Overview of our experience...

Our international journey has created so many unforgettable memories and some very special friends. We've laughed, cried and pulled each other through to achieve what at first seemed impossible.

We've really enjoyed helping the people of Oropos and experienced a whole new culture whilst doing so. None of us realised what we were capable of achieving! It's been very tiring but we've completed so much in the two weeks; we've painted the fountain; painted the wall of the Old Prison; painted the kerbs; painted the playground; set up an exhibition and so much more... 

The journey from selection to now has been 'eye-opening.' We've discovered so much about Greece, each other and most importantly ourselves. 

Over the two weeks we were asked to put some words in a sealed box to describe each day. This is what was said: 

Our message to any girls that are thinking about going on an international trip:

"Go for it! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity... You will experience things you never thought you'd experience and learn so much. You'll meet new people, make friends for life and have so much fun! For us it's been amazing, enjoyable and exciting and we discovered that Girls really can do anything!"

Day 14

Our last day in Greece! 

This morning Libby, Ruth, Megan and Rachael accidentally set their alarm for the wrong time and woke up to the sound of the leader's banging down their door! After getting ready (very quickly) we all went to the terrace of the hotel for breakfast; the very same place we had our first breakfast in Greece 2 weeks ago. 

After breakfast we packed our rucksacks and then headed out for our final day in Athens. On our walk through the city we stopped to watch the changing of the guards at the parliament building. This was a bit different to that in London. 

We then carried on walking to the Olympic Stadium. Chrysafo told us a bit about its history: It held the opening ceremony of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 1896. We had some time to walk around and take some pretty amazing photos. 

As this is a once in a lifetime opportunity we decided to have a race around the Olympic track too! It turned out to be a lot longer than it looked...

We stood on the Olympic podium to show the standings of the Egg Challenge. Well done Libby and Lili!

We took our last group photos together... 

After this we went shopping in the markets of Athens, and bought some souvenirs etc. to remind us of our trip. 

For our last lunch we had burgers from a Greek fast food restaurant. We think this was our first meal since we've been away with no salad! 

After the tiring walk back to the hotel we all joined together as a group to give out awards. We each created an award and designed a plate for someone else in the group. 

This is what we had: 

Jodie - THE SNEAKY PHOTOGRAPHER

Julie  - THE BEST HUMAN WET PAINT SIGN 

Liz - THE BEST BEACH DANCER

Lili - THE BEST TAN LINES

Megan - THE DANCING QUEEN

Rachael - THE EGGTASTIC AWARD

Naiomi - THE MOST FASHIONABLE ARTIST 

Libby - THE BEST GREEK GODDESS

Ruth - THE BEST WALKING CHEMIST

Hannah - THE BEST STORYTELLER 

Finally it was time to leave Athens. We said our goodbyes to Chrysafo and Xiena (we got a little bit emotional) and got in the taxis to the airport. 

Our plane was delayed by an hour so we had some time to spare. We all had a plain sheet of A4 paper with our name on it, and had to pass it around the circle. Everybody wrote a short sentence summing up the nicest things about that person and folded it as they wrote it. Later, in our own time we opened them and read all the positive messages. 

The leaders also awarded us our 'Hear our Voice' badge for all the work we've done about democracy not only in Greece but also at our second briefing weekend in June. 

Us girls also had a special present for our leaders. We wrote a postcard saying thank you for our trip and gave Jodie, Julie and Liz a T-Shirt with the Greece flag on and signed our names on it. We had a mini speech and a big group hug, we're going to miss each other a lot. 

Whilst we were waiting to board our plane we played one last card game with everyone, this has been a common activity we've done in our spare time throughout the whole of our trip. 

Now we've landed safely in the UK and we are about to settle down for our final night away from home.