Day 25: Exam Day & Final Banquet
Monday, August 17th, 2026
Today is the last full day of our program and the day of our final exams. After a good night’s sleep, we gathered on the rooftop of our hotel for a hearty breakfast. We wanted to make sure our brains were fueled up for the day.
Students then spread out in the lobby for some last minute review and help from their teachers. After lunch, we gathered and headed to our exam hall, a twenty minute walk from our hotel. Two hours later, it was all over, and students felt a great relief knowing that the academic portion of our program was now done. All that was left to do was celebrate. Students headed back to the hotel to get ready for tonight’s banquet.
We started our banquet on the rooftop of our hotel. The setting sun and the stunning Acropolis backdrop provided the perfect backdrop for our photo shoot. We snapped lots of incredible pictures. We then headed to a nearby venue for our banquet. First order of business was the buffet dinner. Tonight’s menu was chicken souvlaki, mozzarella and tomato skewers, steak sliders, mounds of pita and tzatziki and loukoumades for dessert.
After dinner, we moved to the photo booth, put on hilarious props and had lots of fun snapping some more pictures. Our formal portion of the evening involved some short speeches and the much loved Paper Plate Awards!
We then enjoyed a photo slideshow, which brought back lots of amazing memories from the past 25 days. No trip to Greece would be complete without learning how to do the Sirtaki, the traditional Greek dance made famous by Zorba. Our amazing program organizer, Chara, taught the group the moves and then our DJ started up the music, and the next thing we knew, we were dancing through the venue with all the event staff clapping and cheering us on.
Once we had our dancing shoes on, we danced the evening away, with a little bit of karaoke in there as well. By midnight, we needed a break from the dance floor. Each student received a GSA Greece t-shirt, and had a great time getting their friends and staff to sign them.
After one final stop for gelato, it was time to get some much needed rest before tomorrow’s long journey home.
We are not looking forward to saying goodbye! Students are already planning reunions when they get back home!
Bertan
Program Manager
