So I meant to post before I went away for the weekend but of course I forgot and now things are all jumbled in my head (not that that's any different than usual, but still). A lot's been happening since I last posted. I had my first week of classes and am now starting my second class. I broke my camera. I got a new camera. I went on what I had thought would be a relaxing weekend trip to the beach but turned out to be much more. I got a cold. Then a fever (somewhere in the mountains of Andros, that broke). Now my lungs make lovely gurgling sounds. I learned some interesting tidbits (for example, Greek phalanxes used to curve towards the right* and they did NOT get this from the Romans**). My entire schedule was reworked. Taxi drivers went on strike. Taxi drivers went off strike. Airport personnel went on strike. Taxi drivers went BACK on strike. And so life goes.
Anyway, to begin with: classes.
I'm only taking four classes this semester (thank god): Modern Greek, Art and Archaeology, Latin and the Development of Athenian Democracy. Modern Greek is fun but difficult (and we have a quiz already this week). Art and Archaeology should be really interested but I can't wait to get out of the classroom and to actually explore the ancient sites. I think I'll really like Athenian Democracy (we don't have real textbooks and are sticking instead to primary sources). Latin, however, has been my favorite so far. I made quite the entrance on the first week when I tripped on my way up the stairs and shouted an unladylike expletive or two that was apparently quite audible from the classroom. Either way, my professor reminds me a lot of some of my teachers from St Ann's (which is probably the highest compliment I could give a professor) so I'm sure it'll be a great class.
Andros!!
This weekend was the first trip I took with CYA. Departure time was 6:30am on Friday. This would be tough for me on any day in the US, but it was even worse in Greece where you are typically stumbling home from a taverna or bar around then. By some divine act or miracle (Dionysus, I'm looking at you...), my roommate Kayla and I made it. One of our friends who we'd seen not an hour or two earlier sadly missed the bus. After a nap on the bus we awoke in Pireas, the port of Athens, just in time to board our ferry to Andros.
That is the sun rising over the Mediterranean. Something I don't think I'll need to see again for a while. After a somewhat brutal ferry ride, we finally made it to Andros. We climbed a mountain to go see an archaeological site. This was extremely difficult for the numerous students who were still not quite recovered from the night's festivities but was worthwhile for the stunning views (and rocks and stuff):
There were also a lot of fig trees at the site with plenty of fruit that our instructors encouraged us to try. I have never seen a fig outside of a Fig Newton. I have also never been somewhere where it is acceptable to pick something off a tree or bush and (without washing it extensively first) eat it. But if there's ever a place to eat a miscellaneous fruit handed to you by a stranger, why not Greece. It was... interesting. Not the best for those suffering from Veisalgia*** but it was an experience.
I have to run to dinner now so I'll make a second post about the rest of the trip later on...
*The phalanx was a military formation used by the Greeks where the each man's right side must be covered by the man next to him. So, as my professor explained to us in class, each soldier would start moving closer towards the man on his right and the whole formation would go off to the right unless the men on the end held the lines.
**A girl in my class asked if the Greeks learned this battle formation from the Romans.... No. Rome won't be powerful for a few more centuries
***Thanks, David, for teaching me this word. From the Norwegian kveis (uneasiness following debauchery) + the Greek algia (pain).
Anyway, to begin with: classes.
I'm only taking four classes this semester (thank god): Modern Greek, Art and Archaeology, Latin and the Development of Athenian Democracy. Modern Greek is fun but difficult (and we have a quiz already this week). Art and Archaeology should be really interested but I can't wait to get out of the classroom and to actually explore the ancient sites. I think I'll really like Athenian Democracy (we don't have real textbooks and are sticking instead to primary sources). Latin, however, has been my favorite so far. I made quite the entrance on the first week when I tripped on my way up the stairs and shouted an unladylike expletive or two that was apparently quite audible from the classroom. Either way, my professor reminds me a lot of some of my teachers from St Ann's (which is probably the highest compliment I could give a professor) so I'm sure it'll be a great class.
Andros!!
This weekend was the first trip I took with CYA. Departure time was 6:30am on Friday. This would be tough for me on any day in the US, but it was even worse in Greece where you are typically stumbling home from a taverna or bar around then. By some divine act or miracle (Dionysus, I'm looking at you...), my roommate Kayla and I made it. One of our friends who we'd seen not an hour or two earlier sadly missed the bus. After a nap on the bus we awoke in Pireas, the port of Athens, just in time to board our ferry to Andros.
I have to run to dinner now so I'll make a second post about the rest of the trip later on...
*The phalanx was a military formation used by the Greeks where the each man's right side must be covered by the man next to him. So, as my professor explained to us in class, each soldier would start moving closer towards the man on his right and the whole formation would go off to the right unless the men on the end held the lines.
**A girl in my class asked if the Greeks learned this battle formation from the Romans.... No. Rome won't be powerful for a few more centuries
***Thanks, David, for teaching me this word. From the Norwegian kveis (uneasiness following debauchery) + the Greek algia (pain).
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