Friday, January 22, 2010

Back to School

Sunrise outside of my plane, somewhere over the UK
Today is the second day of classes, so by now, everybody will have had their first class for every subject. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have all of my classes essentially back to back: Aegean and Ancient Greek Art and Archaeology taught by a British woman who grew up in a Greek village while her famous parents were off on archaeological digs. She is very excited about what she does, and is very knowledgeable in her subject, and I am excited to learn more about archaeology, especially since 80% of the classes will be held in museums around the city. Then, I have Ancient Greek Athletics, which may sound silly, but is going to be quite an interesting. The British professor will be showing us how integral athletics were to the ancient greek society, how politics played a part in the Olympics, how sports marked changes in age, and how it was used as a form of training for war. I also had my first day of Modern Greek! It's so enviggorating to be able to finally read signs and know how to say simple things like good day (sounds like Kali-MAra) and thank you (ef-ka-ri-STO). The professor is Greek, and seems to be teaching the language in a different way than most language teachers I have had in the past--maybe it'll make a difference in how my ability to retain it. The last class of the day was Ancient Greek Mythology and Religion taught by the same professor I have for Art and Arch. She has a great sense of humor and is excited to tell us "the juicy bits" involved in all of the myths. I have already signed up to do a presentation in a few weeks on the deity Artemis. Work already!

Apparently, every day there is a farmer's market in one of Athens' neighborhoods, and one just has to go out and find them. For us, it's quite easy: both of the neighborhoods that College Year in Athens (CYA) students live in have farmers markets every Friday all morning until siesta. This morning, I went with two of my roommates, and we wandered the three blocks stuffed with oranges, fish, greens, herbs, persimmons, olives, and tomatoes. Even in comparison to France last summer, this market shows the more vegatables and fruit in one place than I have ever seen in my life! We weaved our way through little old ladies gossiping, friends shouting to each other, venders trying entice shoppers with their great deals. Planning mostly for ouor dinner tonight with the roommates and a group of guy friends, we were able to find juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, zuccini, potatoes, sweet strawberries, oranges, and lots of olives. Can't wait to eat!

Kate and Joyce in the Market after receiving free clementines


A chilly, rainy day at the Market
Tomorrow, I'm going on my first outing with CYA. The students are being split up to travel around Attica (the peninsula that Athens is on) to various archaeological sites for the day. I think my group is going to Amphiaraion and Marathon.

2 comments:

  1. Wonder what 'juicy bits' you will find out about Artemis.:)
    That market looks and sounds fab...wish I were there, too. The diet of the Med is so healthy, with all those fruits and veggies and fish and olives and olive oil. Take photos of the cooked food, too, OK?
    Never heard of Amhpiaraion but Marathon should be very interesting. (Kali MAra)

    ReplyDelete
  2. mollyyy...i'm followin ur blog!!

    -peter

    ReplyDelete