I am a bad blogger (bloggerer?)...I have come to recognize and deal with the sad fact of it all. It has been weeks since my last post and many many apologies. Since I will be absent for a while (Spring Break! Squee!), I decided to fill you guys in on the "goings" and "happenings" that "I" have been "experiencing" (tee hee, I love quotes). Below are brief summaries of some of the trips, tests, and everyday activities I've been doing in late Febuary and March, so enjoy.
Field Trip to the Argolid: Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns, Franchthi Cave, and Nauflion--places rich in history and awesomeness, but it was freezing cold while I was there. We had to pass through Corinth (as in Biblical Corinthians and the pottery of...whichever is more familiar to you) as it is the first city from Attica to the Pelopponese. Got to see the Isthmus and dam of Corinth and it is very very long and deep (we threw a rock to test the distance...trust me). Mycenae is the supposed palace location of Agamemnon (of the Trojan War) and Cyclopean Masonry
(basically fortification walls made of really really huge rocks that only Cyclops could carry). It was really interesting to walk around and stand in front of the Lion's Gate, which I've only gotten to see from the pages of dusty, old Classics books. The journey into the pitch dark sistern was also awesome except darkness + slippery marble + students = claustrophobic crazy super fun! Luckily I didn't hurt myself, but I did get muddy and dusty. I am very partial to the tholos tombs (aka beehive tombs) that were were able to walk inside. Besides the crazy acoustics (imagine hearing 4/5 echoes of yourself...overlapping!), I am blown away by the construction and the amount of time it must have taken to build. To the left is the Treasury of Atreus and so you can get a feel of what it was like inside, check this out! Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus and (long story short), their whole family is extremely messed up: people eating each other's kids, lots of murder and incest, and curses galore. Totally worth checking out if you have time!
Delphi/Olympia (in a nutshell): Delphi- (at the left) ridiculously beautiful, got to rub the omphalos (the center of the world!), lots of tourists, lots of cats (!), long walks, breathtaking sunset (pictures, as always, will be coming soon!), tons of greenery, very sacred place that is deservedly so being surrounded by mountains. Wish I could have spent more time there than...
Field Trip to the Argolid: Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns, Franchthi Cave, and Nauflion--places rich in history and awesomeness, but it was freezing cold while I was there. We had to pass through Corinth (as in Biblical Corinthians and the pottery of...whichever is more familiar to you) as it is the first city from Attica to the Pelopponese. Got to see the Isthmus and dam of Corinth and it is very very long and deep (we threw a rock to test the distance...trust me). Mycenae is the supposed palace location of Agamemnon (of the Trojan War) and Cyclopean Masonry
(basically fortification walls made of really really huge rocks that only Cyclops could carry). It was really interesting to walk around and stand in front of the Lion's Gate, which I've only gotten to see from the pages of dusty, old Classics books. The journey into the pitch dark sistern was also awesome except darkness + slippery marble + students = claustrophobic crazy super fun! Luckily I didn't hurt myself, but I did get muddy and dusty. I am very partial to the tholos tombs (aka beehive tombs) that were were able to walk inside. Besides the crazy acoustics (imagine hearing 4/5 echoes of yourself...overlapping!), I am blown away by the construction and the amount of time it must have taken to build. To the left is the Treasury of Atreus and so you can get a feel of what it was like inside, check this out! Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus and (long story short), their whole family is extremely messed up: people eating each other's kids, lots of murder and incest, and curses galore. Totally worth checking out if you have time!Epidaurus is an ancient sacred place that was the location for the Sanctuary of Asklepios an
d the best preserved theater in Greece. People would come here to be healed of any and all ailments and I believe it. It was (still is!) one of the most beautiful places I have visited in my whole life. Besides my professor lecturing, the entire area was quiet except for the rustling of trees and birds chirping away. The Ancient Greeks knew what they were doing when they designated sacred spaces for sanctuaries and temples. It was the sheer beauty of the place that keeps Epidaurus a pleasant memory because everyone was freezing their butts off. I literally couldn't feel my feet and I was pretty much a walking Rudolph. But when we went to the Theater, I got my second wind. The acoustics were sooo cool! I am proud to say that I did go to the middle and speak, but unfortunately I couldn't recall any Greek plays! I did a little Julius Caesar ("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears"), a little Hamlet ("To be or not to be, that is the question...), and was just about to go into a little "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita when another tour group came and stared me down. If you have the chance, speak in an ancient theater because it's pretty cool AND your voice is actually heard by all (as I embarassingly found out later that other tour groups heard my ramblings).
d the best preserved theater in Greece. People would come here to be healed of any and all ailments and I believe it. It was (still is!) one of the most beautiful places I have visited in my whole life. Besides my professor lecturing, the entire area was quiet except for the rustling of trees and birds chirping away. The Ancient Greeks knew what they were doing when they designated sacred spaces for sanctuaries and temples. It was the sheer beauty of the place that keeps Epidaurus a pleasant memory because everyone was freezing their butts off. I literally couldn't feel my feet and I was pretty much a walking Rudolph. But when we went to the Theater, I got my second wind. The acoustics were sooo cool! I am proud to say that I did go to the middle and speak, but unfortunately I couldn't recall any Greek plays! I did a little Julius Caesar ("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears"), a little Hamlet ("To be or not to be, that is the question...), and was just about to go into a little "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita when another tour group came and stared me down. If you have the chance, speak in an ancient theater because it's pretty cool AND your voice is actually heard by all (as I embarassingly found out later that other tour groups heard my ramblings).Tiryns and Franchthi Cave: Tiryns is yet another palace structure site with major fortication walls. There's nothing much to say because we didn't spend too much time there. The walls were well preserved, but the actual building structure was not, so we had to do a lot of 
visualization. Our group was extremely lucky to have been able to visit Franchthi Cave, an area with the longest record of continual use and deposits spanning from 20,000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. Even cooler was the fact that we were guided by Prof. Steve Diamant, one of the excavators of the original site back in the 70's. He was able to give us lots of background information and led us on a hike up to the highest point of the cave. Needless to say, it was amazing except for the fact that cold, fat water droplets were falling from the ceiling through the whole time we were there. It became uncomfortable...especially since we were sitting for about 20 minutes during a lecture.
visualization. Our group was extremely lucky to have been able to visit Franchthi Cave, an area with the longest record of continual use and deposits spanning from 20,000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. Even cooler was the fact that we were guided by Prof. Steve Diamant, one of the excavators of the original site back in the 70's. He was able to give us lots of background information and led us on a hike up to the highest point of the cave. Needless to say, it was amazing except for the fact that cold, fat water droplets were falling from the ceiling through the whole time we were there. It became uncomfortable...especially since we were sitting for about 20 minutes during a lecture. Nauplion: We stayed here for two nights and it is a gorgeous little town that has an authentic, "olde tyme" feel. It was also the base for Venetian and Turkish occupation 
with a fortress at it's highest point. Another fun fact: it was the former capital of Greece. There was very limited things to do in Nauplion because it was so small, but it really was nice just to walk around its harbor and just walk the streets. We found a random cave that actually led all the way back to the fortess (a cool escape route perfect for any home). Part of the time, my roomies and I watched some Greek soap operas on TV (one of the 5 channels available). But what was really strange was watching Eye for an Eye (1996) with Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland with Greek subtitles. It's been forever since I saw that movie and to watch it in Greece of all places! The real special place(s) in Nauplion were two gelaterias that were awesome! Yum...I can recall my choices like they were yesterday: mixed berry sorbet, kinder egg + cookies 'n' creme, and the final and best day, white chocolate and ....! I can't remember! Man...shows how much I remember! The white chocolate was VERY good...it stands out. OH WAIT! I remember! It was caramel...caramel and white chocolate...hmm...
with a fortress at it's highest point. Another fun fact: it was the former capital of Greece. There was very limited things to do in Nauplion because it was so small, but it really was nice just to walk around its harbor and just walk the streets. We found a random cave that actually led all the way back to the fortess (a cool escape route perfect for any home). Part of the time, my roomies and I watched some Greek soap operas on TV (one of the 5 channels available). But what was really strange was watching Eye for an Eye (1996) with Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland with Greek subtitles. It's been forever since I saw that movie and to watch it in Greece of all places! The real special place(s) in Nauplion were two gelaterias that were awesome! Yum...I can recall my choices like they were yesterday: mixed berry sorbet, kinder egg + cookies 'n' creme, and the final and best day, white chocolate and ....! I can't remember! Man...shows how much I remember! The white chocolate was VERY good...it stands out. OH WAIT! I remember! It was caramel...caramel and white chocolate...hmm...Because this is taking longer than expecting, I'm going to speed describe...forgive me!
Delphi/Olympia (in a nutshell): Delphi- (at the left) ridiculously beautiful, got to rub the omphalos (the center of the world!), lots of tourists, lots of cats (!), long walks, breathtaking sunset (pictures, as always, will be coming soon!), tons of greenery, very sacred place that is deservedly so being surrounded by mountains. Wish I could have spent more time there than...Olympia: really great site, historical place of the Olympics, got to run in the stadium (I lost :-(, but I was wearing jeans and had had no water for a while!), took pictures, lots of tourists (again), very flowery and green, huge column bases, and all-round cool museum.
The problem? We had to spend 2 very long, boring days in the town of Olympia. P
lease don't interpret this as meanness or "Americanism" to say that Olympia, despite it's historical significance, is merely a place that lives on tourism. I've never felt so trapped...there are literally more hotels than restaurants and clubs combined. After you walk down Olympia's two main roads (full of souvenir shops selling the same exact thing), there is nothing else to do--seriously. I tried walking in one direction to see if I could escape the monotony and I felt like I was in the movie Identity (2006) (the part where they try to run away, but keep ending up back at the motel). There was nothing but a few houses and gas stations. To be fair, Olympia is/was just a little town that has been infilitrated by outsiders and wasn't meant to be a big attraction. I don't blame Olympia so much as I blame my study abroad program for thinking that it was okay to spend 2 days at a site that is clearly a one day escapade. There was literally nothing to do but walk around the town which took about 15 minutes to do if you were walking slow. Staying inside didn't help either because the TV stations were very limited: Greek soap operas, Young and the Restless episodes that were 4-years old (which I watched when they came on), four news stories that played over and over again on CNN, and a Greek infomercial channel. CNN was the top choice until I memorized the news stories AND the commercials inbetween because they were so repetitive. The most enjoyable movie they played at night was Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), which I had also not seen in forever, but they cut out a lot of stuff. Needless to say, I no longer have any wishes to experience small town life because I think I would go crazy. No offense meant to any small town folks--I just think I've gotten so used to be close to or in city atmospheres that now I prefer it to anything else. Who knew?
lease don't interpret this as meanness or "Americanism" to say that Olympia, despite it's historical significance, is merely a place that lives on tourism. I've never felt so trapped...there are literally more hotels than restaurants and clubs combined. After you walk down Olympia's two main roads (full of souvenir shops selling the same exact thing), there is nothing else to do--seriously. I tried walking in one direction to see if I could escape the monotony and I felt like I was in the movie Identity (2006) (the part where they try to run away, but keep ending up back at the motel). There was nothing but a few houses and gas stations. To be fair, Olympia is/was just a little town that has been infilitrated by outsiders and wasn't meant to be a big attraction. I don't blame Olympia so much as I blame my study abroad program for thinking that it was okay to spend 2 days at a site that is clearly a one day escapade. There was literally nothing to do but walk around the town which took about 15 minutes to do if you were walking slow. Staying inside didn't help either because the TV stations were very limited: Greek soap operas, Young and the Restless episodes that were 4-years old (which I watched when they came on), four news stories that played over and over again on CNN, and a Greek infomercial channel. CNN was the top choice until I memorized the news stories AND the commercials inbetween because they were so repetitive. The most enjoyable movie they played at night was Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), which I had also not seen in forever, but they cut out a lot of stuff. Needless to say, I no longer have any wishes to experience small town life because I think I would go crazy. No offense meant to any small town folks--I just think I've gotten so used to be close to or in city atmospheres that now I prefer it to anything else. Who knew?With the exception of a long bus rides, a fun-but-not-so-much Open Air water museum, crazy protests about education (with fires, car honking, tear gas and everything!), long tests (so far so good! Passing!), lack of sleep, and a general hovering flu-like plague around, I've been relatively cool and relaxed. I have four long papers due after Spring Break, but I am putting them on a mental hold so I can enjoy Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich with a free mind. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I have a safe trip and all that fun stuff! In case I don't blog before: Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and happy days to all of you!
P.S. Check this out http://www.cartoonbrew.com/cgi/famous-balloon-movies (it's pretty hilarous...my favorite is North by Northwest and Casablanca). Tanks Lani!
