Date: Friday, May 18
Partners for the day: Josh (text) Kristina (images)
Site: Santorini
Museums: Museum of Prehistoric Thera
Time Spent on Site: 2:45 to 3:30 [45 minutes]
Weather: 60s, overcast, periodic drizzle (perfect weather in the islands!)
To cap off our eight hour bus ride south from Thessaloniki to Athens yesterday, our group marched on this morning to the scenic Cycladic island of Santorini. Benefiting from not leaving Athens until 12:30 aboard out Olympic Airlines flight, much of the trip took the extra time this morning to sleep in. Our departure from the Pan Hotel and transit to the Athens International Airport went quite smoothly. Having taken the subway multiple times as a large group, much of the moving around Athens has become routine.
The events of the morning were highlighted mostly by airport security taking water bottles, and various forbidden items. For most of the trip the week here on the islands was pictured as a great highlight filled with sandy beaches, loads of free time, and sunny skies to match. What greeted us however, was literally an average spring day. A few drops of rain here and there, a cool breeze, and cloudy skies—what they don’t show in travel brochures or the postcards being sent home.
Enroute to our new hotel, we visited the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in order to see several of the artifacts discovered from the digs at Akrotiri and the surrounding areas. Pottery, wall paintings, seal rings, and gold figurines filled out most of the collection. Almost as if doing penance to the academic gods, our short trip to the museum brought with it a few rays of sun and blue sky.
The momentary uplift provided by the weather, though, couldn’t keep conversation to the immediate days ahead, but rather what we all were missing about American was on our minds and tongues. In the spirit of sharing what we are looking forward to enjoying upon our return to the States in less than three weeks, we compiled a list of what we miss most about America.
Warning: The following list is in no particular order and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the author, Prof. Rutter, Dartmouth College, or each and every member of the FSP. In specific instances the identity of the individual has been released in order to appeal to the feelings of people at home, or to indicate strong individual longings. Any reproduction, distribution, or discussion of this list could result in our deportation from Greece for not loving all its cultural features. Read on at your own risk.
What do we miss most about America?
1. 2% milk
2. Not living in hotels
3. Chicken noodle soup
4. Mac ‘n cheese
5. Daytime TV
6. Using a kitchen
7. Available reliable wireless internet
8. Noticeable traffic laws
9. Ranch dressing
10. High school graduation (Kinsey)
11. Fraternities and Sororities
12. Peeps candy
13. Pancakes with real maple syrup
14. Tropicana orange juice
15. Trees taller than Blankenship
16. Driving a car
17. Riding bikes
18. Climbing (Mike)
19. Mexican food
20. Asian food
21. Barbeques (BBQ sauce, BBQ ribs, and backyard BBQs)
22. A restaurant menu with variety
23. Real blondes (Gahl)
24. Toilets with seats
25. Toilet paper that can be flushed
26. Hummers and SUVs
27. Peace and Quiet
28. Family!!!
29. Wife (Prof. Rutter)
30. Southern Fried Chicken
31. Ice cubes in drinks
32. Free refills
33. Cheesecake
34. Good hamburgers
35. English speaking news
36. A language we all understand
37. The U$ Dollar Bill
38. Johann’s mom (Johann)
39. Girlfriends
40. NBA
41. Sports
42. Moe’s Southwestern Grill (Nick)
43. Being at Dartmouth College
44. Eggs, any way but hard boiled
45. Beer Pong
46. Video games
47. US prices
48. Wal-Mart
49. Reality TV
50. Things being convenient
51. Trashy magazines
52. The movies
53. Pets
54. Amber waves of Grain
55. Lower middle class suburban chain restaurants
56. Baseball caps
57. Snack food
58. Rock music
59. McDonald’s playpens
60. Buying in bulk
61. Info-mercials
62. Derrick Jeter (Kyle)
63. Normal haircuts
64. Other people wearing shorts and flip-flops
65. Patriotism
66. Spanish speakers
67. Smoothies
68. Boyfriends
69. Good pizza
70. Reliable hot water
71. Washing machines
72. Ketchup
73. Clean clothes
74. Root beer
75. Dr. Pepper
76. Guitar Hero
77. Red Soxs (Ray)
78. Sirloin steaks
79. Weekends for sleeping in, or just weekends in general
80. Air-conditioning everywhere
81. All you can eat buffets
82. Baseball games
83. Friends
84. Real customer service
85. The Green
86. A limited class schedule
87. The American flag
88. The Colbert Report (Pete)
89. Herbs and Spices
90. Mom’s stuffed peppers (Kyle)
91. Showers you can stand in
92. Showers that don’t leak everywhere
93. Widescreen TVs
94. No cover charge at restaurants
95. Traveling without a passport
96. Bacon
97. The greatest country under God’s green earth, The United States of America
The Syntagma metro station is a familiar spot to us all by now. We are waiting to catch the train to the airport for our flight to Santorini. It should be here in two minutes. Pete, Josh and Mike are ready as always. Everyone is excited to be heading to the islands.
Heavyweight champs Kyle and Gahl plant their feet firmly on the platform as the train rolls in. In the background, Johann smiles and Nick…
Liz, Kinsey and Kelsey find comfortable seats for the long ride to the airport. As we get further away from the center of Athens the train empties, and we all find a place to sit.
Chris writes postcards to friends and family while we wait in the departure lounge for the boarding announcement for Olympic Airlines flight 0552.
The plane lands in Santorini, and we disembark. Wait a minute! It’s raining! Shock! Awe! Disappointment… What about our beach time tomorrow?
It is almost 2pm. Our bus from the airport leaves at 2:15, which means there is time for a quick trip to a café for some lunch. Caleb, Ray, Pete, Professor Rutter and Josh wait with the bags.
Chris, Professor Rutter and Johann catch their first glimpses of Santorini. It is a long slow climb to reach downtown Phira.
The bus drops us off close to the Prehistory Museum of Phira. We take advantage of the opportunity to visit the museum. What about our bags?
Caleb! While we walk through the museum Caleb watches our many bags, and guitar.
Nick points out our approximate location on a map in the museum. A museum guard scolds me for taking this picture. No posing is allowed! No flash either.
Kelsey photographs two terracotta bull rhyta dating from the Late Cycladic I Period. These may be useful for her independent study project.
After a long walk through windy streets we find our home on Santorini, the King Thiras Hotel. Johann and Gahl take a breather after the last steep hill.
At last! Kelsey and Kinsey are relieved to be able to drop their bags and lie down. The rooms of the King Thiras Hotel are all done up in lovely pink floral patterns.
Mike is a brave soul! He is the first to step up to the plate and give his oral presentation on material we studied at Delphi a week ago. Caleb and Professor Rutter listen attentively.
What a pretty picture! Pete sits next to a brightly painted pythos with a very unusual looking plant growing out of it. Does anyone know what kind of plant this is?
Seahorses! Lots of seahorses! On a walk through town I found a shop with a bucket full of dried seahorses…Gahl says you can eat these, but my feeling is that these ones are meant for decoration. They were on display next to colorful seashells.
As we pass by a fun clothing store Brooks cannot resist the urge to pose in this large and very green armchair chair. Gahl comes to the funky godfather for advice.
The sun will come out! Tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow! There’ll be sun!!! Kristina sings the song from “Annie” in the hopes that it will bring the sun out for our beach time tomorrow.
Always Coca-Cola! Gahl takes a swig of his favorite drink as Brooks and I look out at the Caldera.
A view of Phira overshadowed by dramatic clouds. My “Annie” song has not worked yet.
Final Comments:
We have all been very excited about this final trip of the FSP. However, with our second ISP break coming up in a few days there is some tension in the air. Hopefully, the sun will come out soon and wash away some of our anxiety. In the meantime, several students are looking forward to trying Santorini’s seafood restaurants. The squid should be much fresher here than it is in Athens.
