As part of our European Solidarity Corps program we were invited to the On-Arrival Training from the national Agency of Greece in the beginning of October. Together with the other new volunteers from all the different projects around Greece we were accommodated in “The Ranch”. “The Ranch” is like the name says an oldwestern village located in Corinth on the Peloponnese near the little village Sofiko.
For us this meant to take the ferry from Chios to Athens on friday evening. After a more or less comfortable night we arrived there with the beautiful sunrise in the morning. With the whole day ahead of us we decided to discover the city of Athens a bit. Our first stop was of course the stunning Acropolis. From there we moved on to Syntagna square where we were lucky enough to came in perfect time to see the traditional change of guards. Next to the Syntaga square is the national garden of Athens which was a great place to enjoy a restful break in shade. Filled with new energy we made our way to the best Loukoumades store in whole Greece (as Jason promised us) called “Krinos”. Because we still had some time left we also visited the “Museum of the City of Athens” to learn more about the capital and it`s history. But after this it was time to meet the others at Metaxourgio metro station from where we were driven to “The Ranch” by bus.
“The Ranch” is something pretty extraordinary. It`s not only the whole western vibe but also the beautiful nature of the place which makes it so special. In the five days we spent there we got to know the 21 other volunteers and their projects. Through different workshops we learnt about Erasmus+ in general and our European Solidarity Corps program. The seminar also informed us how to write our own projects and gave us the opportunity to develop and express our ideas. During the whole seminar we talked and discussed a lot about what we are doing in the moment and what we want to do in the future. It was also the atmosphere of “The Ranch” which made it so easy to exchange personal thoughts and ideas with other volunteers. So in the end we left the seminar with new friends and even more motivation.
Because our farry back to Chios was only in the evening of Thursday we had another day in Athens. This time we started with the “National Archeological Museum” which exhibits the stunning “Mask of Agamemnon” and the famous “Statue of Zeus or Poseidon” to mention only two of its artifacts. After this really good visit we walked to the Plaka of Athens which is the oldtown of Athens next to the Acropolis. The rest of the day we just wandered through the streets of the Plaka and also viewed the impressive “Temple of Olympian Zeus”. Exhausted but happy we then took the ferry back to Chios.
To see all our pictures, go to our gallery!
