This summer Joshua Windsor, an honors history major of the Fulbright of Arts and Sciences College, visited a variety of locations in Greece and Turkey. Now, on his return home he reflects on the experience and shares a small part of his many adventures with us.
I did not have opportunity to write a blog post while on my recent trip to Greece and Turkey, thus my tardiness, and thus the retrospective air of this post. Even as the immediacy of the experience has faded, however, its memory remains strong and sharp. A blog may be an eminently personal thing, but it is by no means private, and I aim this one toward the budding philhellene or turkophile anxious for the day of his own journey.
Joshua visits the Church of St. Titus in Gortyn.
I encountered no great discomforts overseas (though I continually ran into showers that did not fully function, or were not completely enclosed). Too, what laundry I did was done, save for one blessedly-cheap Laundromat, in hotel bathtubs and sinks (I’d recommend bringing some powdered Woolite). Of course, I had to take especial care of my feet and head. I would also recommend something to soothe bug bites. Mosquitoes are as cruel and unfeeling in Greece and Turkey as anyplace else, and there are all manner of no-see-ums if you enjoy crashing through the underbrush. Tromping along an unkempt trail to the confluence of the Alfias and Kladdius rivers in Olympia was proof enough of that!
The food – always a matter of great concern! – was marvelous. I have often been accused of possessing an “iron stomach”, but, on the whole, that “iron stomach” was pampered. Moussaka and souvlaki, yemista and gyros by the dozen, basket after basket of fresh bread and yoghurt flooded with beautiful, amber-tinted honey – all commended themselves to the hunger-pricked belly. The only problem with the food was how late in the day it was eaten! Dinnertimes of 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. were the norm.
Standing amidst the ruins of Aegosthena, an ancient fortified city of Greece.
Beyond the mere tastiness of the food, however, is its role as a catalyst for social interaction. I learned not to be afraid to walk past the tavernas filled with fleshy, sun-smitten tourists and instead dine at small cafes without English-language menus. The prices are generally cheaper, and sometimes (if you’re bold enough) you can haggle over the price of the food itself. For our last independent dinner in Athens a few friends and I did just that. The waiter, a Greek born in Australia, sat with us as we ate and talked about politics, the economy, and his plans as a restaurateur. His conversation wasn’t just interesting and charming, it was also a window, as it were, into another corner of the Greek mind. In other words, food is more than food in Greece – a fact I wish I had taken even more advantage of.
Of course there is a good deal more to a study abroad trip to Greece and Turkey than food, no matter how varied its roles. Foremost is actually seeing the objects of instruction. It’s a timeworn cliché, I realize, but it has lost no truth for repetition: standing among the remnants of our ancient cultural patrimony is exhilarating in a way no book or photograph match. The Parthenon retains the “wow factor” even after innumerable postcards. The Theater of Dionysus stills quickens the breath after years of textbook photos. The experience is especially vivid after doing research about the sites. In my case, I did site reports for the Attic border forts of Eleutherai and Aegosthena. The transition from an abstract and conceptual familiarity to interaction with the physical remains augmented my historical appreciation immensely. I suppose, then, my advice would be to not neglect preliminary research. Even the most cursory understanding of a site’s history enriches the experience and allows for more in-depth learning at the site itself.
Joshua travels along the Bosphorus, the strait dividing Europe and Asia.
A perhaps more general word of advice to a potential study abroad student would be to take advantage of what free time is available – you don’t know when you’ll be back. Public transportation is reasonably-priced and efficient (but watch out for pickpockets!). Ferries and the like are also reasonably-priced, though they require more planning – you’ll have to figure out how to get to them in the first place. On a free day in Athens a fellow student and I took a ferry out to the small island of Agistri, where we strolled through tiny villages, hiked in the backcountry, and swam in the crystal blue waters of an isolated cove. The hotels were nice, but I can stay in and hang around a nice hotel in the U.S.! There is certainly no dearth of things to do and see. In fact, there’s so much to do and see that it can’t all be done or seen in a few short weeks. Which means that I can’t wait to come back!