Main Project

Photo: Matt and Will in front of one of the unused building in the Customs area

One of the courses I am taking is called "Global Studio", and I have sort of talked about some of the things we have been doing. Time to clarify. The Journal that I have been keeping since we started on that first day in Athens is a portion of the grade. It's much more important than a grade, though. It's the best record of our everyday life here in Greece. We had a check up the other day, and my Prof really wants me to draw more. If you remember, I'm in a program designed for Architecture majors. Our main project is centered around the Port of Volos where over the years buildings have become less and less used as the industry has shifted. Now at the west end of the Boardwalk [one of the most beautiful walks in the world] there is an abrupt change in the use of the buildings around the Customs House. Inside of a baby blue painted metal fence the Customs area has several old brick buildings with largely usable space that is vacant. The City officials have decided that they want to turn that spot into a cultural center, and they need ideas. Based on our majors, we're supplying some ideas. The Marketing major is coming up with a business plan for a microbrewery from Athens to open a new restaurant, the architects are doing stuff with architecture, our music therapy major is figuring out what the specific needs of the community are, and I am writing a history of the Port to further everyone else's goals. That's not the only thing I'm doing. [Thankfully] I didn't come all this way just to write another ten page paper [although I'm doing about five of those, too]. I'm also going to design an exhibit for the Port Museum that incorporates the unused space. My Prof turned down my idea for a living Bronze Age museum there. Apparently traditional sailing outfits would be distracting, but I say "hey, if there were more half naked men around more people would come to this part of the city!". Anyway, I won't be designing that until November; so I have some time to figure out what I want to focus on. There have been a lot of famous people who have come out of the Volos area. The guy who did the soundtrack for "Blade Runner" and "Chariots of Fire" is from Volos. So was Giorgio de Chirico, and plenty of more local celebrities worthy of some short biographies. Or maybe I'll focus on how important the Port was to the Ottoman Empire. It was said by a French Ambassador to Istanbul after he returned home that the city would collapse from starvation if the Port of Volos was conquered. Yeah. That's impressive considering the fact that Volos didn't build an actual port until the 1880's after independence, so everything before that was just using the natural port.
So there's a glimpse into my school life.
Here's a glimpse into my home life: I'm out of milk, and I bought milk on Saturday. They sell milk in liters here. One liter for something like 1.60 Euro that lasts for a day and a half. I didn't have a chance to go yesterday because of my school schedule. Allow me to show that to you.

Monday-Wednesday
9-10:15am Greek 102
Monday 10:30-1pm Culture and Place: the Greek Legacy
Tuesday 10:30-1pm Mediterranean Cultures and Landscapes
Wednesday 10:30-1pm Science Research
1-2pm Lunch
2-5pm Global Studio
5-6pm Global Futures

Thursdays
9-10:15am Greek 102
10:30-6pm Global Studio Charrettes [an assignment that is given at 10:30 and due at 6]

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Off

Now it may seem like a packed schedule, and it is. Remember that we're only in Volos part of the time. This is the third week we've had this schedule, and next week we're off of it again because we're traveling. Then another week on, and then a week off because of Fall Break. I don't think we have more than two weeks on this schedule at a time for the rest of the term. We travel a lot, obviously. I can't wait for Thessoliniki. It's going to be awesome. For now I need to concentrate on my other assignments. I'll write more about my other classes and Profs later.

EiG:Volos

The second webisode of Emily in Greece. These aren't in timeline order. Sorry.
This was our first day in our new home!

Birthday!

Picture: Kara and Juan laughing at something last night with Justin in white looking confused
Of all nine students, only one has a birthday this semester. So yesterday we celebrated Juan's birthday. We went to a Mexican restaurant [probably the only one in Volos] and had a great time! The food was really good, too, although the servers didn't speak any Spanish. A few in our group speak Spanish either fluently or very well. Now you may be saying "Why did they go out on Thursday night?" Well, we don't have classes on Fridays, so Thursday nights are like American Friday nights to us. So even though Juan's birthday isn't until Sunday, we celebrated last night. We lucked out and got an English-speaking server.

Other news...
Our computer labs are being used this week for a computer class that seems to be only half in English. The half I understand is pretty cool. I think it's a group of librarians learning a new application.
It got cold today. It's a good thing except that I haven't gotten a chance to spend any time at the beach since we got to Volos. I want to get warm for one more day then get cold again. I can deal with that pretty well.
All sickness has passed.
I'm doing several big projects this semester: history of Volos Port, big report on Casablanca and Morocco's effect on the Mediterranean, report on the deciphering of Linear B tablets, and the design of a museum exhibit. Looks like it's going to be a busy semester since we have to squish the classes in between our traveling weeks.
Picture: A really cool pic from our time spent in Dimini. I didn't take a good look at it until a couple of days ago. I love it.

EiG: Prison of Socrates

This is the first episode of my internet show Emily in Greece! Enjoy!

The guy in the shop

Picture: Kara drawing in her Journal during a break. There's a big ledge on the other side of the window, so she's not doing anything dangerous.

I'm in class for a long time every day, but we've had break time to eat and whatever. For the past couple of days I've walked down to a mini market that isn't far from the school. There's a really nice older shopkeeper who finds us Americans very amusing. He doesn't speak a word of English, but he always laughs when we speak in Greek to him. It's just one of those interesting things that happens here.

Yesterday we journeyed to Dimini [Neolithic fortress] and the Volos Archaeological Museum. Tomorrow we're going to Mt. Pelion. This will be interesting.

Sept. 8

Day 12 September 8 Saturday

It’s our first full day in Volos. Yesterday we had picked up some bread and jam from a store on the way home, so we had a bite to eat before heading to the school building. We have the key to get in anytime we need to, and that is the main point of internet access. I forgot my USB drive with all my blogs on it, so I’ll be putting all this up at a later date. The tech the Center hired was ill for a couple of days, so only three computers are fully working. The others are in the middle of being updated. I had to wait my turn to use the computer, and by the time I was done everyone else had left. A trio had gone to the beach, some others had gone out to lunch, and I got myself locked in the bathroom. I finally got myself out and went back to the apartment. I called my parents and talked to them for a while. I miscalculated the time difference and called them at seven a.m. their time. I walked to the store, called Champion, and bought myself enough food to last for a couple of days. I have a roommate who is very picky about buying her own food, and the stores aren’t open on Sundays. I went back to my apartment and realized that I had forgotten a couple of things. One of the girls I’m living with came back from visiting one of the boys’ apartments and said that she needed a couple of things at the store, too. We ended up at a German chain that’s kind of like a normal Wal-mart store. By the time I had gotten back to the apartment I had everything I needed to make a decent sandwich. It was getting dark, so the other girls wanted to get to the boys’ apartments before nightfall. I’m living with two other girls. One is dating one of the architecture boys, and the other is really good friends with the other business major of the group. I stayed here and did some laundry, made myself a samich, and did some stuff in my Journal. Have I explained the Journal before…? Here’s the rundown: The journal is the place where we write down our experiences and observations. It is a lasting public account of my journey, and I’m getting graded on the consistency of effort and quality of content. “It is a personal account with a potentially public audience. It is a monologue that may at any moment become a conversation. It is your portrait as a youth.” Every day of our trip around Athens and the Peloponnese we had an assignment or two, but we didn’t necessarily have to stick to answering the questions. A hard part of the Journal is that is has both written and graphic elements. I won’t be graded on how well I draw but on how I tried. [?] I think that’s right. Mostly I just sketch some basic stuff and fill the rest of it up with writing.

Sept. 7

Photo: Hot springs at Thermopolis

Day 11 September 7

We got to Volos today!! Finally! I am so ready to be here! We stopped at Thermopolis on the way here. Not much there. Apparently it’s right by some hot springs [hence ‘therm-opolis’ meaning ‘hot gates’]. Volos is a town of about 150,000 people. It is the third biggest city in Greece. Athens is the biggest with four million. Most people live in small villages. Volos is the place where the Argonauts launched from, but other than that there is not too much reason for tourists to come here. That is why we’re here. We like the tourist areas, but we want to learn about the real Greece. I am living in the “Anargyron” apartment so called because that is the street the apartment is on. We are only a couple of blocks from a grocery store, thankfully, and only about a ten or fifteen minute walk from our school building. We are also close to “Ermou” street which is the pedestrian shopping district and to the port. We can catch a bus and be to a really nice beach in a short amount of time. We met our Greek teacher, Yannis, and the administrator of the Center, Becci. Becci is an American. She lived in Florida and got her Masters degree in Art Therapy and came to Greece to take some art classes after she graduated. She fell in love and moved here. She’s been here two years and still hasn’t gotten used to the erratic driving of the Greeks. We finally got our stipend money [Whoo!]. After lugging our things into the apartment, all of us went out for lunch. Our science teacher couldn’t be there, but his T.A. Maria was. She is going to teach one or two of our sections because the main teacher will be at a convention. We went to lunch at a Tsipouradika restaurant that was right on the sea. In these kinds of restaurants all you have to order are these little bottles of alcohol and the waiters bring food to go along with it. They bring whatever they have in the kitchen, so it’s a bit of a luck of the draw situation. We got some really good food and a couple of things that I just couldn’t eat. The only thing we really had to order was liquor, some French fries, and a mushroom dish for the vegetarian in the group. I caught a glance of the bill as Prof paid. For the thirteen of us to eat a really good meal with two drinks each it was less than 80 Euro. Then the adults left us to our own devices. We took a look at one of the other apartments then walked back to our own. We walked down “Ermou” street. That’s going to be a fun place to shop. I’m turning in early tonight. I’m pretty tired.