physically beautiful, but instead, I was a part of something so beautiful that it allowed God to reach to new corners of my soul each day we spent there. The historical setting alone can bring tears to any traveler’s eyes. Standing exactly where Paul stood when he preached the Gospel makes the words jump off the Biblical page and into your heart. I saw the beauty of each Greek person inviting us to share an experience in their country, revealing Greek culture to us — the good and the bad, with hospitable spirits and incredible wit and charm. Dining next to the Aegean Sea with delicious food is very special! The most beautiful thing about Greece is that the people there have so much to teach us, and you will carry their lessons with you forever. You can only fully understand the pure beauty of Greece if you sojourn it yourself!”

Sara Burge

“Before coming to Greece, I had this nonchalant attitude about the Greek economic crisis, assuming it was similar to what is happening in America right now. It’s not, it’s much worse. Seeing so much of the U.S.’s future in Greece’s current crisis, I’m faced with a choice. How will I let this knowledge change the way I live I can choose to live in a way that doesn’t allow consumerism. Only in traveling to another country, where consumerism has been the cause of downfall, was I able to so clearly realize this about my own culture and my own life.”

Margaret Barley

Travel Information

Departure Dates

May 2024 experiences will begin sometime during the week following the projected commencement date and will last 19–23 days. Students should not make irreversible plans until their departure date is confirmed by the CCS office in February 2024.

Health & Safety

This experience, like all CCS experiences, is subject to political and safety realities at the time of departure. CCS options can be physically and emotionally intense and stretching. Before enrolling, all participants should consult the disclosures on Physical Hardships of CCS.

For more details on required immunizations consult the immunizations chart.

Passports and immunizations required (both at additional cost).

Trip Costs

CCS May program costs do not include summer school tuition charges. Participants who are full-time students at SAU both fall and spring semesters 2023–2024 are encouraged to consider NOT taking a class for interim (January 2024), as the available January credits may then be applied to the summer school tuition charges of a May or Summer 2024 CCS. Tuition and program costs are separate monies.

CCS program costs do not include: tuition, passport, immunizations, or the $150 study away fee. The study away fee provides basic medical evacuation insurance, travel photos, and support services.

CCS trips are not guaranteed and are subject to change.