Stars and Lamps

I don’t have much to report for myself today. Yesterday evening we were treated to a lecture on the constellations by the conservation professor. It was fun to lean back on the columns at the site and peer at the same stars and constellations the Greeks used to achieve their phenomenal navigation at sea. (Side note: those clever Greeks managed to circumnavigate Africa in about 600 BC. I’m very impressed – especially since the constellations are not the same in the Southern Hemisphere. I really wonder how they managed that?) It was very interesting. On the other hand, the last time I gazed at the stars in Greece I was 18 and sitting on a beach with a cute boy and a bottle of wine chilling at the edge of the surf. The electricity went out on the island and the three islands surrounding it, so I was able to see the Milky Way for the very first time. “Turning to my companion, this East Coast girl said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could see this in our own country?” The cute boy from Illinois replied, “Um,. Yeah. About that. We can.”

Doh.

Anyway, with 12 other people, this was considerably less dreamy, but it was fun. You can’t take photos of stars, though, so here’s a nice photo of a lamp. One is molded, one is wheelmade. Any guesses? You too can be an ancient Greek pottery expert…

Samothracian Fashion

Every evening at 8 we gather for 'ouzo hour' on the terrace. You've seen the photos and read about the menu. I don't think I've explained the fashion, however. Ouzo hour is the one time of day when we are all clean and nicely dressed. The men show up in pants and collared shirts, the women all wear dresses, and Mr. McCredie even wears a jacket and tie.

But I brought only one dress.

To supplement my meager wardrobe, I chose two dresses from seasons past from boxes found in the attic of the museum.

Please enjoy the photo of the 1972 showstopper, affectionately termed 'the jungle jumper' by yours truly. Note the colorful print and oversized cloth buttons.

Food in Samothrace

Life in Samothrace is punctuated by food. We have breakfast at 6:30, coffee break at 10, lunch at noon, fried ouzo snacks at 8 and dinner at 8:30. Before we got here, we all worried that we'd be hungry around 6. But no. We are stuffed. Constantly. This is because:

1. someone else cooks
2. the servings are HUGE and no one wants to offend the cook
3. there's little else to do
4. greek cookies are tasty

I am not complaining, mainly because it seems like a miracle that someone else is always cooking and cleaning for me. I don't even have to take a dish to or from the table! But the down side is that I've gained 5 pounds....



ALREADY!



I've only been here for ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!


So I am off for a run. Wish me luck in my daily encounter with the fried zucchini patties, fried battered zucchini flowers, fried calimari, and fried meat.

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!