Traveling

Picture: Hard at work last Thursday
Hello, all! I just wanted to tell you that I would be traveling all this week, so there won't be any updates for a while. But when we get back, I'll have a lot of stuff to write about. We're going to Thessaloníki [second largest city in Greece] for three nights and to Skiathos [nearby Greek island] for three more.
I did some shopping yesterday, and I picked up a good looking book for beach reading this week. Skiathos is supposed to have some really great beaches.
Take care everybody! I'll be back next week!

Fun and Games

Picture: David contemplating his odds

Life in Volos isn't all fun and games, but last night it was...for the most part. Some of us got cleaned out very early in the Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament that was held in our apartment. That's why I'm not in the pictures. I sat around the table and debated who was going to win the thirty euro pot. Will won. He's the redhead in the second picture. He started very conservatively, but when a couple of us got knocked out he started betting high. He won a hand with an 8-3 when another player had pocket aces. He's really good. I just couldn't win, although I won the first hand so it made people think I was really good until I kept losing. Oh, well. I only lost 5 euro all together. We got our pocket change back. We don't have any poker chips. We can't find any... It was really fun for all of us, and it was a good game.

Picture: Justin [blue shirt] and Will [white shirt] with David as dealer. Will eventually won.

EiG:Canal

Here's the next episode! This took place on September 2nd. The Canal bridge was REALLY high, so I filmed from the edge of it after I crossed it. I didn't want to stop in the middle. :)

Cake

Picture: Prof's birthday presents. He shaved his beard yesterday, giving him a younger look than he normally sports.

There's been too much cake around here lately. I can't believe I'm saying this... There were two cakes yesterday for Prof's birthday, and today there's another one from a friend of his. I say "Too much!" Empty calories! Although it was a nice end to the school week to celebrate with a piece of cake. Not much going on this weekend. We're all concentrating on our homework because next week we'll be traveling again and won't have access to the materials we need for our projects. I have a bunch of reading to do and much research to continue. I have to give a thirty minute presentation on the "Great Islands" [Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica]. I have to choose a subject to focus on. I might just choose one of the islands to talk about, but I would prefer to include all of them in some way. The last group that presented talked about the traditional foods of their topic places. So I can't do food. Maybe I'll talk about music.

I am doing my second short presentation about Casablanca on the writer Abdallah Zrika. He's really cool. He was sent to prison for two years because his poems were deemed morally dangerous by the Moroccan government.

"Give me a glass
To sip this emptiness
And an arm
To measure this separation
Prepare for me a bed
Of glass
So that my nightmares slip on" Excerpt from "Black Candles" Pub 1998

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.