Tuesday was a very heavy class day that started early. After staying up until nearly 3:00 am the night before (late excursions + lingering jet lag + free shots of ouzo [anise-flavored alcohol that is a Greek staple]), I thought I'd have a bit more of a struggle dealing with my morning ritual. But I was surprisingly bright eyed and rearing to go as soon as I saw the gorgeous view of Athens outside my apartment window.
I started my day at 10:00 am with my first "Archaeology of Troy" class. This course is taught by the Penn State prof leading our trip (Dr. Killabrew), and discusses - as you probably guessed - the ancient city we know as "Troy!" This city where myth and history combine has a decent amount of cool archaeological remains for scholars to examine/piece together (often romanticized) theories of its functioning. Arrowheads, mace heads, and golden jewelry in abundance are evidence of a highly developed civilization in modern-day Turkey. Most finds are discovered in a mound known as Hisarlik, which housed not only the city of Troy, but also a classical Greek city and a later Roman city on top (think that each city was one specific layer of the mound that was covered every time a new city was built). Overall, very interesting subject and a rather good start to the semester. Once class ended, the 3 other students in my Troy class and I went in search of lunch. After wandering around for quite awhile (we really don't know the area that well yet, nor what the good/cheap/fast places are), we found a small souvlaki place not far from the Centre. For 1.70 euros, we got a choice of pork, chicken, lamb, beef, or sausage souvlaki (which is meat on a stick, like what Americans call "kebabs" on skewers) that came with fries and a slice of good bread. The seasoning on the meat was incredible, the people who worked there were very nice (one guy even lived in New York City for awhile!), the service was fast, and it was ~so~ cheap. Seriously, this was the best souvlaki I've had in Greece so far, and I will 100% be going back. Later in the day we all had our first crash course in modern Greek. This turned out to be a serious test of my will - although I really wanted to learn as much Greek as possible while in Greece, the actual 2-hour lesson kinda broke me. There was so much information thrown at us all at once: new alphabet, new letter/sound combinations, new language....so, so hard. There are also many sounds that various letters make that Americans simply cannot pronounce easily. Consonants and vowels that don't use your vocal cords at all? Phlegm-y, airy sounds that are nearly impossible to say, especially successfully with a straight face (at one point it sounded like I was making a noise that should have a karate chop motion attached)? Nope. My brain actually felt melted once we were finished - and of course I didn't really retain that much. It was frustrating and humbling and utterly exhausting. I haven't felt that physically drained from a class in awhile. However, I was able to successfully read a few words without my self-made, phonetic cheat sheet after a bit. Though, theses words were pretty simple, i.e. plaka, Coca-Cola, pizza, mama, pharmakio, etc. Some words are better than none! I think I'll just rely on my listening and repeating skills for now. Antío, Hannah
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Hannah BisbingStudent @ Penn State. Figure skater. Writer. Traveler. Coffee fanatic. Foodie. Semi-professional people watcher who recently returned home from backpacking around Europe. All photos taken by me, unless otherwise noted.
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