Γειά σɑς! My name is Maddy Waters and I’m a junior at GW that is just over 6 weeks into my Fall Abroad Experience with College Year in Athens in Athens Greece. It has been the most incredible six weeks, and I am so grateful to be here! When I first got to Athens in the beginning of September it was very overwhelming. The time change, new environment, foreign language, and new people was a crazy combination that I didn’t know how to deal with. After a few days and going to all the events that CYA organized, I settled right in.
My favorite thing about the CYA experience so far is the Field Studies. If you’re thinking about Athens, look at both the Fall and Spring semesters here; the field studies are to different awesome places (and I think the fall ones are more fun).
CYA facilitates travel for the whole school around Greece for a simultaneous academic and fun/entertaining experience. After just 3 days in Athens, we set off to Ancient Olympia and Ancient Delphi. Professors and archaeologists toured us around the sites; it was so crazy to see all these sites I’d read so much about! A bunch of my friends who aren’t into history still enjoyed the experience. We also spent a lot of time at the hotel pools, eating good food, and exploring the towns.
Later in the semester we also went to the island of Crete, and then the island Peloponnese. For these later trips we get to pick what we want to focus on while we’re there. In Crete I chose a trip called “Exceptional Times, Exceptional Places.” We went to a local winery, olive oil factory, and a traditional potting town. They also gave us a lot of free time to explore the various cities we passed through. In one town, I had the most incredible traditional lunch! At the Peloponnese I focussed on Ancient Religion; we went to Ancient Mycenae, Ancient Corinth, and the cities of Nafplio and Kalamata. Even though we were a few weeks in at this point, I meant a bunch of new friends on this trip!
I also went on two optional field studies with CYA. The first was to the island of Andros. One of the Modern Greek Language professors led the trip for us, and she had been going to the island since she was a little kid! I LOVED Andros, we went all over the island, swam at many beaches, visited lots of archaeological sites, ate fantastic food, and I had so much fun! Just this past weekend I went on another optional field study to northern Greece, and we visited the towns of Metsovo, Ioannina, and Meteora. They’re all mountain towns, and so it was really nice to get out of the city and into nature. They had a ton of unique local foods, unbelievable views, famous history, and, in Meteora, monasteries and nunneries suspended on cliffs.
Studying abroad with CYA has not only given me incredible opportunities within Athens, of which there are many, but also showed me so much of the rest of Greece! Many people, including myself, travel independently over weekends and breaks while abroad. However, the field studies are unique because most of them are included in the price of tuition, planned by the school, and function as both super education and fun experiences. If your goal is both to learn a lot and see a lot, CYA is the perfect program!
Madeline Waters
Fall 2025
College Year in Athens, Greece (Athens)
Elliott School of International Affairs
History Major