An Alternative Easter Break

Due to my injury, Mary and I had to abandon our ambitious plans to spend break in Bern and Paris. I flew home on Sunday morning, had a long layover in Philadelphia, and after the drive home from Chicago I arrived home by 1:00 am. Traveling was stressful and exhausting. I was wheeled around at every airport, and this was necessary since I was crutching and had 2 bags to carry. My week at home was quiet and relaxing, and I healed a lot. I went to the doctor on Monday morning where they x-rayed me again and replaced my splint with a heavy boot. I continued to use crutches all week, and then I went back to the doctor and then to the physical therapist yesterday. They told me that I can walk in my boot, and I am starting physical therapy exercises. I will not be able to have the normal PT appointments since I am back in Europe for a month, but I will start with certain exercises and increase the intensity and add more exercises in 1-2 weeks or when I feel I am ready. Now back to studying Classics and spending two weeks in Rome!

Saturday Night at the Beehive

On Saturday we drove from Cuma to Rome where we all scattered for our ten-day Easter Break. I flew out on Sunday morning to head home, and I spent Saturday night at the Beehive Hotel with Sarabeth. We then went to the airport together on Sunday morning so I could catch my flight and she meet her parents. The Beehive is about two blocks from Termini, the central train station in Rome. We stayed in a dorm room with four bunk beds and eight beds. This was my first time staying in a co-ed room. Our room was full, though we did not meet everybody. I was surprised and impressed with how cordial everyone was with each other and how interested they were in everyone else’s travels. These are the types of conversations that I don’t think I would start in a dorm room in Rome, but our roommates were all very nice and I was happy to listen in and learn as Sarabeth told them about our trip. In our room was a veterinary student from New York. She is nearing graduation, and this trip was her celebration. She was really really excited about getting Italian pizza. On the bed above mine was a young woman, probably in her mid-30s, from Washington (the state). She was visiting Sicily with friends and then spending a few days in Rome before flying home. She is a product developer at Nike, and she was very proud of her Nike sneakers. My only complaint about her was her loud snoring right above me. We also roomed with a young man from Greece who was very interested in our travels there. The last person we met was a young German man. He was a bizarre character, and he certainly thought the same of Sarabeth and I. Sarabeth is loquacious, and she talks very fast. Despite his excellent English he did not understand her explanation of our trip. She kept repeating “study” and “vacation” and he protested “Study, vacation? Which one? You can’t do both!” He finally understood that we were on vacation from studying, and then he teased us for spending this Saturday night “vacation” so quietly in the hotel. He joked saying he hoped he wouldn’t make too much of a ruckus when he came back late. I was certainly unaware if he did.

For dinner, Sarabeth and I ate downstairs at the vegetarian restaurant in the Beehive. We each got vegetarian lasagna, and it was delicious. Our waitress also brought us toasted bread and sun dried tomato hummus. The restaurant seemed very progressive, and it seemed even more progressive when we asked for the check and our waitress told us that we pay what we feel we should pay. There was a card on our table with suggested prices, most with a $2 range, so we based our bill off of that.

Since Sparta

From Sparta we drove to Pylos and then to Olympia. Olympia is a fascinating site, where the first Olympic games took place in 776 BC. Crutching to the site, through it, and through the two museums there, was exhausting. I was unable to get around the on my own with all of this walking. The group was very sensitive to my needs, and they helped me along by carrying me some of the way. I was tossed around but mostly carried by Reed, the varsity football player in our group, and Sarabeth, our volleyball star. We were surely a site to see with me on piggyback with a bandaged yet clearly swollen leg and someone else following close behind with the crutches. I was still able to enjoy this day. What I found most interesting about the ancient Olympics is that there were no team sports. Individuals competed for every prize, and with a victory they often achieved the status of a hero. I thought this reflected on the priorities in ancient Greece and especially on the individuality and competitiveness of their human-like gods.

From the Peloponnese we took an overnight ferry to Italy. Then we spent an entire week in Cuma at the Villa Vergiliana outside of Naples. Staying at the Villa was such a treat and the perfect timing considering my limited mobility. Every meal was served to us at the Villa or packed in bag lunches for our days on the sites. So I did not have to worry about getting food or going out to eat. The food was delicious too. We were all shocked at our first dinner when we were served full bowls of pasta only to find out afterwards that this was the first of four courses. Dinners were served by Mina and her family, who own the villa. Her seven-year-old son Marco helped at dinner, and he may have stolen the hearts of every girl on the trip. We were blown away by his perfect manners, bilingualism, and enthusiasm in serving us. Every night after dinner he played cards with the boys, and they all had a great time.

While staying at the Villa, we saw archaeological sites at Paestum (ancient Poseidonia), Herculaneum, and Pompeii. I was helped around by piggyback at Paestum and Herculaneum, but I was unable to go to Pompeii because exploring the site requires hours of walking. The decision to not see Pompeii was facilitated by the fact that I spent many hours there a few weeks earlier over Spring Break.

The ankle

I expected challenges on this trip, but this one was unforeseen. I will certainly have long-lasting memories from Sparta because I sprained my ankle. Louisa, Allie, Sarabeth and I decided to go for a run in Sparta. We were jogging down the sidewalk towards the stadium and running track when I badly turned my left ankle. It immediately swelled, and I had quite an impressive egg. The girls helped me hobble back to the hotel, and as soon as we got there, Dr. Krentz was in my room calling Spiros and making preparations for us to go to the hospital. We thought my ankle could be broken, and it certainly needed to be protected. Spiros arrived in his car almost immediately. We then headed off for the hospital, and despite my pain the ride was almost amusing. Dr. Krentz (who is tall) was cramped in the back seat, and I winced in the passenger’s seat while Spiros flew through the streets of Sparta, honking his horn at any barrier along the way. At one point Dr. Krentz told him he could slow down and that my life was not in danger. Once at the hospital, Spiros wheeled me in on a wheelchair, and we were treated immediately. This was a public hospital and certainly different than any American hospital I have ever been to. My entire treatment cost 3 euros (about $5). My ankle was x-rayed, and we were very glad to hear that it wasn’t broken. Only one of the doctors spoke (very crude) English, and he said “ligaments” and indicated with his hands that they were stretched. So I have a sprained ankle, they put me in a splint, I got crutches at the only open pharmacy, and the Spartan medical advice is to not put any weight on my bad ankle and to go back to another doctor in two weeks.

The Peloponnese...

is so beautiful! The snow-covered mountains and shoreline are unbelievable. We had a very interesting visit to Corinth where we were led by Corinth’s director of excavation, Guy Sanders. In Sanders’ approach to archaeology, he does not focus nearly as much on major events and productions. Our tour with Sanders at Corinth contrasted sharply with that at the Athenian Agora with John Camp. During our tour of the Agora, Camp focused on the architecture of the Agora and major events which occurred there, such as the trial of Socrates. Instead of discussing these famous events and productions, Sanders told us extensively about individual skeletons he has found and analyzed and what can be inferred about these individuals’ lives, deaths, and diets from their muscle and bone formations. He hardly mentioned the Temple of Apollo or Corinth’s prominence in the history of Christianity.

Athens

We reconvened in Athens on the Monday after Spring Break for a hike up the Lykavittos hill. This gave us a great view of the Acropolis and the city, and Dr. Krentz showed us everything we would see. On Tuesday we visited the Hypasteion, the most complete extent Doric temple. We also climbed the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon. The Parthenon is often thought to be the most beautiful Greek temple, and people even say this since most of its sculpture has been removed. It exhibits the finest features of Doric and Ionic architecture, and all of the columns lean in slightly so that it does not contain a single straight line. I found its location above Athens to be dominating and inspiring.

We had the privilege in Athens of receiving guided tours from the excavators at various sites. Jutta Stroszeck guided us at Kerameikos, and John Camp led us around the Athenian Agora. John Camp was a particularly fascinating guide, and he emphasized the importance of the Greeks in history because of their lasting influence in the Olympics, coinage, philosophy, and democracy, among other things. Camp showed us archaeological storerooms at the Agora where we saw rows upon rows of pottery as well as ancient skeletons. The amount of pottery we have seen on this trip makes it easy to overlook it as mundane. Camp spoke to us about the importance of pottery in learning about history, and he certainly renewed in me an interest in and an appreciation for pottery. Pottery is breakable but indestructible, and since styles are in constant change, a trained eye can immediately tell what time period a piece is from.

Jennifer Neils, a professor at Kenyon College and expert on Greek art, guided us at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, and Molly Richardson, who works at the American School in Athens, guided us through the Epigraphy Museum. Dr. Toumazou (Davidson Classics professor) joined us at the National Archaeological Museum, and it was a joy and surprise to see him. He is currently on Sabbatical, and he happened to be in Athens when we were. On the 14th, we took a ferry from Athens to the island Aegina, which, like most places we have seen, is absolutely beautiful. There we visited the Temple of Aphaia.

We stayed at the AthenStyle Hostel while in Athens, and this was the group’s first hostel experience. I was in the room with four girls (another room had the other three), and the room was tiny. There was barely room to walk between the two bunk beds, and the beds were very close to the walls at the head and foot of them. The breakfasts at the AthenStyle were simple, consisting of bread, jam, water and orange juice. The bread though was delicious and may have been the best bread I’ve had all trip.