26 Hour Weekend

I am writing at the end of my 26 hour weekend. We get off of work at 6 on Saturdays and then come back to ‘group life’ at 8 on Sundays. You’ll get no complaints from me, though – a 6 day work week in Samothrace is preferable to a 5-day workweek in scores of other places! Last night we hiked up to Chora, a picturesque little town 4 kilometers uphill from where we live, for drinks and dinner. Dinner was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. They have a phenomenal dish called ‘chicken in a paper bag’ that is the best chicken I have ever experienced. And they make homemade French fries in olive oil right over a fire – delicious. The view from the bar was fantastic, although I forgot to take a photo – here’s our attempt to capture a perfect sunset on Friday night.

Today I went to Church. Wow, I do not understand anything they’re doing at the Greek Orthodox Mass. After sitting there for two hours, I even managed to miss Communion! It didn’t look like ours, and I think the bread I got last week wasn’t the real deal either. Communion seems to involve putting a cloth to your chin that the priest is holding with his right hand at the base of the chalice, and then being served something by the priest on a spoon that he sticks in your mouth with his other hand. Then you pat your mouth and move on. Sigh. Maybe I’ll be up to speed next week. After Mass, Amy and I enjoyed crepes and then a small contingent headed out for the waterfalls. They were beautiful, as you can see here. The pools were nearly 30 feet deep, and the water was perfectly clear. We lazed around reading and doing crossword puzzles and ‘chill-axing.” This is apparently a new term coined on Samothrace, derived from the verbs ‘to chill’ and ‘to relax.’ It remains to be determined whether this is an acceptable Scrabble word….

Fair Weather

Today I am feeling much better. Rather than napping, I was able to work on my thesis for a few hours. Yay! Twelve pages down, another 13 + editing + citing to go!

We had a nice game of scrabble last night despite a ferocious and sudden wind storm that upset the board and broke a few glasses, scattering beach floats and bathing suits down the hall in its wake. The sudden and mercurial changes in weather here are part of the charm, I am told. It is apparently not unusual that at ouzo hour I felt warm in my new Samothracian Jungle-Print Jumper dress (just wait until I get a photo of this specimen from the 1972 dig) and that only a half hour later we all grabbed sweaters before dinner.

Today I have spent most of my time cataloguing lamps. The existence of a large number of lamps at a sanctuary points to nocturnal cult rites and activity, so we are hoping to get a sense of which buildings might have housed evening rituals based on the concentrations of lamps found within or near specific building sites. In the abstract, I think this is very interesting. In actuality, it involves a lot of typing into FileMaker. Thanks to my IPod, this isn’t so torturous, and hopefully we will find an interesting answer in a day or two.

The 4th, Drugged Kate, and How to Reach Me

The end of the 4th of July included REAL gin and tonics with limes imported from New York -- Greece doesn't seem to grow limes, as far as any of us know. We finished dinner and had a rousing game of pictionary. But the highlight of the evening was Professor McCredie's entrance, with great fanfare, in Sylvester the Jeep, sporting the American and Greek flags. We all clapped. We clapped harder when the ice, gin and whiskey made it's appearance.

Here's a photo from ouzo hour -- Yong, Genevieve, Melissa and Amy; Professor Wescoat and her family --- Bailey (standing), Ryan and Abby.

Today, I have nothing to report because I feel drugged. I took another 2.5 hour nap that I will blame on the pills the doctor gave me. I can't wait to feel better -- my thesis is weighing on my brain!

Finally, you can reach me by mail at:

American Excavations, Palaiopolis, GR-680-2 Samothrace, Greece

or by phone at 011-30-25510-41166. No pressure, but Michelle asked for my address in order to use up her air-mail stationary. All notes are welcome!

Finally, a shout-out to the birthday kids! My sister Kerri, July 2, Andy Sawatzki, July 3, and Michelle Woolley, July 4. Way to get older, everyone.

Greek Medical System

Happy fourth of July! It is a normal workday here, but we had special delicious Greek custard pastry this morning and I am about to attend an extra-special ouzo hour this evening. Word is that Professor McCredie decorates his car for the 4th of July -- this should be fun to watch!

Unfortunately, I am allergic to the special delicious Greek custard pastry. It looks cooked, but perhaps the custard wasn't fully cooked, so I had an allergic reaction and had to be taken to the local clinic. My professors were very nice to me, and stayed the entire time to be sure I was okay. The doctor was less impressed-- he was convinced that I was just suffering from anxiety and offered some Zanax. I explained that my tongue was swollen to double its local size, and so it was probably a real problem, even if raw egg doesn't usually make an appearance in this particular pastry. They gave me an IV with some sort of drug that worked almost immediately and my tongue was back to its happy self. Then the drug made me super dizzy. But in the end, I was fine -- about an hour after the whole shebang, I was back at the hotel having lunch and then taking a long nap.

The Greeks were nice and efficient, although the hospital attire was interesting. The woman who actually put the IV needle in -- with five nurses arguing and watching -- was wearing an orange United Colors of Benetton tank top, jeans and sandals. Another nurse sported the same top in gray. My doctor was wearing a tie-dyed T shirt and pants. About 10 staff were in every room, and many of the shelves holding up the saline solution, or whatever they use for IVs, were made of plywood sheeting on metal ikea supports. Appearances aside, they did their job and didn't charge me anything. Amen to socialist medicine!

I am mostly just embarrased that, after 24 years from my last attack, I don't know better than to ask about raw egg! What a hullaballoo. Looking forward to a normal day tomorrow!

My place by the sea

So here is a photo tour of my life-for-six-weeks! This is the team, or part of it, seeing Samothrace for the first time. As you can tell, it was pretty windy on the ferry. Left to right you can see; Ryan, a Harvard architecture student; Eliza and Melissa, conservation students at my school; Cindy, my roommate, also an IFA student, and Genevieve looking out towards Samothrace as we approach. Here is the view from my room. Pretty nice! Here’s my hallway. I have to say, late night trips for water are beautiful, with the moon over the ocean and the breezes winding their way through the ‘hall.’ This is where we have ouzo hour – they serve ouzo, beer, and tasty fried Greek snacks every night before dinner. This is the view from the dinner table.

I landed in a pretty fine place, don’t you think?!?

Today, we had a tour of the site. I neglected to bring my camera I’m afraid. It was fascinating to walk through the site with archeologists. It can be so difficult to picture an ancient city or temple area as it would have looked when it was built, but with Professor McCredie and Professor Wescott, it suddenly came alive. I’ll give a description – and some photos! – tomorrow. Off to ouzo hour!

RE-plugged!

Today was our first day of work. We spent most of the day removing dust covers, setting up electricity, printers, scanners and computers, and just settling in. Tomorrow we will get to see the site -- I can't wait!

The most exciting development, however, was the establishment of hi-speed wi-fi. I am now as wired in Greece as I am at home. This expands the possibilities of entertainment significantly (Itunes Movie Night, anyone?) and allows me to keep the blog AND use skype! Yay!!! Oh, and the research possibilities are endless.

I'm headed in to shower before dinner and put the clothes I found in our attic in to be washed. India killed my clothes, and so I'm grabbing leftovers from previous dig teams stretching back into the 1960s. I have a wild dress from a woman who worked here in 1972 -- this will be a VERY fashionable summer. I promise photos.

Stay tuned for an inside glimpse of a tiny island and even smaller social circle!

Semi-Precious

We have arrived! It is so wonderful to be in one place for six weeks. I unpacked the three t-shirts, skirt, shorts and two dresses that I own and 'settled in.' This is an amazing place to be. We took the ferry together as a group from Alexandropolous on Saturday morning. Looking over the rail, the water was a perfect sapphire blue. It was breathtaking, the exact color of the stone. Towards the coast, you could see a line of topaz-colored water fringing the shore. From the ocean, Samothrace looked blue and gray in a hazy mist, but as we drew closer, you could see the green of the pines and the deep browns and grays of the looming mountain at the center of the island. You could also see Sylvester, Professor McCredie's ancient orange Jeep, waiting at the dock. We loaded 9 people and all their luggage into two cars. After my trip to India, that seemed like nothing! After lunch together, we were free to do as we pleased for the rest of the weekend. From the door of the bedroom, you can see the ocean, only about 100 yards away. We eat lunch and dinner on the porch each day, and sunset from the dinner table, looking through the stone porch supports and a lovely bush of pink flowers, is really amazing. I am so blessed to have six weeks here. On the other hand, I think 'semi-precious' may be a good metaphor for the trip. We are so lucky to have someone cook every meal for us -- but it is meat, meat, and more meat. We are also lucky to have someone do our laundry -- but we were told not to have them wash anything we value! We are only 100 yards from the ocean -- but it is a very rocky beach with a strong current. Etc. Personally, I love it. I'll take garnets and opals over quartz any day of the week.

We spent the afternoon swimming, and then I had my first run in six weeks (ouch!). There were lots of goats and a few people to stare at me as I wheezed my way back into shape. Today, I hiked uphill to Chora, a small town with twisting cobbled streets and gracious cafes spilling down the slope. I went to Mass at the Greek Orthodox church. That was really something, I'll write more about it sometime.

Anyway, I'm settled -- and I think we get internet every other day! I'll keep you posted on the sleepy happenings of our little expedition.