November 04, 2009

3 Days, 12 Hours

     3 Days and 15 Hours from now, I'll be on the starting line for the Marathon race, beginning in Marathon, and ending in the reconstruction of the ancient Olympic stadium in the Athenian City Center. I've been training for this since the Monday after Spring Break and am so antsy it pains me to be sitting here typing. I've been on a two week "taper" now and am feeling strong, healthy, and ready to go. It's kind of an interesting feeling though unlike anything I've ever prepared for because, for instance, in track, if I ran the 400, I practiced running the 400, the same with swimming events. But, the marathon training I did capstoned with a 20 mile run, a whole 26 miles less than what I'll be doing on Sunday. I think it just makes it all the more exciting.

     This week has been pretty low key. Lots of pasta and relaxing, along with mental preparing. I'm getting better at Latin. It's been neat to translate Cicero - I'm not doing any big literary works, but paragraphs; however, they're getting bigger and more complex. Above: The entrance to the Roman Agora in Athens made to resemble the Parthenon, however, the Romans apparently are bad at following ratios.

     I have decided to put together my own Monon Bell tailgate in Athens for some of the students here to share a little bit of that Wabash pride with them. It should be fun. I was hoping to find some scrap wood and all to maybe assemble some corn hole sets, but we'll see how that goes. I can feel the excitement building from here.

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November 01, 2009

Thessaloniki and Mount Olympos

     After Oxi Day, two friends and I took the incentive to plan out a trip to nearby Mount Olympos and then succeeded in convincing the program director to allow us to go to the park. We caught a 8:08 train to the nearby town of Litohorio which was loaded with friendly elderly people. After a few mix ups, we found ourselves 4 kilometers in on a 18 kilometer road to our destination, attempting to hitch hike. I don't know why, but hitchhiking seems less dangerous in a park. After several failed attempts, we made the girl with us attempt to signal a car and voila! we got a ride to a monastery up into the mountains. The guy who gave us a ride was actually a guide for the mountain, very friendly, and spoke some english (enough to make a few jokes about how tall my buddy was and advise us on the trails). We spent some time at the monastery, which interestingly enough was destroyed during the Nazi occupation and rebuilt, ate some peanut butter and jellys, and hit the trail. Right: View of Mount Olympos and the Throne of Zeus from town.

     Try to imagine hiking through a gourge, looking up at rolling mountains with steep cliffs on their faces holding trees with the most beautiful shade of oranish red leaves, the clearest river that appears grey due to the rocks on the bottom showing through, and, the trump card, the overwhelming peak straight ahead, the throne of Zeus glaring down upon us. It was a beautiful afternoon. I spent a lot of time on our roughly 14 mile hike reflecting on what it would have meant to be in this valley as a Greek citizen during the age of mythology. I tried to compare it with visiting the Vatican back in Rome. Would the pilgrim be overcome with awe and a desire to praise the gods? What would be learned by traveling amongst these mountains? Were these mountains so sacred that no mortal were allowed to traverse them? I always find myself reflecting on my life during long hikes and musing the mysteries of life. I thought back to what I would be doing if I were at Wabash around 9AM on a Wednesday afternoon, weighed the pros and cons of being a doctor, and even had some very "Wabash Friday evening conversation" about being successful vs. being happy. Once we made it back to town and onto the train, an hour flew by, and I awoke to see the other two sleeping and Thessaloniki only 5 minutes away. Left: a view of the fall leaves (dearly missed from IN) from the monastery. Right: Clear water scene in the park

     Friday only added to the trip. We started off with a trip to Pella, near Macedonia, which was a bit of a bust, mostly because of the sights we have seen thus far, before heading to the school of Aristotle in Macedonia. Grey skies and a somber chill in the air, I arrived with a bit of curiousity regarding the site. My philosophy professor gave an awe-inspiring talk that rivaled a Wabash chapel talk and sent me craving to learn. He spoke of Plato's claiming, "Man has an apetite for learning," and finished with the claim without this school, the world as we know it would not exist. I stood in the cave where Alexander the Great was educated. I walked the foot paths some of the most brilliant thinkers the world has ever seen wore. It occurred to me also that the philosophers of this time were so much more than philosophers, but more "Liberal Artists" who had mastered so many areas of study it was unreal. It had me craving for knowledge and wishing I could complete every major Wabash had to offer. Above Left: The site of Aristotle's school and the little cave like thing to the left of the picture is the cave in which Aristotle taught Alexander

     From there, we visited Vergina, the site of Philip II and Alexander's graves. It was simply neat to be standing staring at the closed doors behind which possible the most charismatic leader of all time was buried. I'll leave it at that. It was a day that inspired me to want to learn more and realize how little I already know. Right: Alexanders Tomb

     Bear with me, I know this is a long one. Saturday, we woke up and went to a war memorial. Maybe it was simply the mood I was in, but I loved this site. We had about a 70 year old Serbian tour guide show us around the site and explain the burial customs and how the Serbians not only drank with the dead, but visited with them. By drink, I mean they would take a shot glass of some Serbian liquor, pour some on the ground, since the dead drink first, and then drink the rest before visiting the burial sites. It was a pretty cool monument and dedicated mostly to World War I veterans and victims. Combined with the day before, I was shot into a reflection on death and really was struck by this site. I had an immersion learning experience; I can tell you 8,000 Serbians died on this site in World War I. You can imagine how many that was and yadda yadda. Then I can show you a picture, but until you're standing in a field of 8,000 white crosses commemorating those lives, you don't understand. Left: The Serbian Monument

     The weekend really came together for me, we got a good taste of Greek pride from World War I to now and a good understanding of it too. I know for a fact, had we sat in a classroom for a week and tried to learn all that we saw, it would not have "stuck" in my head, nor would I have really grasped it without visiting these sites.

 

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October 29, 2009

Oxi Day

     Tuesday was "Oxi Day" in Greece (pronounced Ohee). It is typically a commemoration of the day the Greeks told Mousollini and the Nazi's, "No" after being told to surrender their plot of land. The Greeks then fought hard in Northern Greece before being overtaken by the Nazi forces. As a commemoration of the day, the Greeks have a parade; however, it is a military parade. At first, the parade begins with tons of groups dressed in all sorts of traditional outfits, fancy hats, elaborate chest coverings, fancy skirts, balls on their shoes, etc. representative of the different cultures that came together to form Greece. Following them were all sorts of rescue teams and flag carriers. The flag carriers for Thessaloniki were the top students in each school who have the honor of representing their respective schools by carrying their countries flag in the parade. After this, came the biggest display of military power I think I have seen. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming to see 10-20 full fledge tanks blowing down the street, revving their engines, and blowing fumes of black smoke out the back with black hawk choppers and jets soaring above. The first tank I saw had its barrel turned slightly to the right and conveniently postitioned exactly where I was standing. It's only a parade, but one of those things that makes you question whats happening for a minute.

     Some differences about the parade was the seriousness of it. In the US, our parades are celebrations, but in a different way. Candy is thrown, people are waving, their are shows, music, etc. but for Oxi Day, it was an almost somber experience. The military officers all stand stout, arms firm at their sides, gaze straight ahead, as a display of their military force. The flag barrers and students before them all marched in step, right and left arms flailing together - this seemed very out of place until the tanks came barreling down the street. It also still seemed all very strange until I was speaking with one of our professors about my impressions of the parade and she simply pointed out, "Imagine living in Greece in the 1930s and 40s and watching Nazi tanks and troops march down your hometown street and into your capital building with more tanks and troops than what you just saw. Imagine what it was like for virtually every European country to be overtaken and conquered." That hit home with me. Amidst what seemed like madness, there was actually a very legit underlying principle, and it was neat to be a part of it.

     The rest of the day was pretty low key, I caught a quick run in the afternoon, saw some artifacts and some sea food pasta for dinner. We did not make it out to dinner until around 10 which is when the restaurants are busiest. However, we found a place that had live music and it was pretty cool to see the Greeks get up and dance some of their traditional dances. Thessaloniki is a much more traditional city and has been very entertaining so far. Tomorrow, myself and two others have decided to cut class (I know, scold me later - we got permission) to take an hour train from here to Mount Olympus National Park and hike around the mountain that the gods dwelt according to ancient mythology. I'm really looking forward to it and as always a good break from city life =)

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October 24, 2009

Corinth

     Thursday afternoon I received an email indicating where to go if we were looking to go to Corinth on Friday. On a whim, I decided to go and it was one of the best days I have had here so far. First off, our program director's husband is the head of excavations at the American School there. Second off, it is beautiful. Third, there is a sweet castle there.

     Corinth is about an hour train ride outside of Greece and situated on the original ismuth, after which all ismi are named. The excavations director was one of the most interesting people I've met in Greece thus far. He was incredibly well educated and full of interesting facts regarding the importance of Corinth, geography of Greece, historical events, and mythology. He even explained very well a theory regarding the credibility of the Odyssey regarding Helen and Penelope. He took us under the ropes and right up next to the monuments and even let us, I know brace yourself, touch them. It was forbidden fruit syndrome to a "T." Seeing all these monuments makes you want to touch them, and for me, climb them (we'll get to this). After showing us the excavated sites which were really thought-provoking and a time capsule, he took us to the newly excavated sites and let us walk around there and explained they are currently using a new method of excavating. The old school thought is what is seen in movies, lots of 2x2 holes with about a 2' walk path between them for wheel barrels. However, this leaves a 2x2 walking path that must be excavated after everything else and then pieced together with the objects from either side of the foot bridge. Thus is leads to lengthy excavations. The new system however, just takes the top layer off all across the whole site and then records its findings layers at a time. It basically changes an excavation being published in about 5-10 years from what used to take 30. Just thought that was neat to see real cutting edge stuff.

    We then got to look at the most recent findings of bones and pottery fragments and actually touch them. This was the most gratifying thing so far. I cannot tell you how much pottery I have seen in museums, but to finally touch it was unreal and yet another case of forbidden fruit syndome.

     After we left the site, some people went to lunch; but I was fully energized and excited that we were in mountains and chose to hike up to the top of this mountain overlooking the archaeological site which has a fortified citadel atop it. The hike up was great, I miss the outdoors and hiking around mountains with olive and lime trees only adds to the experience. Hiking up there on my own was the most free I've felt in a long time. It was such a good break from the Athens city life. At the top, the guard informed me I had 40 minutes to see the whole site before he left and would lock the gate. Thus, I literally ran around the whole site - so glad I'm in good shape. I was the only one in there and was climbing over fortified walls, scaling towers, and leaping from rock to rock to see the site. This was like a little kids dream come true: running around a real castle. All I needed was a suit of armor, a sword, and maybe a few enemies to fight and I would have had the best day of my life. I probably did climb some things I shouldn't have, but hey, no cameras and no guards - why not? I came running out of the castle walls with one minute to spare, dripping with sweat, and a huge smile on my face.

     I've commented on this before, but I've always thought all the excavations in the world are done and that what is going to be found has been found. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Archaeologists still have yet to find any neighborhoods in Corinth; they simply do not know where the people lived. On top of that, in the past year alone, 5 students earned their pH.D from the Corinth site alone. Not to mention the director of excavations rambled off about 10 other sites that have recently begun their new method of excavating. On top of that, within the past 5 years one of his students rewrote text books. Literally discovered what was considered 3rd century pottery was actually 2nd century pottery. It's amazing to me how much more we have to learn. On top of that, I have another plea for the liberal arts as the director began throwing around times like Calcium Carbonate oxidizing and the Silicon oxidizing to form waterproof barriers. He was educated in how the chemical processes enabled the pottery and fortification of the walls. On top of that, they excavated a graveyard that had 240 bodies in it. From those bodies such as where the muscles attached, how the bones were deformed, etc. they have pieced together stories and pieces of the past. More and more, the importance of a liberal education becomes increasingly important. 

 

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October 22, 2009

Busy Week

     Things have been hectic around here; as such, I apologize for not updating in about a week. Friday my parents left, I came home, moved back into my apartment since I stayed with them all week, and took a nap before spending the rest of the weekend catching up from a week of missing class. It was well worth it though as being able to travel abroad with my parents was a great experience. One of the nights we sat around talking about the experience and what not and my parents commented about how they felt they never would have been abroad had I not studied here. I reflected on that and how this has been a learning experience for my whole family as we've learned lessons in distance, life outside the US, and even a bit of traveling knowledge. Atop that, the sites we saw together left us at with a sense of awe and an appreciation for the classical world.

     Thursday afternoon, I found myself standing atop what used to be Plato's academy. It was for my art and archaeology class, but found myself in a state of euphora walking on the same foot paths the ancient thinkers did. We've started Plato's dialogues in my philosophy class and I am hooked. I am going to try to read the entire selection of works we have before the semesters end. After reading Crito and the Apology, standing on the site of Plato's school really sort of hit me and added a lot to the drama. Reflecting on putting a societies most intelligent man to death for constantly questioning and man's desire for power crashed about my head. On top of that it was a rainy day and really left me in a reflective mood. Right: Plato's Academy

      Tuesday a friend from back home at Wabash College and rhyne brother, Matt Scheller, made his way to Athens from Rome. He was on break and it was good to see a familiar face and share some laughs abroad. He brought with him 3 friends from his program who found Wabash men humorous; not in any mocking sense, but in a sort of respectful lack of understanding for our bond and day to day lives. Several times throughout the night, I found myself and Matt either engaged in heavy laughter and something or in the act of some silly thing only to have his buddies comment, "Those Wabash." It's definitely a unique place that takes a unique man.

     Tomorrow I'm catching a day trip to Corinth to meet with the head of excavations for an informative afternoon. I don't have too much more going on this week other than studying for a Latin midterm and reading some Plato. We leave for Thessaloniki next Tuesday and I am very much looking forward to that. 15 days until the Marathon.

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October 15, 2009

Roma

     Sunday morning, my parents and I caught a plane to Rome, checked in to our hotel, and headed to the Pantheon. I'm not exactly sure what my expectations of Rome were, but its quite different from the cities I prior traveled with Wabash (Siena, Assisi, and Florence). It is most definitely still Italy and brings with it a lot of the Italian culture: polite people, a beautiful language, beautiful women, etc.) but, had definitely become a modern city thats seen millions upon millions of tourists. Traffic was not near as aggressive as Greece.

     Rome is a neat city because it has always been a city since its founding in around 700BC (correct?) whereas Athens misses about 1000 years of history when the Turks take over around 7th century AD. Thus, there are literally a million things to see. I had quite a list and got to see probably 5/6th of that list which was neat.

     Vatican was unreal. It was good to go there as I went to 13 years of Catholic schooling before Wabash and have always heard of the Vatican and the seat of the papacy, but never had the chance to see it. It's quite stunning, religious or not, its well worth seeing. The Vatican Museum rivals the Louvre and the Sistene Chapel was one of the coolest places I've seen thus far. Seeing the brilliance behind Michaelangelos art first hand was stunning and awe-inspiring. I spent all day there and probably could have spent another 2-3 days in the museum. If you go, buy tickets online before hard to skip the wait - big thanks to Dr. Cook on that one. We went to mass, which was in German, but I took a video just before hand:

     Our last day, we did the Roman forum, Veniz square, and the Collosseum. It was neat to see, thought provoking, and will be well remembered. Flashbacks from the movie (Gladiator) echoed in my head the whole time I was there. It's all one of those things you can only faintly imagine, but never fully realize. It must have been quite a site in its day to walk through.

     Not feeling the best tonight, think I may be coming down with something - I'll have a reflection up by the end of the weekend. Mom and Dad leave tomorrow at 11. They will be missed, but it will be good to get on with my semester abroad.

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October 10, 2009

Mom and Dad Arrive

     Thursday morning, I made it to the airport about 10 expecting to catch my parents just after they had gone through customs. Instead, I arrived to hear my voice being paged over the intercom to come to station 6. Mom and Dad were fine; just a little worried about what to do since they had made it through customs in about 15 minutes and had no idea where to go. Two big hugs and some walking later and we made it onto the subway and to their hotel.

     Checked in and out in the city, mom and dad were exhausted. I wore them out with some walking before they had to take a nap and get something to eat. We caught a quick dinner meal, a taxi home, and had them in bed by 10. Friday we made it to the Acropolis museum and the Acropolis hill. I had not been to the museum yet and would say its an absolute must see. It's brand new, only a euro to get in, and contains most of the monuments from the Parthenon. Right: Hill that the Apostle Paul stood atop to preach.

     My parents loved the acropolis hill, were fascinated by the Parthenon and other temples, and then thought it was neat to stand on the hill where the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians around 50AD. We had a quick nap after that before getting to dinner around 8:30 - it was hard to convince my parents that eating around 10 was normal so we compromised for 8:30. We had live entertainment (see video - the "video" isn't good, but you can hear the sound and see video proof that my parents are actually out of the US) and ate at a place were it was all you can eat for 14 euro. You simply ordered what you wanted, starters, salads, appetizers, main courses, grilled food, etc. and they brought it. It was good to let me parents try some Greek cuisine. Mom really liked the Tzatziki and Dad was a fan of "zucini balls."

      Today we hopped on the tram to the beach for a relaxing day looking at sailboats in the harbor and lounging on the beach. Dad had to use his haggling skills to bargain for a towel on the beach from one of the many wandering vendors which was fun to watch especially since he's been using spanish for some reason to try to speak to the Greeks. I think they're getting along just fine, worried me a bit the first day, but I think that was mostly jet lag. It's awfully nice to see some familiar faces and am very excited to see Rome with them.

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