Athens, Day One - March 13

 Our first full day in Athens was Monday, March 13th.

In the morning the group went to a local restaurant in Athens, called Taverna Klimataria, where the group made Taziki Sauce, Greek Salad, and traditional beef patties. Harrison, Michael, Ross, and Jose took turns in front of the group rolling the dough to make spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie. In the end, we enjoyed the food that we had learned how to make.

    In the afternoon we spent our first time at the Red Cross space for Unaccompanied Minors who had come to Greece as asylum seekers. We split into two groups. One cleaned up the gardening area, dug out holes in the dirt, and replaced them with new soil that plants and vegetables can grow in. We were able to interact with many of the boys and worked collaboratively. After we finished, we played football and basketball with many of the kids. The games were very competitive and many of the boys learned to play both sports for the first time. It was an enjoyable experience and we are looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. The other group worked on painting some walls with the help of several residents. We were able to lay the groundwork for plenty of colorful paintings across the building. During the painting , we spoke to lots of the residents and connected with them. It was a great team building experience for the boys and will keep working on it tomorrow. 

    At the end of the day we returned to our hotel for dinner and a quick trivia session on Greek history and culture.