Kos & Patmos

My absolute favorite thing about the Greece Global Seminar program must be our class excursions to various Greek islands. Our most extensive one included a flight to Kos and a ferry ride to Patmos.

In Kos, the focus was on Hippocrates – the father of medicine. We visited Hippocrates garden, learned about the Hippocratic Oath, and saw the famous tree under which Hippocrates supposedly taught his students how to practice medicine. In contrast to the fairly isolated Hippocrates garden, our hotel was in a very crowded and touristy area. There were countless streets lined with various shops and restaurants. We were also right next to the beach and a loading port filled with all sorts of boats, ships, and yachts. The overall vibe of the island was very lively and definitely left a lasting impression on me.

  Patmos was completely different from Kos – instead of vibrant and bustling, it was more quiet and quaint. The town that we stayed in was rather small, and was actually a nice change in pace from Kos. While in Patmos, we visited the infamous Cave of the Apocalypse. This cave was where John heard voices from God, which prompted him to write the widely-known Book of Revelation. For our History of Neuroscience class, I wrote a paper on how the written history of John’s visions may have been hallucinations caused by schizophrenia, so it was beyond fascinating to visit the cave that started it all. That’s why I think that the best part of global seminars is being able to physically immerse yourself in the environment and history that you’re learning about!