Mountain Village

24 November, 2007

In rocky outcropped mountains of the Cretan wilderness, there lies the town of Μιληα (Mi-li-ah). Our chosen destination is an organic farm that is also an authentic Cretan village restored to resemble rural life 150 years ago. Surrounded by trees plump with olives ready to drop, the mountain cradle for this little establishment is one of the many beautiful sites Crete has to offer.

Our voyage up the mountains in Sara’s KIA was unexpectedly frightening. Of all the little things I have taken for granted in Τhe States, the highway system is the largest. There were times when the dirt road on the mountain side was eroded so badly, and the subsequent cement repairs eroded as well, that I held my breath as we crossed over the patchwork. Sara held her nerve with the help of a pack of GR cigarettes.

Along the way there were the twisted and rugged olive trees. I love the olive tree; it is hard and knotted, beautifully twisted, hearty in the face of harsh climate, and plentiful to those who are patient enough to tend it during its decade long maturation. It is a shame so many hundreds of acres of olive trees, a very slow to replace economic resource, burned down in this last summer’s wildfires/arsons in the Peloponnese. It has created a unique social class of ecological refugees. People whose families have lived off of olive crops for generations are now displaced by fires. They are forced into the cities to earn by conniving and /or seeking employment far outside of their familiar skills. Although burnt in places, Crete was generally spared the burning wrath of the mainland fires. However, there is one upside. In the ashes of the enriched soil grow...........mushrooms!

Anyways, check out some pictures of the mountains on Picasa. We got there, ate a lot of lamb, Cretan salad, and other delicacies, and drank some raki. The trip was nice, but I was with a bunch of girls and didn’t get to climb any real mountains. I did run off for a while and trek over some rocky hills and saw some burnt up shrubbery and trees. My first taste of Cretan wilderness was a tease, all it did it solidify my conviction to climb some serious rock in the Lefka Ori.

From the summit,

Thomas (and the Via Lingua crew)

From left to right: Megan (home-skillet), Cynthia (Instructor), Sara Signore (Instructor), Sarah from Tennessee, Bethany, & Thomas.

The Via Lingua Course

21 November, 2007

My class is very time consuming. I am thankful for the knowledgeable and experienced teaching staff; they make the 10hr days fly by…

Honestly, things are moving fast, my first class lesson is tonight and I am teaching simple vocabulary of “travel” to a beginner class. The students are easy to feel comfortable with and they create an eclectic classroom. Some are from Albania, some from Russia, some speak four languages, and some speak in hand gestures. They are old, young, doctors, professors, fish-choppers, and cobblers. It is really eye opening and encouraging that I, a humble Indiana University graduate, am able to teach practical, desirable and profitable skills. It feels good to have a job in my near future with visible and immediate outcome.

Language class here is different in many ways from classes I have taken in The States, but the most interesting difference to me is the real need for the skills and the motivation for learning that the economic environment provides. When I took language in high-school and college I saw no end other than a grade. Here is it a clear status symbol, a tool for increased commercial success especially during the tourist season, and in many ways, a ticket off the island.

After only two weeks, I am beginning to see the true value of my birthright. I have a key to the world, and via lingua, I’m going to use it.

Keeping you posted,

Thomas

27 November 27, 2007

Firstly, I hope I do not confuse anyone with the backlogged posts, my internet access and free time do not often sync up. At this point I have taught four classes and am shaping lesson plans. This job is fun! I get to act like a goof, make puzzles, and get information about the local culture. So far, I have had students who really value any extra time and effort I choose to spend on their education. I think it makes a huge difference that everyone is here voluntarily after their normal work day.

Yasu.

A Night Out in Xania

Bethany and I met our fellow classmate Megan on Saturday night. It is a relief to talk to another cool person in English. As initiation we all drank some local wine and went out to some hilarious Euro-bars downtown. Club Klik’s catchphrase is “we have no good service, we have no good music, we have no good view!” and it is true. The girls were all from da Scandinavia ya, and it was a funny contrast to the Greek markets. The Johnnie Walker is cheap. It wasn't long before I smelled something beautiful, a presence I have not felt since…

Cuban cigars are everywhere and cheap! I bought five for ten euro and they were awesome. I met a guy from the UK and he didn’t understand why I was so excited. I ended up having to recap political history of Cuba’s tourist past and revolutionary dictator, including the missile crisis. I came to think this morning, “if he doesn’t know about Fidel Castro, communist Cuba, the boycott, and the missile crisis, I wonder what he knows that I don’t?” It is probably stuff about dust bins, Shaftsburry and Pickadilly’s.

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em (which you don’t!)

Arrival in Chania 10/14/07

Arrival in Chania was breathtaking. Flying over Cretan olive orchards, pastures full of salt and pepper goats, Crete is surreal. Part of it reminds me of a bombed out World War Two fortification, and in fact, some of it is. The political history is pretty juicy.

The Minoan kingdom was the first known settlement which was displaced by the Byzantine Empire. It was a fortified Byzantine harbor until the Fourth Crusade, at which time it became the dominion of Venetian Lords. The Venetian architecture is the predominant charm of Chania, especially in the old harbor. It remained a Venetian town until a legendary scallywag, the pirate Barbarossa, AKA Red Beard, a Turkish pillaging machine, razed and looted the towns all across Crete. This blow accompanied with the surge of Ottoman strength eventually landed Crete and its many Byzantine and Venetian fortifications a key role in the Sultan’s Mediterranean Empire. The Ottomans bartered with the Egyptians in Cairo for assistance against the heavy Cretan guerilla resistance and Egyptian forces were what remained in power over Crete in the end. The heavy Egyptian taxes made their rule unstable and mainland Greeks saw an opportunity to aid the Cretans in an overthrow, and subsequently annexed them as a part of Greece. It was bombed by Nazis and used in the African front as an Axis outpost. Settling now under the blue and white flag of Ελλαδα, Cretans are only loyal to Crete.

They show their Cretan individuality with a curious blend of specialty exports. As far as I can tell, Crete is the place to buy leather, awesome custom knives, fur, amber beads that the men constantly clack together as they walk, Raki (Cretan grain alcohol; I have not drank any yet but I am sure I will and it will require an entire post), and of course, olives. Here is a picture of my Cretan dagger.

I nicknamed it Saghapo, which means "I love you" in Greek.

There are many varieties, the age old traditional ones being made of two pieces of sheep bone, pricier ones made of goat horns, and wooden handled ones. I pass about three knife shops a day. My favorite part about it is that I actually have many chances to use it. The fresh vegetable markets are everywhere and we have been doing a lot of home cooking. There are also open air fish markets that smell like the bottom of the briny sea. These purchases require lots of slicing and cutting at the wriggling raw flesh of fish I couldn’t even name in English. Cephalopods (Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) also have a large consumer base.

We have had a good time exploring for a few days, checking out the old town and harbor, and are ready for our course to begin. I have my sight set on a day in the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) and expect to be visiting some Minoan ruins shortly.

All is well on the eastern front. Kalispera!

Athens 10/13/07

Athens: It was cheap, festive, and friendly. The food was delicious and we ate in traditional tavernas that dotted the busy stone streets. The most unique part of our visit was that no matter where we went there were monuments of classical history.

When we first arrived in Athens International Airport It was 23:00 (As far as the 24hr clock goes, I am getting used to it. After all, it makes more sense. Is it that hard to count past 12?). We had some fun talking Greek to the metro-operator, ended up on the wrong side of town, and once again cursed our luggage. It took us about six tries to get a taxi driver willing to pick up two Americans with a limited vocabulary and 60 kilos of luggage. Finally, we got to the Hotel Cecil. Apparently “hotel” means hole-in-the-wall in Greek. However, the service was nice and we got ourselves and our bags squeezed into the delightful Athenian closet.

We hit the streets. Blind, mute and hungry, we just went straight. We ended up at a corner shop that had some food on display, but the catch was you had to order every single ingredient separately. Luckily we found some ready-made olive baguettes and some pizza zambon which we ate in the middle of a park full of strung out junkies. One highlight was the Albanian newspaper stand vendor who befriended us and thinking I was an Aussie, started asking me about Melbourne. He sold us beer on the street. There was porn on public television. Ah…Athens.

Our next morning was started with a Greek breakfast that fueled our hike up the acropolis to the Parthenon. Exercise was enjoyable; at this point I’d eaten over a kilo of feta per hour since I’d arrived. Athens by day and Athens by night are like…day and night. There were street musicians that deserve the money we pay American Idols, fresh fruit markets, vendors of all colors and sorts selling beads and trinkets of the same. We enjoyed the ruins until a warm rain silenced the city.

In my short stay I did notice a few interesting differences. First, waiters do not bother you while you are eating and are pretty hard to catch once you have ordered, but vendors selling anything from cameras and pirated DVDs to rugs and purses come right up to your table with sales pitches. It is really hilarious, actually, because the police are constantly chasing them and they are constantly packing up shop and running away with smiles on their faces. Number two: due to the thin piping of the sewer there is no flushing of toilet paper, instead you deposit it in sanitary plastic bags and throw it in a bin. Finally and most surprisingly, everyone speaks Greek!

Enjoy the photos on Picasa. On to the land of the Minotaur. Cherete!

London 10/11/07

The entertainment system on the Aer Lingus jet from Chicago to London was awesome. I watched shows about raging elephants and Johnny Depp and Bethany watched a documentary on Rasputin. Eventually we both gave in and watched The Simpsons Movie which is funny for about 30 minutes.

When we landed we were not happy people. Tired and malnourished, we dragged our excess baggage, which was an immediate regret, for about two hours. The subways do not have elevators (“lifts”) but did have long staircases, many of them. We ended up dragging our bags through Hyde Park (akin to NY’s Central Park) and were getting some hilarious looks from limeys who were oot n aboot walking their pups.

We finally taxied it to the hotel and collapsed on the floor, but not before we broke my baggage’s trolley poles and tweaked Bethany’s wheels. It is not worth dressing well when travelling! It was about a half hour of cursing our vanity before hunger got us going again.

Picking up some GBP at the money changer, we were slapped with pretty nasty exchange rates. The first thing we did was get some pizza from a little boutique. Immediately our spirits were up. It is amazing what a little food can do. I began to realize however, that a little food was all I was going to get.

We stopped in a street café called Café Diana, a shrine to the late princess of Wales, which was ironically plastered wall to wall with media photographs of the icon. A group of kids were eating pork sausage and chips, which looked quite unappetizing. If you know me, you realize that I eat a lot, and as far as I can tell, people in London do not. Nor do they drink water. I did not see one drinking fountain in any public place and rarely saw bottled water advertised. We drank a lot of tea with a lot of sugar and felt a little more willing to explore the city.

The rest of the evening was pleasant. We visited the amazing St Paul’s cathedral and toured the riverside district (follow link to full album on Picasa). Our hotel room was very nice, cold, but elegant and roomy. Well rested, ready to go to Athens tomorrow. Later chaps.

First Dance With Brother Ouzo

Glimmering and bold, the simple, crisp, blue and white of this exclusive Greek pastime drew me to explore. Ouzo is undeniably preceded by its reputation as a powerful and rich nectar of intoxication. An elegant drink, my first experience with ouzo was a glass full of taste and aroma unlike anything else. The refreshing clear fluid turns a glossy white on ice and the anise spices give the drink a minty-licorice taste.

The history of Ouzo is blurry with possible connections to a drink created during the early Byzantine Empire. Traditionally brewed in copper stills, Ouzo and similar tonics are popular in cantinas and cafes of the Mediterranean.

My first experience with this alcoholic delicacy was in the United States, which may have detracted slightly from the full flavor of its cultural significance. I am glad I enjoyed it since I have heard that the Greeks drink a lot of ouzo. I cannot wait to share this new drink with some new friends; maybe then we will speak the same language!

Needless to say, I finished the entire bottle.

ποτο' αρμο'διος

(drink responsibly)