Saturday: We had our first introduction to the campus that we will be working on. My team, Great Plains International (GPI) is on the campus of The Polytechnical University of Athens, basically the MIT of Greece. These kids are smart! Walking on campus was like stepping into a post apocalyptic, Children of Men-esque, world. There was graffiti everywhere, trash blowing around, unfinished buildings, crumbling cement structures, and posters for political parties covering hallways, windows and buildings. It seemed like a very desolate and dark place.
The stinters explained that there were no clubs or sports or activity groups in Athens, the political parties were the only organizations. They function as a student council, a campus government, an identity for the students who are a part of them and a bit like a cult. The major ones on campus are Communist, Socialist, Capitalist, and Anarchist, the capitalists are "in power" right now which is why there have not been as many student strikes lately. The students vote each week whether to attend class for the rest of the week, kind of a crazy idea to us Americans who begrudgingly go to school every day without much of a choice. What I found however in talking with students on Monday, was that College level schooling in Greece is free! They see it as a right and a privilege and strike because the government is not giving the schools enough money to run all the programs that the students have a right to enjoy. More on that later.
We split up into teams that would be working in different parts of campus. My team is Cari, Keegan, and me. I am so excited for this team, so are the girls, and when we got to our assigned location the excitement reached a new level. We were assigned to Civil engineering and topography. The moment we were shown the major hangouts all of us started laughing because we could all feel the Power and Presence of God in that place. I knew, as solidly as I knew that Wheaton was the right college for me, that this is where God wanted me and has prepared conversations to have and lives for my team (team Dot Ninjas because the main cafe is called Dots) to impact.
After leaving campus we were all in awe of what we had seen and felt God doing on our small tour. Upon investigation, God had prepared each group (which were chosen "randomly") for the specific place on campus where they were assigned.
The rest of the day was spent on a human scavenger hunt through a very busy mall. The stinters and interns dressed up and hid in plain sight for our team to find. It was a blast! Life size wheres waldo haha!
I have pictures but haven't been able to upload them because of the spotty internet, but stay tuned, they are pretty powerful...
The stinters explained that there were no clubs or sports or activity groups in Athens, the political parties were the only organizations. They function as a student council, a campus government, an identity for the students who are a part of them and a bit like a cult. The major ones on campus are Communist, Socialist, Capitalist, and Anarchist, the capitalists are "in power" right now which is why there have not been as many student strikes lately. The students vote each week whether to attend class for the rest of the week, kind of a crazy idea to us Americans who begrudgingly go to school every day without much of a choice. What I found however in talking with students on Monday, was that College level schooling in Greece is free! They see it as a right and a privilege and strike because the government is not giving the schools enough money to run all the programs that the students have a right to enjoy. More on that later.
We split up into teams that would be working in different parts of campus. My team is Cari, Keegan, and me. I am so excited for this team, so are the girls, and when we got to our assigned location the excitement reached a new level. We were assigned to Civil engineering and topography. The moment we were shown the major hangouts all of us started laughing because we could all feel the Power and Presence of God in that place. I knew, as solidly as I knew that Wheaton was the right college for me, that this is where God wanted me and has prepared conversations to have and lives for my team (team Dot Ninjas because the main cafe is called Dots) to impact.
After leaving campus we were all in awe of what we had seen and felt God doing on our small tour. Upon investigation, God had prepared each group (which were chosen "randomly") for the specific place on campus where they were assigned.
The rest of the day was spent on a human scavenger hunt through a very busy mall. The stinters and interns dressed up and hid in plain sight for our team to find. It was a blast! Life size wheres waldo haha!
I have pictures but haven't been able to upload them because of the spotty internet, but stay tuned, they are pretty powerful...
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