When COVID-19 Hit Greece

My last week in Greece can be summed up in one word: chaotic.

As COVID-19 spread around the world, we watched as study abroad programs in Europe got shut down one by one. In Greece, we were relatively safe. Confirmed cases in early March had not yet hit 100 and only 9 cases had been reported in the city of Athens —relatively low compared to other countries. But we seemed poised on the precipice of being sent home, narrowly scraping by on many weekend trips. The virus hit Northern Italy and the city of Venice was shut down and quarantined a mere 7 days after our optional CYA trip to Venice and Ravenna. My roommate and I visited Madrid one week before an outbreak happened in Madrid. One-by-one, my friends’ programs were moved online, and everyone flew home. Some students in CYA had already left and every extra day I spent in Greece felt like a potential last day.

The night of Monday, March 9^th, we received an email informing us that Greece had forbidden school trips for two weeks in an effort to slow the coronavirus. Our Northern Greece field trip scheduled for the following week had been postponed. We were heartbroken, it was a trip that everyone was looking forward to and the chances of it being successfully rescheduled seemed slim. However, other than that, everything felt normal. That afternoon, before my marble carving workshop, I took a nap. I woke up bleary eyed and confused to worried voices in the kitchen and hundreds of texts from my friends.

I walked out of my room and was immediately brought up to speed. American news sources had reported that the Greek government was shutting down all schools for two weeks and several universities had required students in our program return home. I checked my phone and saw that my home institution had also decided to evacuate students and switch to online learning. No one knew what was CYA was going to decide though. Our source was a one paragraph article from the Washington Post and the New York Times. We couldn’t read Greek sources and didn’t know which ones were reliable. We spent the next two hours pacing anxiously around our apartment waiting for some sort of news or update from CYA or our home institutions. Not having thought critically about the situation and the severity of it if Greece didn’t take immediate restrictive measures, our initial reaction was: “This is crazy! It’s not even that bad in Greece!”. We were angry, anxious, and confused.

I headed to my marble carving class in an attempt to hammer out some anxiety. An hour later, someone shouted “they sent an email”! Everyone scrambled to check their phones and read the email CYA had sent out. We were informed that the Greek government decided to order schools closed for 14 days, starting the next day, as a proactive measure to limit the spread. We would be operating online for the next two weeks and would need to send one person per apartment to school to pick up our lunches. The expectation was that school would continue normally after the two weeks.

Wednesday felt odd. It was supposed to be the middle of midterms week. Instead, we wandered the streets of Athens, visiting sites we hadn’t gotten a chance to see yet. A sense of foreboding loomed over us.

Wednesday night, only 24 hours after we were told that school was closed for 2 weeks, we learned that multiple home institutions had either given students the option to, or requested they return back to the U.S. A significant portion of our number were leaving by the end of the week. We decided to celebrate our limited time together and was then blindsided by another piece of information.

At around 3 a.m. on Thursday in Greece, President Trump announced the implementation of a travel ban on 26 European nations that would go into effect on Friday at midnight. All hell broke loose. Parents started calling students, schools sent out emails to students studying abroad…everyone was confused about who these restrictions applied to. Surely, they couldn’t ban U.S. citizens from returning home? One of my roommates and I sat in my room in shock. Neither of us had contacted our parents yet and our home institutions had yet to reach out. We sat there until almost 5a.m. wondering how everything changed so quickly.

I was woken up at 10a.m. by the sound of a zipper. Stumbling out of my room confused, I walked into the adjoining room to see one of my roommates packing. Her parents had called her at 6a.m. and booked her a flight home for 6p.m. that day. I sat in her room shell-shocked as she continued packing. She was leaving, today? Were other people also leaving? I texted my other friends to figure out what their plans were. I found out that some people had already left; packed up their things as soon as they heard and went to the airport. Some people were leaving that day and others the next. Most people’s parents or home institutions had required that they return home.  If they weren’t leaving in the next two days, they would be in the week to come.

CYA informed us that they would continue through with the original plan. I waited anxiously for an email from Tufts. Were they going to tell us to go home? Were they going to let us stay? I called my dad in a panic asking him what I should do. It seemed like everyone was going home. Should I too? But CYA was staying open. I wanted so desperately to stay, but it felt like I would be the only one left.

I was in a panic. I refreshed my school email every 5 minutes waiting for the email they had promised to send out. I was also waiting for both my parents to be awake so that we could form a plan. The three of us were in three different time zones so there were only a couple hours each day when all three of us were awake.

In the meantime, my roommates and I watched our fourth roommate pack. We walked to Πικάντικο (Pikantiko) for her last gyros and hiked up the Areopagus for one last view of the Acropolis. When we saw Jane off in her taxi, the apartment felt a lot quieter. In an attempt to do something, my roommate and I decided to keep ourselves occupied. We wandered the streets of Plaka, bought souvenirs (because who knew what was going to happen!), climbed up to Filapappou Hill to watch the sun set, and joined our friends for one last taverna meal before they left the next morning. Everyone left in CYA then met up at Boy Scout Square for one last drink together. Everything seemed extra special. For some, it was “the last” and for others, like me, it was “what if it’s our last”.

Within the span of 48 hours, we had gone from taking our midterms, to a cancelled field trip, to cancelled school for two weeks, to everyone leaving. The number of people who were planning to stay in Greece had dropped from around 150 people to less than 30.

… To be continued

Marble Carving: An Art Form through the Centuries

Marble Carving: An Art Form through the Centuries

This semester, I had the amazing opportunity to take a marble carving class at a workshop near CYA. It is one of the few left in Athens that works on marble using ancient techniques! I was so excited to learn about how the magnificent sculptures and carved decorations were produced and try it out for myself.

            At our first class, we were warmly welcomed by Dimitris and his son Yiannis who run the workshop. Dimitris explained how this art form has persisted for thousands of years and walked us through the general process. He told us that in order for us to produce good art, we needed to make something that was meaningful to us so we each got a piece of paper and set out drawing out our designs. By the end of the first class, we were already transferring our designs onto marble to be carved!

In the next class, we jumped right into it. Yiannis demonstrated how to hold the chisel and angle it to create smooth lines when we strike it with the hammer. Then before we knew what was happened, we were each holding a hammer and chisel and were told to just have a go at it. Not 10 minutes later, everyone was hunched over their worktables hammering away. We quickly realized how difficult it was; Dimitri and Yiannis just made it look easy. The chisel either got embedded in the marble too deeply or slid across the surface, not making a dent. The hammer was so heavy we had to take breaks every 5 minutes.

Carving! Marble! What!??

Carving away!

            Every Tuesday we all spent three hours in the workshop hammering away with our hammer and chisel. When we took a break, we would walk around the workshop checking in on everyone else and their designs. Slowly, everyone’s design started to come into shape. Although it was a difficult process and it progressed at a snail’s speed, there was also something therapeutic and satisfying about creating something with your own two hands and watching it take form. How life-size statues and intricately carved ornaments were made, I will never understand.

            We always ended the night with food and wine that Dimitri prepared. That last 20 minutes of the class were often the best part. While we ate traditional Greek food and wine that Dimitri made himself, we would sit at a table together talking. When it was Dimitri’s birthday, he brought in cake and celebrated with us! He also invited his friend (who coincidentally was also named Dimitri and was also turning 71) and we all sang happy birthday in English and Greek. Huge drums were brought out and Dimitri taught us some beats that we clapped to.

Dimitri's Birthday!

            When the semester abruptly ended, I was determined to finish my block of marble. I stopped by the workshop to say thank Dimitri and Yiannis and pick up my marble. It now sits on the table in my back yard where I continue to hammer away for a couple hours a week. It is incredible to me what you can make with two simple tools and a slab of marble. This art form has been such an important part of Greek history and culture and I am so grateful to have been able to take part in this tradition.

My block of marble at the end of our last class

Quarantine Project: My block of marble as of now.

On the Steps of the Propylaea: Ancient Greek Architecture

On the Steps of the Propylaea: Ancient Greek Architecture

On the Steps of the Propylaea, looking down at the city of Athens.

One of the classes I took this semester, was Ancient Greek Architecture taught by Professor Tasos Tanoulas who has been the architect in charge of the Propylaea Restoration Project since 1984. I have always been interested in architecture and as a Classical Studies major, I am particularly interested in ancient Greek religion, mythology, and how that plays into the everyday life of ancient Greeks. I was excited to visit all the different sites, learn about how they were constructed, and what this reflected about ancient psyche, thought, and tastes.

Our class exploring the Acropolis of Athens

            Our first 5 classes were spent in the classroom learning about the different parts of ancient temples, the different architectural orders, and the terms for all these parts. It was HARD. Who knew that there were names for the TINIEST details? Did you know that different marble blocks in the same wall had different names??? Or even that the steps leading up to the temple had names?? Or all the possible layouts that an architect could have chosen?? It is dizzying to say the least. I spent those classes copying the amazingly intricate drawings of Professor Tanoulas on the board and labeling all the different parts.

Some of my notes from class

            After those 5 classes, all of our classes would take place on various site! We started with the Acropolis of Athens. I was so excited to see all the different details and structures up close. But who knew it would be even harder?? In the classroom, Professor Tanoulas had drawn everything perfectly. On-site, however, we were looking at monuments that had faced thousands of years of wear and tear. The richly decorated column capitals were mere faint lines in the marble. And the beautiful metopes depicting mythological scenes? Elgin happened.

Our class taking a close look at the walls of the Propylaea

Standing at one of the doors of the Propylaea

            However, the site was still breathtaking. No matter how many times I had been (twice a week for two months), I was always in awe of these structures and their complexity. It took my breath away over and over again. Oh, what I would do to see the Acropolis at its peak.

Professor Tanoulas showing us current excavations

            

            And did I mention that Professor Tanoulas was the leading architect in charge of the Propylaea Restoration Project? Well, I’m saying it again. Not only did he know the site and its monuments like the back of his hand, but he had access to all the roped-off sections!! It was clear what a big deal he was in the archaeology world when everyone working at the Acropolis knew him and told us we had the best guide. With him, we were allowed to step off the path and stand on the Propylaea itself!! We walked right up to the Temple of Athena Nike and sat on its steps. We descended a hidden staircase leading underneath the Propylaea and Temple of Athena Nike to an older Archaic temple hidden under ground-level. We walked around the Propylaea to the Northwest Building to peek behind the scaffolding where excavation and restoration were taking place.

Professor Tanoulas lecturing on the steps of the Temple of Athena Nike

I’m beyond sad that we weren’t able to visit the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and all the other monuments when our semester was cut short but still amazed by the experience. We are still learning about the other monuments digitally and I look forward to the day when I can go back and see them in person again!

A picture of the Parthenon, partially covered by the Cyclopean Wall. At the bottom of the photo is the covered ~secret~ entrance to the Archaic temple!

I told two strangers that I love them?? Greek is hard!!

Gwendolyn and I after a visit to Μον Κυλυρ

I told two strangers that I love them?? Greek is hard!!

This post is a tribute to my favorite café, Μον Κυλυρ, and the two people that work there: Kiki and Paulina!!

Every day on my walk from my apartment to CYA, I would always pass by a super cute café with a black and white awning. Whenever I walked by, I would always see two women setting up for the day, making coffee, taking orders, and chatting with customers. I really wanted to go check it out, but I was too intimidated to go alone.

One morning after my “Ancient Materials and Technologies” class, I convinced my friend Gwendolyn into going with me. We walked in nervously and were immediately warmly greeted by the two women. They knew we weren’t Greek and started talking to us in English, asking us where we were from, what we were studying in Greece, and how we liked it… We learned that their names were Kiki and Paulina and that they ran the café!

Kiki and Paulina Behind the Counter!

Gwendolyn and I each ordered a coffee and as Paulina was making them, we started practicing our Greek by reading the menu. They were both so encouraging and kept telling us we were doing so well. I asked Paulina how to say “love” in Greek and she told me it was “σε αγαπώ”! “Σε αγαπώ, σε αγαπώ!” I said pointing at my coffee. Kiki and Paulina burst out laughing and told me that I was too sweet.

Not until a few weeks later, did I learn that you don’t use the verb αγαπώ for objects!! It is only used to say you love a person. If you wanted to say you love an object, you would use μου αρέσει πολύ. So, it turns out that as I was trying to tell them that I loved coffee, I professed my love for Kiki and Paulina. <33

We had a good laugh about it though, and Gwendolyn and I started visiting them regularly. They always gave us a free pastry with our coffee and let us practice our Greek with them. When I had to conduct an interview for my Modern Greek and Culture class, I went to them for help and they told me all about their friends and families. I’m sad I never got to say a proper goodbye to them when everything shut down, but I definitely have to visit them again. After all, I’ve already told them I love them.

Gwendolyn, me, and my roommate Jane excited about our pastries and coffee!

Peloponnese Field Trip (Day 5): Have you heard...? Daphne is Dead!!

Peloponnese Field Trip (Day 5): Have you heard...? Daphne is Dead!! :O

Today was the final day of our Peloponnese field trip. The only activity on the list for the day was one that everyone had been looking forward to: wine-tasting!

View from the balcony of the winery ft. Brendan!

We visited the Achaia Clauss Winery in Patras, the first winery in Greece founded in 1861 by the Bavarian Gustav Clauss. As soon as we got there, we were invited to walk around take in the view, and offered their most famous red wine, Mavrodaphne (Black Daphne). I’m not a wine connoisseur so all I can tell you is that it tasted really sweet!

Our guide pouring us glasses of Mavrodaphe to try!

Barrel with a carving of Hephaestus

We went on a tour of the winery where we got to see the process of winemaking and the hundreds of barrels they have! The barrels holding the ~important~ wine were richly carved, each one was a work of art. Some also had important dates and people engraved on it. We saw a barrel depicting the myth of Dionysus turning pirates in dolphins, a barrel showing Hephaestus drinking wine, and even one dedicated to Vladimir Putin!

While our guide was showing us around the winery, she was also explaining the history of the place. Most importantly, how the Mavrodaphne came to be. According to the story, when Gustav Clauss settled down in Patras, he fell in love with a young girl named Daphne who had black hair and black eyes (hence mavro, black in Greek). Unfortunately, she fell ill and died while she was young, and the heartbroken Gustave dedicated his most famous wine to the memory of her. Our guide emphasized “black hair black eyes!” and the fact that “Daphne is dead!!!!” so many times that by the end of the tour, we were saying it with her.

My friend Danielle and I with our professor Dimitri!

This field trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience. All the sites that we visited were truly amazing. Not only did they highlight the history and culture of Greece but were also so helpful in providing context for everything I had learned and connecting it together. My favorite aspect, however, was getting to experience Greek culture and explore the Peloponnese with my classmates in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own. <3

My friends and I at Achaia Clauss Winery!