You never really realize how big the world is until you fly for over 24 hours to get to your destination. When you leave the country, you see many different cultures and world issues that we are sheltered from living here in the United States. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to be able to tour Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey for ten days on a boat in the Mediterranean. What I saw and experienced in those ten days has changed the way I view the world.

Before flying out to start this adventure, my parents had warned me that some of the places I was going were in a fight with their government and to be careful. I let this kind of go in one ear and out the other. I didn’t care because I was packing for the vacation of my dreams! When I did arrive at these places, I soon realized what my parents meant.

Our cruises first port was in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Now many of you “Game of Thrones” fans may be excited to read this because this is the spot where the series is filmed. This city is much more than just a popular HBO shows setting. It is full of culture that you can feel walking through the streets. Driving into the heart of town, you can see the economic class the residents in the area are in. While there are some outlier houses, most people in this region of the country are living in poverty. They are just making enough to get by. The locals make a living by selling handmade trinkets and art to the many tourists that come in daily. I will never forget the heart sinking moment when a child not much older than five came over begging for me to buy something from them. Knowing he was just trying to make enough money to be able to feed himself made me realize how privileged I am to have a family that has always supported me the way they have. Once inside the city, there are many shops lining the corridor walls, street performers, regal churches, and feral cats roaming the streets in hopes of picking up food scrapes. It was amazing to see how these people live compared to me.

Once loaded back on the boat, our next stop was Kusadasi Turkey. This is the location of the first Turkish Great Theater and where the goddess Athena use to live. This is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We were able to walk through the ruins and see many structures and sculptures that have been preserved for thousands of years. Once again, though, this town relies heavily on the tourists to bring in income. The people here are also not afraid to be aggressive when it comes to their sales tactics.

Having an English accent made me stand out like a sore thumb. I automatically was targeted and was yelled at as I walked down the shopping square. The vendors were very pushy and none of them would take no for an answer. One shop I went to, the sales clerk even closed the door behind us as if he was going to keep us there until we bought something. This made me feel very uncomfortable and shortly after I went back to the boat. This country at the time was at war with their government among other things. This made the citizens on edge not knowing what was going to happen to their businesses and homes. They were pushing so hard for people to buy things so they could save up in case something happened to them they would be able to survive. Only a week after I left Europe, two towns over from where I was visiting, a riot broke out and many were injured and killed. The people attacked the government and the government retaliated by opening fire.

The next stop on our journey was Archaia, Olympia. This was where the first Olympic games were held and where the torch is lit every four years. This was the location that broke my heart the most. When docking the boat, you could look up on the hillside and see smoke rising from all over. We soon found out that the residents were burning their trash and that was the smoke from their burn piles. Driving to the Olympic ruins, piles of trash lined the streets and many homes abandoned because of the poverty in this region. They were in the middle of a trash strike and their minimum wage law had been washed away. These people were being paid a dollar or two for every hour that they were working. Because of this, they had to leave the part of the country they were in and move so that they could make a living wage. If seeing a ghost town like this isn’t sad enough, the area was covered with what they call gypsy families. They are their version of homeless people. These families have trained their children to stand on the sides of the road and beg for anything they can get. For example, these children know what the big tourist buses look like and target them the most. While I was there, a little boy carrying his baby sister laid down in front of our bus while we were at a stop light and refused to get up until we gave him a couple bottles of water. We also were told stories of the children trying to open the bus door when stopped at lights and break onto the bus. To see this is very heart breaking and all you want to do is help. The sad thing is, there is really nothing you can do to fix this area of the country. We were one of the first cruise ships to ever dock and come there because of the condition they are in. They now are having cruise ships in weekly in hopes of bringing more money into the town to make it a better environment.

Between the breath-taking views and the amazing cuisine I experienced during my time in Europe, I couldn’t tell you what I enjoyed the most. I gained more knowledge on issues that are happening around the world and this opened my eyes. I have since been more grateful for the experience and everything I am able to have in my life. I also was able to gain historical knowledge and go to many big landmarks that won’t be around for forever. If you ever have the chance to go across the world, realize how lucky you are to be able to do so. It will change your life forever.