June 21 – July 21, 2027
Week#1
During our first week, participants become immersed in life at the American Farm School, taking part in Greek language instruction and experiential learning activities such as yogurt making, winemaking, and working with aromatic plants. We will also explore the city of Thessaloniki.
An important part of the Greek Summer experience is active participation in life on the farm. Participants take part in a variety of hands-on agricultural activities, which may include weeding, harvesting, cutting and sorting aromatic plants, landscaping, and other seasonal farm work. These activities often take place outdoors and may involve extended periods of physical activity in warm summer conditions.
We end the week with a full-day experience at Mount Olympus, the legendary home of the Greek gods. Participants will explore this spectacular landscape and experience one of Greece’s most celebrated natural and cultural landmarks before returning at the end of the day.
Week#2
After the adventurous mountain climb, we’ll be heading to a village outside Thessaloniki for a ten-day stay. There we will begin our service project, in a rural Greek environment. The students will lead an English language camp for the elementary students for five days at a local elementary school, as well as take part in different culture exchange activities with the local community.
Week#3
We’re now in the middle of the village-stay, where the English language camp usually is the highlight of the week for many of our participants, with many of the local boys and girls coming for English lessons. Besides this, we also visit the surrounding area with visits to tea farms, historical sites, towns, and villages, before saying our final goodbyes and departing to Thessaloniki. Once back on campus, we’ll be going on more excursions such as a one-day trip to Meteora to see the beautiful monasteries atop cliffs, and to Vergina where we tour Phillip II’s grave site and tomb.
Week#4
The final week of Greek Summer is packed with activities. We’ll be heading to Athens for sightseeing and a deep dive into history! We tour the Panathenaic stadium, the Parthenon, the Acropolis museum, and the old neighborhood of Plaka in order to fully discover ancient and modern Athens. We also visit many more sites linked with our Greek heritage, such as Thermopyles, Kalimarmaron, and Delphi. On July 22 we sum up where we started and then we part ways, after four unforgettable weeks of Greek Summer!