Crete: Mallia and Gournia Archaeological Site and INSTAP Archaeology Study Center

Day one in Crete!

Malia

Our first day in Crete began bright and early. We were separated into two buses, both with their own itinerary for the week. My bus, bus B, was the bus filled with students primarily interested in Archaeology . The two professors in charge of our bus split us up once again, to make tours easier. My professor was named Anne. She teaches the "Archaeology of Athens" course and is absolutely fabulous. 

Our first adventure was at Malia.

Storage Magazines

Malia is the third largest Minoan Palace excavated on Crete. It is massive and parts of it are very well preserved. Much of the site is constructed of clay brick. Normally, this would have deteriorated over time and exposure to the elements. However, Archaeological evidence shows that much of the Palace was set ablaze, thus, preserving the skeleton of the structure.
The best example of this would be the storage magazines. They were used to store Oil. It is theorized that the site was ignited during an earthquake. . There is also evidence that shows some layering of materials. This means that over time, the structure was rebuilt or renovated as it changed hands.
It was very cool to be able to walk around these ancient sites. The palace was obviously the main attraction, but an entire town was build in the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the remains of the town, including a graveyard, were not open for public viewing. This is a reflection of Greece's economy. There wasn't enough staff to properly monitor the area. 

For the pictures I took, 

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The password is "CYAMalia"

For More Information,

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Anne and the Stone Slab

The next place we visited was Gournia.

Gournia is another Minoan Palace, however, not as well preserved. It is located right on the coast of Crete, which explains how prosperous a place it was in ancient days. Evidence shows that Gournia was excellent for wine production, as well as metal work. Ancient Seals have been discovered on it's pottery, seals that can be found all over Crete. This helps paint a picture of how goods traveled back then. It's location was perfect, as it is right next to a natural harbor. It has everything an early civilization needed in order to thrive with limited technology. Its proximity to the water, however, proved to be its undoing.

Gournia

Archaeologists thought it very curious that remains in Gournia gave the impression that everyone just stopped one day and walked away. Like Malia, this is due to another natural disaster. There seemed to be a volcanic eruption on the neighboring island of Santorini that caused a Tsunami wave to crash over Gournia, thus wiping out the settlement unexpectedly. 

For the pictures I took,

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The password is "GourniaSite"

For More Information, 

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Both Sites had the makings of your typical Minoan Palaces. 

This includes a central court of which the rest of the palace would be based around.

Each had their own Stone Slab to carry out Sacrificial Ceremonies. The central court itself is thought to hold many ritual purposes. 

It is not entirely clear how there palaces were governed. Some evidence points to a ruling family, whereas other pieces of evidence would suggest that a ritualistic figure was in charge. In some theory's, the Ruler was the head of ritual. There is no clear evidence for either case.

There is also evidence that these structures were at least two levels, which shows how advanced these civilizations were.

Lustrial Basin at Malia

One structure found in all the sites we visited that I find particularly interesting is the presence of the "Lustrial Basin." Like many other sections and rooms of these ruins, the specific purpose for the Lustrial Basin is unknown. Some believe that they were for bathing. It is argued that the absence of a drain would prove this to be incorrect, but as Anne said "Thats what you have slaves for." The fact that these structures are usually lined with a stone called "Gypsum" is better evidence against them being bathes. Gypsum erodes in water. Their decoration and how well preserved the gypsum suggests that they were of some importance. Gypsum is a pretty white stone, so it is easy to see why someone would want to line their structures in it, but using it as a bath doesn't make since. The best guess at this point is that it was used for ritual purposes.

The last visit of the day was to the INSTAP Archaeology Study Center.

Conservation Center

Holy pottery pieces, Batman.

Storage

This was really interesting, because we got to see how the artifacts get  processed. INSTAP is basically the Archaeology haven of Hellenic studies, and of course, Anne had a hand in the beginning of it. Archaeology programs from all over Crete bring their artifacts to this center to conserve and process them. We got to see how scientists determine where a type of pottery originated from, which is awesome to track trade patterns. We got to hear about the process of reconstructing old pieces of pottery and other artifacts. We even got to see their storage space where there is thousands upon thousands of artifacts stored there that have been processes and much of which is unpublished material. There is a librarian, who works on a year long grant to be there. She gets to work on organizing the library, which is really just putting all their sources on the internet right now. This library has literally everything published about Cretan archaeology. She also just gets to stick around and learn from the Archaeologists who file in and out of the place. This position is up for grabs yearly. It sounds fantastic. Things to keep in mind for the future? I think heck yes.

 For all of the INSTAP pictures,

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The password is "INSTAPisCool"

Scavenger Hunt!

CYA's Creative way to get us walking around the City!

Our first Sunday in Athens, We had the option of signing up for a scavenger hunt! We were given team assignments, a map, a list of places/item's to see, as well as a point system.

There were required item's we had to photograph as well as bonus photo's we could take.

Our apartments are located around Pangrati, so we began there. 

Pretending to throw a discus!

I am a Monkey

Our first photograph had to get was of the Zabion Exhibition and Congress hall. It's located right next to the National Gardens, which is about 15 minute walk from our apartment. We chose to reenact Greek Games This was easy enough to accomplish. The next photo was in the National Gardens, reenacting when King Alexander was bitten by a monkey there, and died three days later. I, of course, was the monkey.

There is an ACTUAL Skeleton in there!

Right behind the National Gardens is an entrance to the Metro Station. There are lots of random places where Archaeologists have preserved parts of Ancient Athens. The subway is no exception. There is an entire wall excavated that holds the tomb of an unknown skeleton. This was on our list of things to photograph. 

He wasn't smiling for me.

Back on the surface, we had to photograph the tomb of the fallen solder, which is in the front of the Parliament building. We tried to kill two birds with one stone and get a picture of a smiling guardsmen, but that wasn't happening. ALTHOUGH, later in the day, we did see one! Unfortunately, no one had their camera out.

Street Performers!

Walking towards Monastiraki, we had to get a picture of a street performer. There is always plenty of people performing on the street, so we had plenty of options. We found an adorable little boy playing the organ. We decided to use him for our scavenger hunt, and of course, we threw him a few Euro too!

Actual Face-Sized Fruit

James Joyce Pub!

Trollin'

In Monastiraki, we had to photograph a few things. For one, Monastiraki has a giant flea market. Even bigger than the fruit market, and you can find everything there. There were stores littered all around the Square. We had to photograph the oddest thing we found at the flea market. As well as the James Joyce Pub, hidden in the back part of the square. We definitely found a lot of interesting things. Such as faced sized fruit. The fruit here, as I've mentioned before, is big and fresh. It's incredible. We took a nice long break in James Joyce Pub, but not before we spend an hour and a half exploring the Greek Agora that's located right next to it. There were lots of ruins to explore as well as sculptures and other things to look at. One bonus picture we got here was me mimicking a statue. As you can imagine, there are plenty of statues around Athens to mimic, however, my favorite is definately channeling a headless, limbless statue we found in the Greek Agora.

"Oh maid of Athens, ere I part/Give oh give me back my heart" - Byron

Next, we headed to Psiri, for the next part of our scavenger hunt. The poet, Byron, stayed in a house in Psiri, and we had to photograph this house. However, there was bonus points for reenacting Byron reciting poetry to one of his maids. Naturally, we accepted the challenge.  Right around the corner, we discovered the Poet Sandal Maker, which I have already posted about. We spent about an hour and a half there, trying on shoes and relaxing while Christina decided which pair of sandals to buy. Many CYA students have purchased sandals here, now. 

Chillin like Athenian Students.

Our next mission was to photograph something in Gazi. I'm not entirely sure what we were supposed to photograph here, as we were not able to locate it. However, we did take the liberty of mimicking more statues. And I got Gelato. But I always get gelato.Gazi is supposed to have a really interesting night life. Just by walking around it during the day, you can certainly tell that it's a funky part of the city. Although I have not visited there at night, many CYA students have ventured there and enjoyed the nightlife.

Next, we made our way ALL the way to Exarhia. The attraction here is that this is where students from Athenian schools usually hang out. Its an interesting part of town, much more laid back and open than what you typically see. We had to photograph ourselves at the Floral Cafe here.

Town of the Winds

Lastly, we made our way back to Plaka, which is not far from where we live. Here we found a restaurant that sits right on the corner in the middle of Plaka. It sells excellent souvlaki and we had to get a picture of us eating there. 

We had one more picture to take-The Tower of the Winds.  Unfortunately, we had spent all the reasonable hours of the day exploring Athens pretty thoroughly. By the time we got to the location of the tower of the winds, the exhibit was closed, so we couldn't get a close look.

Coconut-not as good as I thought.

Other bonus photo's we could take include a picture with a random street vendor. A  picture with willing, smiling Greeks, and a picture with the Greek Flag. We got a picture with a coconut vender while walking around Syntagma. While trying to find the souvlaki restaurant, a random Greek man helped give us directions, and agreed to take a photo with us. Lastly, as we're walking home, we catch a picture of us with the Greek Flag at the top of the Parliament Building.

The scavenger hunt took all day, which we did not expect. But it was really a lot of fun. We didn't really get ourselves too lost, and we definitely know the area a little better. If nothing else, things at least look familiar to us when we're exploring. We also got a chance to bond with one another, as we are all still in the process of getting to know each other. My team was made up of Nat, the one in blue, Christine, the girl in black, Myself, as well as Megan, who is not pictured because she's the one taking all the pictures.

For all of our Glory-Winning pictures,

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The password is "Scavengers"

The pictures from the Greek Agora are here as well

:)

Friday Fruit Market. . .

The most incredible looking produce EVER!

From the beginning of our time here, our professors and other advisers have encouraged us to visit the Friday Fruit Market here in Athens. For my flatmates and I, the fruit market is roughly a two block walk from our apartment. This past Friday, in preparation for our visit to Crete, Nikita, Jasmine, and I decided to venture down the narrow Athenian streets to find out what all the buzz was about. 

Since I was very little, I participated in the Rochester Public Market with my Grandfather and Uncle, usually selling our popular baked goods that we do every season. Snow storm or not, we stood at our booth, socializing and exploring everything the Rochester had to offer. Depending on the season, you would see anything from Antiques to clothing and accessories and of course, produce.

The Athens Fruit Market was incredible. As I'm sure you've all gathered from the pictures, Athens has lots of narrow, winding streets. Parked cars and other people walking down the street makes it feel overwhelmingly small. The fruit market was even more packed.
All the produce looked big and fresh. It was really amazing. 

What was even more amazing, was the prices for things. Whether it was the produce or sandals or anything else you could imagine, everything was really really cheap.

I look forward to going back in the weeks I spend in Athens and really taking full advantage. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables here, and the food quality is supurbe. 

Unfortunately, we didn't get back from Crete until early Saturday, so we missed the fruit market this week. But I will certainly go next week!

For more pictures of the Market and Food here in General,

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The password is "QuestForCulture"

Crete!

Is our first official CYA trip!!

We literally leave in 20 minutes for an overnight Ferry ride to the island. We'll visit archeological dig sites as well as other historical and cultural Cretan landmarks!

Much more to come when I return!

"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."

And there is nothing better than receiving a little snail mail!

The tricky thing about living so far away from every one and everything that I have ever known, is the art of communication. 

Calling internationally isn't exactly easy, nor is it inexpensive.

So one resorts to the early days of distance communication: Snail Mail.

Today, I sent out 8 post cards!! I checked my mailbox, and I received three letters. One from my cousin, Tierney. One from my cousin, Nathan. And one from my grandmother :)

 Complete with Pictures and everything!

Of course, there are not so primal ways to keep communication up. Thanks to the Greek God, Hermes, for both communication and technology, for the invention of Skype!

Max can't figure out how to take pictures on Skype, so I do it when he's not expecting it.

Of course, Max isn't the ONLY one I've had skype dates with, he's just the only one I choose to torture with surprise photographs :)

I've also skyped with:

• Caitlin P.
• My mother
• My Grandparents, Uncles, and Cousins
• And the Kline Family

Thank you guys for making the time to keep in touch :) I know my wifi connection isn't always the BEST, but its better than nothing !


 

If you want to send me some snail mail:

Morgan Ward
C/O DIKEMES
5 Pl Stadiou
GR 11635 Athens
GREECE

Add me on skype? 

MorganLeigh92

Peace, Baby!  

“White founts falling in the courts of the sun, / And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run.”

Our Professor.

This past Friday was our first Museum trip to the Byzantium Museum!

The Byzantium Museum is one of the newest museums here in Athens, as my Professor says "Build before the Economic Crisis." (hehe)

The Museum is not more than a 15 minute walk from my Apartment and as I've mentioned previously, completely free of charge to me. 

It is set up by Century's, Keeping things together according to when they're dated by.

Exorcism Books. 

Our first trip was interesting. We really couldn't take our time and look through everything. We moved through material as our teacher felt fit to explain, and skip other things completely. We didn't make it through much of the exhibit but I am anxious to go back and explore on my own. Some of these paitings and relics are so well preserved its insane.

Early Christian Tombs

Most of what we went though that was Christianization of the Roman Empire. It is interesting to see how Religious symbols were integrated into everyday Byzantium life. They were careful to reinterpret things that the people already thought of as sacred, as to make the transition easier.

I think my favorite thing to see so well preserved are the ancient texts. There are a lot of old books and scribes. The books pictured here are actually old exorcisms. 

For more pictures, Click Here!!

The Password is "ByzantiumEmpire"

“Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow.”

And of course, Studying is why we're here!

I figured a post about about my course schedule and class descriptions would be appropriate. 

Let me begin by saying, the University of Rochester requires we take a least four classes. Our grades don't go directly into our GPA, they work on a Pass/Fail standard, meaning I just need to get a C or better. However, when applying to Grad school or other institutions, they'd receive a copy of my official transcript here. So that's how my grades work.

Originally I had signed up for five courses. Because I am a crazy committed student like that.

After failing miserably at the Modern Greek Crash Course, I opted to drop my Ancient Greek Language class, which is harder. And good thing, seeing as those students spent 5 hours doing the first nights translation homework. WHEW!

Study Abroad is made up of two big components. You study your selected subjects, and you study the culture, life, and people as well. A rigorous course load is a sure-fire way to over exert myself and risk missing out on all the wonders Athens has to offer!

I am taking two history classes (Which I have Mondays and Wednesdays) and two Religion courses (which I have Tuesdays and Thursdays). All of my courses relate to each other really well. Its such a great set up. When all my courses line up this well, its a nice reassuring feeling that everything is coming together full circle. My interests are making sense and I am in the right place. 

My first class of the Week is A History of the Byzantium Empire. 

The Byzantium Empire is where modern day Istanbul, Turkey is located. It was an incredible ancient civilization. It was the continuation of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and the center of the Ancient world for Century's. I remember being fascinated with its history ALL the way back in 9th Grade Global history. Being able to study it soooo close to it is awesome. Some students and I are entertaining the possibility of visiting Istanbul during our week long fall break. There is a Byzantium Museum here that our class will be visiting frequently. We got to go there this past Friday for the first time.

The Greeks know CYA Students as DIKEMES students. We have a DIKEMES student ID card, which is like Magic. We get into Museums and other exhibits for free. We have full range to ALL the history opportunities here in Athens. 

So naturally, we will have the opportunity to really get to know these museums and ancient ruins well. 

Next I have The Middle East in World Affairs.

This class is particularly interesting because the professor is so knowledgeable about Middle Eastern Affairs.  This class will focus on analyzing and understanding Middle Eastern mistrust of the west. Our professor emphasizes that we don't have to agree with what he's teaching. The point is not for us to change our perspective, but to make an effort to understand where they are coming from. It's been a joy thus far. He just launches into a lecture and gives us detailed pieces of history off the top of his head.It doesn't get boring. He's kind of sarcastic and witty, which makes it that much more entertaining. 

My first Religion class of the Week is The Religions of the Middle East: A Comparative Approach.

This class takes Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (All the main Monotheistic Religions of the world) and compares them side by side. It looks at how similar their foundations are and how exactly they differ. I am not a huge fan of monotheistic religious studies, as my interests generally rest in the East, but I like that this class focuses on the Three, rather than just one of them. I enjoyed studying Islam, so to have it compared and contrasted against religions I am more familiar to in my everyday life will surely be interesting. The professor doesn't waste time getting to the nitty-gritty. She asks students where their faith lies and what their opinions on certain aspects of religion are. Considering Religion is usually a reason for people to disagree, bringing it out in a classroom setting is rather refreshing. We're being provided with an intelligent, Open-minded environment to share ideas and understand different opinions. No one has gotten frustrated with anyone, nor blatantly disagreed with someone in an immature, uncomfortable fashion. I really like hearing how different everyone's opinions are and I am really glad we're getting that opportunity.

My last Religion course is Ancient Greek Mythology and Religion.

This teacher is absolutely insane in all the best kinds of ways. This class is unusual in that it combines Greek religion and Greek myth, why are usually separate kinds of classes in the states. In Ancient Greece, Religion and Myth were one in the same. Polytheistic religions experience the cosmos so much differently than our Western Monotheistic religions. Polytheism is a way of life much differently than we find today.  Making deals with the Gods was embedded in the everyday routine. Its really is a completely different world. This class will dig deeper into the Greek Gods and try to create a better understanding of the festivals and practices of the Ancient Greeks. It will seek to explain the relationship between religion and culture in the Ancient world. The professor highly recommended the Play that we saw, as it illustrates humanity mingling with divinity. I am not entirely sure how she will present the class in the following weeks, but I am most definitely interested to see how she works it. 

Over all, my professors seem very scholarly and knowledgeable in their respective fields. They've been working with CYA for a long time and really know how to help us have the best Study Abroad semester we can possibly have here. They're very encouraging when it comes to having us explore the city on our own. And when it comes to research projects and papers, they're all about having us get to know museums and monuments here, rather than have us in the library reading about it. It seems like a very hands on semester and I am totally looking forward to it! 

That one time we ended up at the Temple of Poseidon.

And it was a complete accident.

The Temple of Poseidon.

The first weekend we spent in Athens, there was a group of students who set off to Andros. This included every single one of my roommates, which meant I had to entertain myself.

Another body of students, The Holy Cross Kids, had made plans to Visit the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion at the southern tip of Attica. The Athenian heat had become completely exhausted, and alls I wanted to do was immerse myself in a Grecian beach. So that is exactly what Nathanial (Nat), another CYA-er, and I decided to do our first Saturday. Our original intentions were to Head a few hours drive north, to Marathon. If I decide to go through with the Marathon in November, naturally it will be ran in Marathon. We figured we could scope it out before hand and indulge in the Beaches there, which Greece is crawling with beautiful beaches, if you could imagine.

We took a bus to a private bus station, that had buses leaving all over Athens.

Our bus driver pointed us to the correct bus, and we boarded.

When we got on and got going, however, Nat realized that we were on the wrong bus. Our fare was 6.30 euros and the bus ride was about 90 minutes. 

We got to ride all along the cost of Greece and had a wonderful view of the Mediterranean sea.

Temple from a Distance

Once we finally got to the Temple, we were able to walk all around the ruins. It was magnificent to be so close to a piece of history. Every chance we get to visit these kind of places is surreal for all of us. We just kind of stand there in awe of our surroundings. One of the few conversations I have had the pleasure of having with a Greek was about how awe-struck the tourists have been. The woman said that it is a shame that more Greeks don't appreciate the history they have here more. Most never even bother to visit the many museums Athens has here. I explained that we don't really have history like this in America. Our country is only a couple century's old. While Greece and the rest of the world was the playground for many ancient civilizations, no one had a clue the America's even existed. Whatever history we had here before English Colonization has been pretty much stomped on by the early settlers. What Greece has to offer is what most of us at CYA have spent years in school reading about. To actually be here is just indescribable. 

Ancient Pottery

We hit a double jackpot, as there was an live excavation taking place around the temple. Nat is an Archeology major, who spent a month this past summer digging in Macedonia. He was able to explain what was going on. We got to hold pieces of old ancient pottery and walk in the ruins of a community long forgotten. 

We crawled all around the hill the Temple is on. We got right up close to the water. It was breathtaking. The water was a shade of blue I didn't believe water could be!

We ended up running into the other Students who'd gone to the temple at the beach walking distance from the temple. And I finally got to swim in the Sea!

 

The Sunset was so beautiful. We climbed a hill adjacent of the Temple and got amazing pictures of it as Dusk.  

Over all, it was a good trip and a good mistake to have made!

For even more Pictures, Click here!!

The Password is "Poseidon"

"Confusion now hath made his masterpiece."

Mr. Phylactopoulos at Orientation 

.

Which exactly what orientation week was good for. . . Sort of.

I believe I left off in the beginning of Orientation week.

CYA had many things planned for us to help get us acquainted with the city, the program, and each other. I've already talked about the Modern Greek Crash Course we had to endure. And unfortunately, my Greek is suffering still. I've hardly found myself using their native tongue unless prompted to randomly during conversation. ONE DAY! One day I will be able to speak Greek. . . A little.

Anyways. Besides all the official information sessions, there were some highlights to Orientation week!

Our Rooftop Taverna Dinner!

Greek Salad and Stuffed Grape Leaves.

One of these delights was the Taverna Dinner we went on. We were split up (unoriginality by last name, of course) and a CYA faculty member escorted us to a local diner to help us find good, CHEAP places for meals. It was an opportunity to get to know some of the staff and ask questions, and to try some wonderful Greek food! Additionally, we were kind of thrown into a randomized group of students, forcing us to socialize with people OTHER than our assigned roommates. As I believe I've mentioned before, CYA is a very specific kind of program. Most of the students are committed to History, Classics, Religion, Archeology, Anthropology and other majors within this spectrum. It makes it even easier to connect with the students here, since we've already got something in common. Its been really gratifying to be surrounded by other students who share my interests. As much as I LOVE The University of Rochester, it really is a mixing bowl of majors and minor, and of course, the emphasis on Natural Science and Pre-Med programs. Us History/Religions majors are few and far between. LUCKILY for us, however, our departments are small but wonderful and we have excellent professors. Either way, I get the semester off from listening to the campus moan about how much Organic Chemistry and Calculus are slowing killing off the populous. In any case, the evening was filled with good food, good conversation, and good wine.

Amber being charismatic!

Me and the Tree.

The other Orientation week highlight was the Garden Party hosted by the President of College Year in Athens, Alexis Phylactopoulos. He hosted about 100 students and staff at his suburban home in Athens. It was absolutely gorgeous. After a week of running around Athens and being hot and sweaty, we finally had an opportunity to get all dressed up and Classy. This occasion was catered and allowed the entire program to get familiar with each others faces. Naturally, my roommates and I initially sat together with a few random CYA-ers, but it didn't take long for us to start circling and talking to new faces. I had the pleasure of bonding over what our home campuses were over Greek frozen yogurt under the stars. I made connections with another handful of students, which was exceptionally excellent, as it turns out I have classes with most of them. 

Mr. Phylactopoulos had a massive backyard with nice spaces and local greenery. Naturally, my roommates and I took the opportunity to take pretty pictures in the Gardens. 

One of the days of Orientation, Two local Athenians came in to show us some traditional Greek dancing. Unfortunately, I dont have pictures of this, as we were all actually dancing. However, there was one step that i already knew from dancing with Sihir BellyDance Ensemble! We call it the Grape-Vine and have used it in lots of pieces since I've been at Rochester. This was oddly comforting. It was nice to have something here remind me of home. Hopefully I will begin a bellydance class here in Athens. I am hoping to find an awesome place to custom make costumes here. That would be the ultimate souvenir. 

Mimicking Statues.

Parliament Building.

Friday morning, About 1/3 of the CYA kids left for an optional trip to Andros, one of the larger islands off the cost of Greece. For the rest of us, was the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt aimed at helping us learn how to navigate Athens and Orient ourselves in the city. It worked on a point system, and the winner was announced this past Wednesday, and received Eternal Glory and a box of treats from a local Bakery. I won't say much else on this, as I intend on posting a separate blog post. BUT MY GROUP WON ALLLLL THE ETERNAL GLORY. . . And some really good homemade chocolate treats from the bakery across the street from me. 

Cretan Food and drink.

We were also given some details about our Trip to CRETE! We'll be spending the entire week there, We're leaving on the Ferry Monday evening! We have lots to do and lots to see. Crete is one of two program trips we'll all be participating in. Crete's so interesting because it is located almost in the very middle of  Greece and Africa. Its in the southern part of the Aegean Sea, which has made it a prime target in History as means to gain and maintain control of the water. Because of this, Crete has changed hands lots of times, thus altering its culture in really weird ways. Although the Cretans consider themselves Greek, they have a very distinct sense of tradition and culture, independent of the rest of Greece. They also introduced us to Cretan food and drink. The drink being alcohol, of course. But not just ANY kind. Greek Moonshine!

Me.

Fredrick.

This past Wednesday,
A group of us set out to find what we believed to be a restaurant that offers free Yoga. Our program manager, Nadia, sends us information on things we might like to participate in around Athens. So we were going on her word. We, of course, got pretty lost for a minute trying to find the place. We ended up in an actual Yoga studio, which they had no idea what we were talking about. Eventually, though, we found the place we were looking for. "Avocado" is the only full service Vegan and Vegetarian restaurant in Athens, but does not offer free Yoga. Instead, it offers a free 3 hour meditation session. As lovely as that would have been, the group opted to not participate. My roommates and I ended up walking around Athens in our athletic wear and went grocery shopping instead.It was a disappointment, especially because the only other weekly Yoga being offered is around 5 euro's a session. Either way, it was once again, a nice opportunity to get to know some other students. Everyone's been super friendly and its been lovely getting to know everyone.

Taking the Subway!

Friday, a group of us bought tickets to see Standford's Summer Theater program put on "The Wandering of Odysseus." It was an interesting interpretation of Homers, "The Odyssey." There were 6 actors and a man playing the music. The actors flawlessly switched in and out of character and put on an excellent performance. Again, I don't have pictures of the Actual performance, as cameras were prohibited. But it was nice experiencing Greek Theater and hanging out with the students.

Legit.

Saturday was exciting too.

Sandal Assistant.

There is a sandal maker here, called the Poet Sandal Maker, who makes hand crafted leather sandals for 28 euros! He's business is a 2nd generation shop and has catered to The Beatles, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bob Saget, and Joe Biden's Wife (Among others). We went and got our very own pair of leather sandal art! I am trying to resist going back to purchase a handmade leather backpack from them. They're ONLY 100 euros and they're sooo snazzy. We'll see how long my resolve lasts!

To see more pictures, Click Here!!

The password is "CYAThings"