EDUC 499: Greece - Summer 2019’s Updates

Reading Response 2: Greek History and Culture

I really enjoyed watching these videos as well as reading the interesting facts. I thought of my favorite teacher, my high school Greek Mythology teacher, many times when reading the facts. She had such a passion for Greek mythology and history. She would be so excited that I am traveling to Greece to experience and learn more about this country's history. 

In regards to what I learned, I really valued learning more about the geography of Greece as well as the brief history of the coutnry's interactions with neighboring countires. I think it is important to have at least a general understanding of a country's place in the world and history prior to visiting the country. This is one way to avoid traveling naively. 

I thought the numbers surrounding tourism in Greece were interesting. The fact that more toursits visit Greece than people live in Greece is a strong comparison. Sometimes when traveling I wonder about whether or not natives truly depise so many tourists. In some ways, especially as it relates to disrespectful tourists, I assume they do, but I have also learned from reading as well as from conversations with natives in different countires that they often depend on tourism for sustaining their businesses, etc. I reflected on this when reading that 16% of Greece's GDP is from tourism. 

  • Jessica Gronwick