The Unknown by Imani Davis

"If you don't live everyday you're cheating yourself" -Dr. Catalano







Studying abroad is all about the learning experience, introducing yourself to new places and even new people. It's an adventure. Through this experience you learn the stories about the places you will be visiting and the people around you. During your stay abroad the people traveling with you become your family away from home. These are the people you go to for everything. You laugh, vent, cry and see the world together. For us, these same rules apply. We all started this trip as 12 strangers, well in some ways. We each knew at least a person or two but not all.


The Pleasantville and City campuses finally got to feel like one University. There are two students from the City campus and the rest are from Pleasantville, making eleven girls, one boy and three teachers. And we're always on the same page. We could all arrive to a city together, somehow separate and all meet up with each other to head back to home base at the same time without sending a text to one another or making a phone call. We often joke and say that we are study abroad goals.


But then something happened. On our sixth night abroad we went from sharing stories at dinner about Pace experiences and trying to find internships to personal real life stories. All of our eyes were opened to the similarities we had to one another that we hadn't known before. The dinner started with much laughter and ended with tears shed along with comforting. We had a break through.

Harper Lee once said,

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Climb inside of his skin and walk around in it".


At this dinner we heard stories and felt real emotions coming from behind the masks that cover our vibrant faces everyday. We went from formal introductions to lending a ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on in just a couple of days. Chemistry like this is hard to find in a group of very different individuals. We made it work and started or rekindled friendships and this trip will forever be remembered by both the students and the teachers.

Rest In Peace- Richard Kennedy, Loving father to Catherine Kennedy

Rest In Peace- Lauren McCormick, Best friend to Athena Cipully

Rest In Peace- Patricia Cipully, Step-mother to Athena Cipully


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Coffee is Universal (But Not the Same) By Alex Franciosa

Do not stir and drink Greek Coffee.
In most coffee shops in Greece, customers can buy typical drinks like coffee, coffee lattes, and cappuccinos. All of them can be served hot or cold, with or without sugar and milk, and with additional favors. However, most menus also contain something suspiciously called "Greek Coffee."
Thinking I would undergo the legitimate cultural coffee experience, I ordered a cup of Greek coffee- black. But I didn't ask what made it Greek.
After doing research, I've learned that, similar to Turkish Coffee, Greek Coffee is unfiltered. Roasted beans are finely ground and then simmered instead of boiled in water. After it is poured, the grounds are left to settle before the drink is served, sometimes with a small piece of candy.
What does this mean for drinking it? Greek Coffee comes in an adorably small mug as it contains less water than "American Coffee." It is also stronger.
Despite not knowing any of this, I enjoyed my cup until I discovered the ground coffee beans at the bottom. At the time, I didn't give any thought to what they were. I probably figured it would dissolve if stirred, and I would miss out on the full coffee experience if I didn't. In the heat of the moment, I made the decision to stir them around and then take a huge sip. As you can imagine, this resulted in a terrifying ordeal that was resolved with me drinking water to try and clear the coffee grounds that coated my throat.
It's like drinking tea leaves: you can technically do it, but it's definitely not recommended. I probably should have taken the hint that the coffee didn't come with a spoon and I had to use my fork to stir.
All of that being said, I do strongly recommend trying Greek Coffee. For the taste, the caffeine, and the experience.


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A Bird Who Won't Fly Home by Michelle Ricciardi

"We must travel in order to find the place where we belong."-Unknown



Travel is one of my biggest passions. As someone who had only been to Florida a dozen times with my family and a few states that surround New York, I decided I needed a change.

I made a promise to myself at age 21 that I would visit at least one new destination per year. I've overachieved my goal thus far, having been to New Orleans, Honolulu, Punta Cana, Bangkok, Koh Samui, and after this trip I'll be able to say that I've been to Athens, Mykonos, Kushida, Patmos, Rhodes, Santorini, and Naplion.

My travels started out as a way to satisfy my thirst for adventure and to learn about the world the way no text book could teach me: by throwing my whole self into new cultures and surpassing my comfort zone.

Yet, the more I travel, the more I realize that the adventure I crave can never be fully quenched because this passion has become a characteristic within myself.
Even after I see the whole world, I don't think I could ever stop traveling.

It's not a list of chores that you complete in order to avoid revisiting, rather it's something you do to find your favorite places and figure out which one of them is right for you. After all, how can we truly know our place in the world if we have not seen all of it?

The more I travel the more I question my home and what home means. I'm not one of those Americans who will say that "America was never great." I love my country and respect the people who fight for it. I acknowledge that no matter where you go in the world there are people who will be ignorant or rude. Moving somewhere new will not rid your life of all of the jerks of the world but everywhere I go I find myself questioning the quality of life in each country and what I am willing to give up in order to call one of these new places home.

Would I be able to trade in my Constitutional rights to live in a place where the sun is warmer, the views more breathtaking, and the people more friendly? I think at the end of the day, the answer is "yes."






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Location:Crete, Greece

Crepes from the Gods by Michelle Ricciardi

The Greek island of Mykonos has a reputation of being a destination for fabulous nightlife.

However, it holds much more for travelers than nights full of parties. The crystal blue waters set the perfect stage to watch the sunrise from one of the hundreds of restaurants that face the port.

Wander down the white and gray stone roads and smells from shrimp risotto to pizza fill the tiny paths that wind uphill between the crisp, white squares of buildings.



Upon all of these delicious aromas, one particularly sweet scent of fresh baked waffles and crepes caught my attention.
As I walked into the shop, the owner and chef was delighted and greeted my friends and I with a warm smile. He stood behind the counter with a large, circular hotplate in front of him and a large pale of batter on the side.

One girl, Brianna, told him to "surprise" us with his own combination of crepe. His smile widened and replied that he is very happy when his customers trust him. He poured a small ladle of batter on to the plate and used a small wooden square with a thin handle to spread the battery evenly throughout.



After he flipped the crepe, he spread Nutella, white chocolate sauce, fresh sliced strawberries, and crushed Oreos and filed the crepe.

He topped it with a dollop of whipped cream and there I held a crepe the size of my face, warm and fresh, in my hands. Every last bite was worth the mess of sweetness the dripped all over my face as I ate it.


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Location:Mykonos, Greece

Getting to Know Maya by Imani Davis

Science and culture is what makes us human beings" -Maya Acenova






She walks into a room with high spirits, dressed in full Pace University gear and gives a warm "Kalimera", which is Greek for good morning. She welcomed us with open arms to make us feel as if we weren't out of town guest but family. She has so much knowledge about the people and places around her. And I am happy I got the pleasure to sit down with Mrs. Maya Acenova to have a one on one conversation. We covered so many subjects from religion to history to art and even personal life. And for those back home who did not get the pleasure to meet this kind women, I'm pretty sure you will want to after reading. :)

Originally from Bulgaria, Maya Acenova came to Greece in search of expanding her knowledge on history and the arts. She studied the History of Art at the National Art Academy of Sofia in Bulgaria. While studying abroad, Maya met her husband of 18 years in Greece. Once she fell in love she moved to the suburbs of Athens, Greece in 2000. She enjoys living in the suburbs because of the peace and quiet, the nature and the closeness of the beach. Maya believes that nature has given her much happiness and she takes the time, whenever she can, to appreciate it. She shows her appreciation through her work and rescuing animals.

Maya was asked to begin working in tourism and she kindly accepted because she wanted to not only make herself useful but use her studies to grow and reach her highest potential.
This year, Maya decided to take a break from the tour company and become a freelance tour assistant. In doing this she gets to reconnect with old friends such as Professor Catalano, whom she met 8 years ago and has always kept in touch with.

Maya is enthusiastic about tourism and making Greek culture available to foreigners. She wants to help to find the gaps in Greek history because there is so much more that people do not know. Her goal is to make communist culture more popular and expand other people's knowledge of it.

Besides her wide knowledge of Greek culture and the arts, Maya speaks Italian, Russian and Greek. She also learned to speak English in only 3 months. If I do say so myself, she speaks better English than most people who speak it as a first language. Just amazing!

By the end of our conversation, I felt like I knew Maya for years. Her passion for what she does really shows through the way she speaks and the work she does. When I asked where she saw herself in the next five years Maya responded, "Working on the idea of creating tours around the Balkan Peninsula that presents its culture from ancient times through the centuries to modern époque".

When I return to Greece, hopefully within the next two years, she will definitely be my go to person. If anyone is interested in finding a tour assistant while in Athens Maya is your girl!

Contact info:
mayacenova@gmail.com


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Magic Carpets by Michelle Ricciardi

Over 2,400 people work in the learning complex of Turkmen Carpet Weaving Center in Kushisa, Turkey.



For the silk rugs, they collect silkworm cocoons. They then dry out the larva and soak the dried cocoons in warm water to pull apart the material using a brush.

The Turkish women hand sew each rug for 3 hours a day, a process that takes about 14 months to complete. They follow patterns that are drawn on pieces of cardboard by weaving teachers in the complex.

The results are breathtaking rugs that should be viewed as a piece of art rather than something to keep your feet warm from your hardwood floors.

They produce silk rugs that range in vibrant purple damask designs to rugs with simpler patterns made with natural dyes, or sals.

The tour guide, Alper, insists that guest remove their shoes and walk on these colorful masterpieces in order to feel the quality. It is like gliding on a smooth cloud.

These hand-sewn works of art don't come cheap, though. Rugs the size of an average kitchen sink runner will cost you about $2,000. Though I can imagine the quality is well worth it .


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Holy Culture Shock, Batman! By Alex Franciosa

Of all the difficulties I expected from traveling, I never thought ordering a cup of coffee would be one of the worst.
After a nine hour flight that put our group in Athens at 10am- resulting in a night's sleep of about two hours- one of the only things on my mind was coffee. A couple of friends and I set off down the street with our euros and knowledge of a few Greek words like "thank you," "please," and "water." We were told that would be enough, because "everyone speaks English in Greece."



What we found out in a matter of minutes was that most people spoke more English words than we spoke in Greek, but we were so wrong to expect them to be fluent. On top of that, what's not in English are the street signs, shop names and menus. As I pointed to the menu in the coffee shop and said "what?" about a million times, I felt the weight of embarrassment not only for myself but for the people from my country that I'm representing settle on my shoulders. I choked and waited too long to try out any Greek words before the barista turned and walked away, clearly annoyed. At least it could only go up from there.
After spending 20 minutes trying to find a bathroom, and 40 minutes trying to find the Fish Spa that was 12 minutes away from our hotel, we sucked it up and talked to people.
Once the initial shock subsided, we realized that most shop owners did speak a decent amount of English, and that they were very willing to help. They were also very friendly, especially when we used the few Greek words we knew. They appreciated the effort, and in turn we became encouraged to try more.
In preparation for travel, people will tell you about culture shock, but it never really hits that such a thing can exist until you try to thank someone who helped you with directions and you can't. Reflecting back on the experience has been very humbling, especially considering the people, even in the United States, who experience this every day because they have to- not because they are on vacation.
Now, although the jet lag is still at large, we're able to appreciate the country without being held back as scared tourists. We've been able to learn not only about the history, but about the culture. And we've been able to talk to some great, friendly locals in the meantime!


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