Greece: Jelena Lee (A Home Away from Home in Thessaloniki)

November 25, 2025

A photo of purple grapes hanging on a vine. The photo is taken from below looking up at the full bunch of grapes. They are large and full with only a couple budding grapes mixed in — Grape vineyard

Jelena takes a selfie of herself in an olive grove. She is wearing a white winter hat with black writing and a black coat. The ground is rather dry and yellow, the trees are green — Me and olive grove

One of my favorite rituals that I’ve picked up here at Perrotis College is my post-lunch nature walks. The food serving sizes for lunch are delicious but hefty, so I took the opportunity to explore the campus grounds that first week and have kept up with it since. There is a lot of green space here on campus, from grassy fields to olive and pomegranate tree groves to grape vineyards, so there’s no lack of space or novelty for an American student like me. I usually spend around thirty minutes to several hours oscillating between strolling, meandering, and frolicking, depending on my mood and the weather. Equipped with my earbuds, sunscreen, and a smile, it’s a nice chance to decompress after a long morning of classes; it’s a luxury I know I won’t be able to indulge in once I return to Madison, but that’s all the more reason to treasure it while I have it.

A close up photo of an orange butterfly with black spots sitting on a yellow flower. The butterfly's long antenna are visible, as is its face — Orange butterfly

A photo of two pomegranates hanging on the branch of a tree. The leaves are very green, the pomegranates are very red. There are wasps all around the pomegranate, eating chunks of it. — Pomegranates and wasps

There usually are not many, if any, people that I encounter on the outskirts of our lovely, gated campus where deep tractor tracks of the morning gorge into the afternoon sun-dried mud of the trails. However, that’s not to say I’m alone to any extent; there’s a mind-boggling amount of life around, if you’re looking.

A photo from above of brown ground and green grass. A praying mantis sits on a stick, very well camouflaged. It is right in the middle and is brown-green colored — Praying mantis

My walks are usually punctuated by an extended crouch next to a bustling highway of ants bulldozing through the grass, an indignant praying mantis mid-meal surrounded by a graveyard of butterfly wings, or a young tree bedazzled with snail shells like it’s the next hottest trend. It’s different than the nature I would normally see at home, but it comforts me to know that nature is still nature no matter where I am.

A photo of Jelena, a female student. Jelena is holding her phone in front of a mirror and taking a photo of herself with a closed mouth smile. She has dark brown wavy hair and is standing in front of a very old-fashioned room with a gold chandelier and a Victorian family painting in the background.

Jelena Lee

Hometown: Maplewood, Minnesota

Major: Microbiology; Nutritional Science

Program: Perrotis College

One goal that I hope to accomplish on the program is to experience and learn more about ‘the Mediterranean diet’ as a cultural history and dynamic art rather than the clinical prescription that it can sometimes be portrayed as here in the US.

One reason I chose this program is because I am a huge fan and appreciator of history, and Thessaloniki is home to many historical sites across many eras thanks to its cultural/political importance as a port city.