Spreading My Wings: A Semester in Athens, Greece!!!

Rachael Bittick Start Date: Jun 18, 2017 - End Date: Dec 18, 2017
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Athens, Kentrikos Tomeas Athinon, Greece
  • Ioannina Island, Ioannina, Greece
  • Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Peloponnese, Greece
  • Delphi, Phocis, Greece
  • Andros, Greece
  • Crete, Greece
  • Metsovo, Ioannina, Greece
  • Thessaly, Greece

My Travel Story

by: Rachael Bittick Start Date: Jun 18, 2017 - End Date: Dec 18, 2017
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad
Friends, family, and other generous internet users,

It has taken me a long time to put all of the pieces together, but I did it -- I am going to Greece!

I will be studying abroad this coming fall semester through the University of Michigan's Center for Global and Intercultural Study as well as the College Year in Athens program. My trip will last four months, September - December, and I am seeking your support to help fund my educational adventures while away.

I will be taking 5 courses that all support my journey to complete both of my university majors, Anthropology and Arts & Ideas in the Humanities. These courses will take me all over Greece and other close islands, providing a very personal and hands-on experience as we visit monuments, historical sites and museums among other field trips.

My courses will help me follow my passions of learning about cultural roots, interactions between peoples, and diversity in environments that are foreign to me. I will be studying Greek art, urban culture, modernism, archaeology, ethnography (the study of a culture and its customs), religion as it relates to a changing culture, and Greek history.

I have always been passionate about learning how we relate to other humans, but what has driven me to Greece is not only its common association with the origins of Western Civilization, but also its current relavence in economic, political, social and ethnic conflict in the Middle East. It is at the heart of social and cultural evolution in Europe, which is where I hope to best grow in my understanding of diverse groups, conflict resolution, relations between cultures, and an appreciation for the arts and anthropology.

In order to make this study abroad successful, I need your help so that am able to explore all that Greece has to offer. Any contributions are greatly apreciated and will push me closer to success.

For more information on the progression of my planning, as the trip approaches, you can visit my soon-to-be published website and follow my Travel Log to join me on this adventure!

You can also get more information about the program on the CYA Blog website.

Both links can be found below.

Thank you,

Rachael
  • Athens, Kentrikos Tomeas Athinon, Greece
  • Ioannina Island, Ioannina, Greece
  • Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Peloponnese, Greece
  • Delphi, Phocis, Greece
  • Andros, Greece
  • Crete, Greece
  • Metsovo, Ioannina, Greece
  • Thessaly, Greece

Updates

2

  • 4% Reached!

    4% Reached!
    Thanks to my first few donors, I'm 4% of the way to my fundraising goal! Congratulations to my generous donors on their rewards of post cards and photo collages!

  • Visa Troubles Can Be Overcome!

    Visa Troubles Can be Overcome!
    Welp...running into more problems with my visa application because, well, long story short, I have really sweaty hands and finger prints need dry hands -- ha!

    Anyway, chugging along and getting closer to departure day!

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