This past Interim, I had the opportunity to travel to multiple locations in Greece to study Greek Mythology. Mary Donato, professor of communications, and Dr. Leslie Haas, professor of education, took 18 students on the two-week journey across southern Greece.  

As someone who loves to travel, I jumped at the opportunity to spend two weeks in Greece. What made this experience even more worthwhile for me was being able to travel with my mom. Mary Donato and Dr. Leslie Haas, or as I call her, mom, began marketing this trip almost a year before we left, and I was on board the minute I heard their plans.  

During the Fall semester of 2018, Donato and Haas offered a prep course where we learned about Greek Mythology and what we would expect to see during our time in Greece. The prep course allowed each traveler to become better prepared for our trip, as well as getting to know the other people who we would be traveling with. I found the prep course to be fun and engaging, and it built everyone’s feeling of excitement leading up to our departure. 

The trip began on Jan. 2, when we left the Omaha, NE airport and traveled for approximately 20 hours to Athens, Greece. Flying from Omaha to Athens left most of us jet lagged and exhausted, but each of us was ready to explore the country we had been studying and preparing for, for almost 6 months. 

Throughout our time in Greece, we got to walk among ruins that were thousands of years old that we had only heard about through movies, books, and our prep course. Being able to experience the history and the culture of Greece with friends that I had before the trip and ones I made while traveling was nothing short of amazing.  

 A lot of my time in Greece was spent with friends and fellow classmates, sometimes in small groups as we explored Athens, or with everyone as we traveled on the bus to different ruins, or for meals where we all ate together. Although I really enjoyed the time I spend with my friends and classmates, being able to experience the country I had dreamt of exploring for years with my mom had to be the best part of the trip.  

From riding donkeys through the streets of a Greek island, to walking through the ruins of the Acropolis, being able to experience the culture and history of Greece with my mom grew my love of travel. I’ll take advantage of any opportunity to visit a foreign country with my best friend: my mom.  

Don’t be surprised if the Haas girls will be caught traveling again next J-Term, as Mary Donato and my mom will be taking yet another amazing trip: this time across China.