My faith has been a part of my life since I can remember, but I will and must admit now that it has not always been a first — or second – proirity at times and I am to blame for that. Being brought up in a family who all are religious and supportive of my own decisions has really helped me figure out what and who I am, as of right now. Lately, however, I have my great friend Trey that has helped me grow stronger in my faith, and during my trip to Athens, Greece, I have been introduced to a lot of different aspects that really hit home for me.

There have been moments in my life where I can not describe the feeling but I just know that God is around me. I have traveled to many places and have felt this, but when I am home with my family is when I see and feel it the most. Any of you who are religious in any way might be able to understand this.

My trip to Athens was difficult and very emotional for me and for my intern/friend/only American I know, Jacques. We decided to take the cheapest train ride to Athens from Thessaloniki which took seven hours. The seats were so close together, and we were assigned different seats with complete strangers. The train made over ten stops throughout the night, and I must say that it was very unpleasant and not exciting at all!

We arrived in Athens at 5 a.m. and did not get to check into our hostel until about noon. When we arrived at Hostel Zeus in the meat packing section of the town we were exctited to be roomed with two other Americans. We unloaded our heavy backpacks and set off to the main square just below the Acropolis. It was only three or four blocks down, and so we were in a perfect place to see the main areas of Athens.

The main square was filled with tourists and shops and amazing restuarants with the outside seating and music. There was a huge fountain, and oddly enough there were a lot of stray dogs. We made our way through the crowd and worked our way up to the main entrance of the Acropolis which was a little bit of a hike. I was sweating but the wind kept me comfortable and as I was walking I remember wondering how in the world could someone that long ago (2,500 years ago) create soemthing soo huge and sturdy... We made it to flat land and to the side of the entrance we noticed a little climb up some mountains that people were taking so we decided to explore.

We started climbing and when we got to the top the wind was blowing harder and I looked up and there was a 360 degree view of the city. Houses upon houses and mountains upon mountains, the clouds were touching the peaks and the tips of the houses were blending in with the edges of the mountains. It was breathtaking! The Acropolis was just to our right and the rest of Atens was below. I walked out to the edge and held my arms out and felt the air push between my shirt. I promise if I were to jump off of that edge I would fly for at least a few seconds. At this very moment I could feel nothing.

This moment, being up on that top for however long it was, made me see something that I rarely get to see, or choose to see. It makes me really believe that God created this world and made these moments and places for all the world to see and feel his love. Jacques and I had this conversation and his eyes teared up and I knew exactly what he felt at that very moment. It is sort of surreal and hard to express what emotions you are having but it felt so pure and real and refreshing to get that moment… right when you needed it.

We stayed in Athens for three days, and we explored all of Athens that we could in the time we had. We visited the Acropolis and we saw all of the statues. We were great tourists and we gave our money the touristy ways and had a great time. We visited the beach and met some great people.

It was lovely and I recommend you come visit Greece if possible.

A native of Middlesboro, Emily Schneider is teaching and coaching in Greece. Contact her via e-mail at editor@middlesborodailynews.com.