Talk About Clyde: Youth shares experience in Greece

Cayleb Cooper, who will be a junior at Clyde High School, just returned from spending three weeks in Greece as a foreign exchange student.

It was not his first international flight, but his first solo flight, even though he met up with five other students in Chicago from California, Texas, New York and Washington.

Cayleb is no stranger to the foreign exchange program. His parents, Rick and Jamie Withem, are both involved with YFU, Youth for Understanding, a foreign exchange program. Jamie is the field director for YFU. Before that, she and Rick were volunteers, personally hosting 10 exchange students through the years.

“I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world,“ Cooper said about his experience.

As it happened, he was there at a historic time in Greece, with financial problems and rioting in some areas. The banks were open for only one hour a day.

“Nobody explained it,” Cayleb said, adding that the citizens lined up daily at the ATMs where they were allowed to withdraw only 60 euros, if cash was available.

“Tourists were allowed to get as much (money) as they wanted from the ATM,” he said. “The citizens were yelling at us; they were worried there wouldn’t be any money left for them.”

Jamie Withem said the value of the Euro fluctuates. Last week, 60 euros was the equivalent of $67 in the U.S.

Cayleb enjoyed his time in Greece except for his money problem. Because the Visa debit card wasn’t always accepted, he went without cash for a week and a half.

His host family, a mom, step-dad and three brothers, lived a comfortable life, taking him to five of their seven vacation homes near the beaches, where they swam in the clear water.

“We could see everything under the water,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

The last two days of his trip were spent in Athens, where he met up with his fellow travelers. There, they saw rioting firsthand.

“There are a lot of anarchists in Greece,” he said. “People scream at the police. The riot police are out 24/7 with guns strapped to them. It was very intimidating.”

He said rioters were burning ATMs as well as dumping trash containers and burning the contents. His group experienced the rioting in Athens just hours before they left for their flight back to the states.

Cayleb liked the fact that there were no evening curfews for youths.

“Every place was open all night,” he said. “We were out late.”

While in Athens, YFU took the tour group to visit historical sites. Cayleb visited Skiathos Island, where the movie “Mama Mia!” was filmed. He said people drove tiny cars or mopeds.

“They had narrow roads. I wouldn’t want to drive there,” he said.

Cayleb has traveled internationally with his parents to Mexico, Finland and Estonia to visit former exchange students. He was not afraid to travel alone this time.

“Both Mom and Dad had faith in me,” he said.

Library to host movie night

“Stranger than Fiction” is scheduled for Movie Night at the Clyde Public Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

To commemorate the life of Robin Williams, who died a year ago in August, the library will host a two-day marathon of “Mork and Mindy,” a TV series starring Williams.

The marathon will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and run until 4:30 p.m. Aug. 14 and will continue from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on August 15. The event is free. Snacks and lemonade are provided.

For more information, call the library at 419-547-7174.

Jeanette Liebold-Ricker’s column appears each Tuesday. Write her at 1134 N. Main, Clyde 43410; call 419-547-8177; or email jlricker@ambt.net.