A Conversation with Gandalf

Ok, all puns aside (but really, it was so hard to resist), I had a wonderful one on one conversation with Prof Gandolfo.  Perhaps somewhere in his 60s, he is a very world wise man with a wonderfully refreshing perspective.  Prof Gandolfo is teaching the second half of our class, the part on "modern" Greece.  While we were talking, he mentioned that after college he had taken a year to travel around the world.  So like I said, legitimately world wise.  My initial email to him stemmed from a couple of things.  On the first day, he had come and introduced himself to us, he had given us the invitation that if we wanted to learn more about some aspect of modern Greece, we could email him.  Over the next couple of days, I realized that I knew nothing about modern Greece.  I was never taught about the Greek war of independence, or the multiple civil wars, or anything after the fall of the Roman Empire.  So I sent him an email explaining this, and he asked to meet with me.  He told me that (obviously) it is impossible to learn Greek history in less than two weeks, and that I should stop worrying about it.  What was more important was to learn how to ask the right questions about Greece and about the other countries that we were traveling to.  The example he gave me was to think about how the European powers played a role in Greek independence, while also keeping it in a subservient role, and how that influenced opinions even today.  He gave me the challenge of trying to come up with my own questions.

Prof Gandolfo’s perspective definitely has gotten me thinking about how I approach this trip.  Last weekend, at Delphi, I got upset at myself for not being able to remember everything that we were learning at the museum.  But I am going to be bogged down with facts if I try to remember everything, everywhere.  I unfortunately don’t have the trivia mind of my father.  But maybe that is not what global is meant to teach.  Maybe it is more of a crash course in being a good citizen of the world.  And With that in mind, my description of my week will be organized in lesson form

·      Monday: When given the choice between a short adventure and working on an essay that is due Thursday, chooses adventure.  A few of us climbed up to the highest point in Athens and had a blast.  Those who stayed behind barely got any work done in the 3 hours we were gone, and I finished a draft of my essay that night no problem

·      Tuesday: Bring water EVERYWHERE (at least in Greece).  We went to the Acropolis in 90 degree heat and humidity.  Note that the acropolis is all in the sun.  Later, after getting lunch and wandering, we went to an instrument museum with no AC.  Those of us with water were fine.  But everyone else suffered.

o   Supplementary lesson.  There is an amazing difference between vendors in touristy places and residential.  Near the acropolis, everyone was pestering us to come and look and buy. They were annoying and obnoxious, and did not respect that we were just walking by.  In residential areas, people treat us normally,even though we stand out like a pink elephant.  Some of the shops that we return too often have gotten to know us and are really friendly.  One bakery will give us free cookies in the morning when we buy breakfast.  It is really nice to be treated like a human, instead of a means to an end

o   Supplementary lesson.  Beer tastes terrible.  We went to a sports bar this evening to watch a really important for Greece football (soccer) game.  Three different Globalites let be try some of their beer, and I hated every single one.

·      Wednesday: Don’t panic, and don’t complain (too much).  I found out this morning that I had to completely restart my research essay, which ended up with me staying most of the afternoon in the library.  Which is fine, since it is one of the few well A/C places in the city.  I got it done that evening, before most of the other globalites did.  And I got really tired of people complaining about the essay that they had started on Monday. 

·      Thursday: Wear your walking shoes:  Today we went to the Greek and Roman Agora (city centers, where markets and public debates were held), then the byzantine museum.  Getting to these places was a fair amount of walking, and most people were starting to get blisters.  That evening, we went to a folk dance concert (part of Marty’s class).  We got lost (surprise, but not my fault this time; we were following our teacher) and ended up on a foot trail through the woods in the dark.  People more prepared than I had flashlights, and we found our way back to the road.  But man am I glad that I wore comfortable shoes!  Needless to say, this strategy will not work in any other country that we are going to.  But Athens, I have found, is remarkably safe

o   Supplementary lesson: Even if you know just a few words, SPEAK GREEK! And ask if you don’t know.  There was one cashier at a bakery who always seems grumpy and has never been nice to me.  But this last time, when I got gelato from her, I made an effort to use the little Greek I knew, and asked what the word for strawberry was.  She immediately perked up and became very friendly.  there is a lot to be said for making an effort.

Off to Nafplio this weekend!  Beautiful beaches, here we come!