Without a doubt, the best day I had while I was abroad was when we visited the small island of Hydra as a class. We departed on a speed ferry, which carried no vehicles, as the island itself did not have or allow vehicles. When we arrived, I was stunned with the natural beauty of the island. At this point, I had seen three other islands, all not lacking in beauty themselves, but this one was special. The coastline resembled photos of Italian coastlines, with colorful homes and buildings dotting the hills. The water was so clear and inviting. The place seemed undisturbed for how many people must come through there. While there were certainly tourist traps, the local islanders seemed much more distanced from the Americanized tourism that we experienced in Athens and some of the other islands. We swam, jumped off cliffs into the water, ate, drank, rode horses around the town, shopped and relaxed before getting back on the ferry to head back to Athens. Our assignment for the day was to speak with a local about sustainability issues that the island faces. We learned quickly that “sustainability” was not an English word many of the Greeks on the island knew, but were able to learn that they recycled and were proud of their low emissions due to there being no vehicles. Regardless of the depth of the conversations, the assignment forced us out of our comfort zone by requiring that we have a conversation with someone knowing that we might have to be quick on our feet in order to get the intended question answered. Other than losing my watch to the depths of the Aegean sea, this day was nearly perfect, and I am so thankful for the experiences I had on this trip with the class.