Greece and Our Trip - Updated 3/25

In case you have not been monitoring Athens, no worries - checking for news from Greece has been a part of my daily schedule for the last two months. The economic downturn has hit Greece harder than most other Western countries. Over the last month in particular, the EU's response to Greece has been a subject of high drama. The EU has made it clear that any assistance to Greece will be dependent upon the country's ability to impose harsh austerity measures. Those include significant cuts in pay to civil servants, the loss of jobs for others, and a
significant reduction in social services. Many Greeks have not responded to these moves with docility and restraint. Instead, there have been riots in Athens and, to a much lesser degree, Thessaloniki. In limited cases, these have resulted in violence.

From a distance, this news can be unnerving to follow, especially when keeping the safety of your children in mind. And, of course, safety is the over-riding concern for us in planning this trip. Know that we will not stick to our current itinerary if we feel it exposed your child to any danger.

After discussing the issue with Mr. LaBonte for the moment, we have decided to take a wait-and-see approach. With historically rare exceptions, these sorts of riots burn hot but expire quickly and It would be unusual for them to still be percolating a month from now. Additionally, it is important to note where the riots are taking place. We will stay in Monastiraki neighborhood in Athens, near the Acropolis. The riots, however, almost exclusively occur around government buildings and, to a lesser extent, universities.

The primary reason for a wait-and-see approach is that our plans are flexible. In other words, should circumstances demand it, we could modify our itinerary relatively late in the game to ensure the safety of your kids. We will continue to monitor developments in Athens on a daily basis as we move through March and early April.

Given that all of my experience leading student trips - and with travel in general - has accrued over the last decade, that experience has inevitably included learning how to deal with the potential hazards of traveling in uncertain times. This said you have my assurance that we will not expose your child to any undue risk and that you will have the opportunity to fully review and comment on the planned itinerary prior to our flight.

I inquired with our hostel in Athens about the current conditions and received the following response:

"The area around the hostel is very safe and is not near any of the protests which you may have seen on the news. I personally have not seen or heard anything here at the hostel and I too have seen the news reports and I am quite surprised when I watch it that it actually happened here because I never see or hear anything.

"So I can assure you that you will be very safe at the hostel and the sites surrounding the hostel, the protests you have viewed are situated in one small area not near any sites and we will mark this area on a map for you in the case of another protest so you can avoid this area."

While the hostel clearly is operating from a position of self-interest, these comments have been reinforced to me by others in Athens.

Hopefully this note eases any concerns that you may have and I encourage
you to contact me if you have any questions about our plans.