Happy Birthday

Happy birthday Jon! I am sorry I'm not there, but I hope you're having a great time without me. Good luck on your L test!

P.S. "You're not a kid anymore!"

Quick Update

Hello everyone,
I am sorry I have not been writing on here as much as I had planned. I have been keeping very busy though!
Right now, I am in an internet cafe in Santorini and there are two little boys sitting on either side of me playing video games. The kids seem to come here very often and play. They talk very loudly across me at each other in Greek. It's a pretty cool experience. Yesterday, I went for a huge walk with a girl in my group named Tess. We spent two hours walking to the beach and then swam for an hour or two, and then walked back to the hotel. Then I rode as a passenger on a quad to the edge of town, which was amazing. I swam in the hotel pool until after ten in the evening as well. This morning, we headed out early to go on a tour around the island by bus. We were loaded onto a boat and were brought to a volcano site, where we hiked a great distance. We then went for a very rushed swim in the hot springs, which were actually relatively cold. On another island, a few others from the group and I took a huge hike up a steep hill to a little town which apparently had only one open (very expensive) restaurant. On the next island, I got the chance to ride a donkey up the hill. Finally, we climbed to a castle at the peak of Oia, and watched a famous Santorini sunset. These last two days have been crazy; it's 10:30, and I am planning to head to bed as soon as my internet time is up! Thanks for the comments on my pictures. Love you, take care!

Grad

Hi Gill,
Good luck with your graduation today. Sorry I can't be there. You will have to send me pictures! I hope the weather is great and you are at the Filberg. Anyway, have a wonderful time!

15 minutes

We are boarding the plane in 15 minutes! I just got checked in and decided to come home and hang out for a while. Mary was fascinated by the luggage going by; we watched it for five or ten minutes. I am going to miss her. Anyway, I'm heading back to the airport now. Take care everyone!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday Jordan! You better blow out all the candles on your cake with one breath so Artemis, the Greek goddess, will grant you good fortune and make your wishes come true!

Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leta, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was goddess of the wilderness and the moon, and protectress of women and childbirth. To celebrate her birth, cakes were formed in the shape of the moon, and candles placed on temple altars. Worshipers were to blow them out in one breath, and if they did, Artemis would watch over them. However, Artemis was also closely associated with sacrifice and punishment, and missing candles on the birthday cake is a sign of disrespect to her!

Aphrodite of Cnidus

Aphrodite of Cnidus was created by Praxiteles in the Late Classical Period (the mid 4^th century BCE). She depicts the goddess Aphrodite preparing for a bath that was to restore her virginity. This was the first nude female sculpture to appear in Ancient Greece. Its unveiling shocked and horrified the Greeks, in a time and place where women were expected to be modest. Copies of this beautiful sculpture have survived and are still around today.

Hera, Queen of the Gods

Symbols
-ewe and sow
-cuckoo bird and peacock
-Milky Way

Places
-found refuge from Zeus on Euboea

Family
Father: Cronus
Mother: Rhea
Spouse: Zeus
Siblings: Zeus, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia

Mythoid
-her milk could grant immortality

Most interesting?
-patroness of marriage and married women
-punished adultery, rewarded chastity and devotion
-Zeus and Hera's relationship symbolized significance and strength of marriage. They were subject to the same emotional complexity as mortals

Artemis, Virgin Huntress, Protectress of Women and Childbirth

Symbols
-the moon
-wilderness, the forest, wild animals, nature
-females
-virginity
-the hunt
-movement
-childhood and adolescence

Family
Father: Zeus
Mother: Leta
Brother: Apollo

Important Places
-Artemis and Apollo were born on Delos. There is a sacred palm tree in the middle of Delos dedicated to Artemis.
-the main temple at Ephesus in Asia Minor was also significant to Artemis

Mythoid
-Artemis completely refused to marry, was alienated from male company, sought chastity
-Zeus raped Callisto disguised as Artemis herself. Callisto got pregnant and Artemis got extremely angry. Artemis turned Callisto into a bear to be hunted and was chased into the sky.
-According to some stories, Orion attempted to rape Artemis and she shot him with her hunting arrows. He ended up as a constellation in the sky.

Mnemosyne, Titan Goddess of Memory

-personification of memory
-Titan goddess of memory and inventor of words
-also a goddess of time

Family
Father: Uranus
Mother: Gaea
Daughters: the Muses; Cleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpischore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, and Calliope

-Zeus slept with Mnemosyne for nine nights, and gave birth to the Muses one year later

Important Place
-Mnemosyne presided over the underground oracle of Trophonius in Boeotia
-those who wanted to consult the oracle of Trophonius in Boeotia had to drink alternately from two springs called "Lethe" and "Mnemosyne"

Greek Anticipations

I have wanted to go to Greece ever since I developed a desire to travel. The country's rich culture and ancient history immediately caught and held my attention. In contrast, Canada as a country is just a baby. I cannot wait to stand at the ruins of Korinth or at the Panagia Evangelistria in Tinos and imagine the civilizations that began there so many years ago. I am hoping to learn as much as I can about Greece in the next two months. I know I will never stop learning about Greece, but I anticipate standing at ancient sites and feeling and understanding at least a fraction of the history that was created there. We have grazed the surface of ancient Greek civilizations and delved a bit deeper into the mythology of ancient Greece, and I hope I can learn a great deal more. I also hope that actually visiting the sites we have touched on will inspire me to do even further research into their history.

In travelling to Greece, I am anticipating a huge culture shock. I have never left North America and I expect and hope Greece will be very different from the few places I have seen. I am looking for a shocking and cleansing experience. I hope to have my personal values and belief system challenged and my perspectives broadened. I want to return to Comox after our time in Greece is up and have a better understanding of my own culture and how it fits into the scheme of the world. I look forward to witnessing differences in beliefs, customs, manners, laws, behaviour, and social organization.

I am anticipating great food and brilliant, warm weather. Right now, it seems the weather in Greece is about the same as it is in Comox, but I am hoping it improves drastically in the next few days! I look forward to authentic Greek cuisine and hopefully dining among the locals. I want to remain cool, even in the incredible (hopefully) Greek sun. I hope for a really great time and I basically anticipate it being all I have looked forward to. I am excited for a vacation from work and school, but still the opportunity to learn and establish myself as a person.

Travel Itinerary

Hello family, friends, and fellow travellers,

As you already know, I am going to Greece with North Island College this spring. Our flight departs Comox Sunday, May 25^th at 12:20. For my first blog, I thought I would post our travel itinerary to provide the means for anyone to follow me through Greece. We may deviate from this plan depending on how things go so I will try to keep this updated on where we are and where we have been.

Day 1: Monday, May 26th
arrive in Athens
check-in, tour plaka

Day 2: Tuesday, May 27th
visit Acropolis and environs
possibly visit Museum of Cycladic and Ancient Greek Art and/or Benaki Museum

Day 3: Wednesday, May 28th
depart Athens for Delphi
travel to Delphi [hopefully stop at some or all of the following - Kerameikos (Athens), Eleusis, Livadhia (Orace of Trophomios), Osios Loukas Monastery]

Day 4: Thursday, May 29th
explore Sanctuary of Apollo
Visit Delphi Museum
Explore Sanctuary of Athena

Day 5: Friday, May 30th
Optional activity: Walk up to Corcyian Cave (or hang out in Delphi)

Day 6: Saturday, May 31st
depart Delphi for Piraeus or Rafina
ferry to Tinos
check-in, tour city

Day 7: Sunday, June 1st
Day excursion to Delos and Mykonos (departs old pier at 10am and returns to Tinos at 7pm)

Day 8: Monday, June 2nd
Explore Tinos: Panagia
Evangelistria; possibly visit villages around Exobourgo; Porto Beach

Day 9: Tuesday, June 3rd
depart Tinos for Santorini
check-in, explore Fira

Day 10: Wednesday, June 4th
Intensive reading day; visit Museum of Prehistoric Thira and The Archaeological Museum

Day 11: Thursday, June 5th
Visit Akrotiri; possibly visit Ancient Thira

Day 12: Friday, June 6th
depart Santorini for Heraklio
check-in, explore city

Day 13: Saturday, June 7th
Visit Irakleio Archaeological Museum; visit Palace of Knossos

Day 14: Sunday, June 8th
In Search of the Caves of Crete
(chartered bus) - 1) Dhiktean Cave; 2) Cave of Eilethyia; 3) Skotino Cave

Day 15: Monday, June 9th
depart Heraklio for Hania
check-in, explore city

Day 16: Tuesday, June 10th
Optional Activity: Visit Samaria or Imbros Gorge (or hang out in Hania)

Day 17th: Wednesday, June 11th
ferry to Gythio from Kissamoss
check-in, tour Marathonisi

Backup Plans: a) an extra night in Hania and Kissamoss Ferry on June 12th with travel through to Sparta or
b) take the night ferry from Hania on June 11th to Piraeus and then bus from Athens to Sparta

Day 18: Thursday, June 12th
depart Gythio for Sparta
check-in, explore Mistra

Day 19: Friday, June 13th
tour of Sparta; Sanctuary of Artemis Orhia; Melaion; Amyklai

Day 20: Saturday, June 14th
depart Sparta for Nafplio

Day 21: Sunday, June 15th
Explore Nafplio

Day 22: Monday, June 16th
tour Mycenae and Tiryns

Day 23: Tuesday, June 17th
Travel to Ancient Korinth (perhaps visit New Nemean Games and/or Perachora on the way)

Day 24: Wednesday, June 18th
Explore Ancient Korinth; Reading day (Pausanias, St. Paul)

Day 25: Thursday, June 19th
Travel to Athens; revisit Athens

Day 26: Friday, June 20th
East of Athens (chartered bus tour of Brauron; Temples of Nemesis and Themis at Ramnous; possibly Marathon. Possible Cape Sounion Sunset.

Day 27: Saturday, June 21st
National Archaeological Museum in morning

Day 28: Sunday, June 22nd
depart Athens