I will do my best to explain today... I wish I could say that today was the most significant day of my life, but I know that there are more to come very shortly. But please bear with me when I explain everything in detail!!!
I started off the day walking to the hotel, to meet the study abroad group in Plaka. My walk is exactly 30 minutes, through neighborhoods of Pagkrati, past the Olympic stadium, and through the Zappeion Gardens. I decided to put in headphones today and listen to some upbeat country music, just to remind me of home. AND-- since no one was around me, I decided to sing out loud a little bit. :) Well, as I was crossing in from of the Zappeion gardens, a few dogs started running up to me because I was singing out loud. Naturally, I was frightened because German Shepherds aren't the nicest of dogs back home, especially if they are running towards you. However, in Athens, there are dogs EVERYWHERE, and they are all very friendly. But after the initial shock, I accepted my new friends to walk with me the rest of the way to Plaka.
After meeting up with the group, we walked to the Acropolis. I have been there multiple times before, but this time is MUCH different...
We did the normal ascent to the top, stopping short of the Propylaia. Thanos and Myrsini (two Georgia Tech professors) did their usual lecture about the history and the architecture. Then, Thanos received a phone call, speaking in Greek. I could make out words like "nai, nai" and other positive hand gestures. When he hung up, Thanos informed us that we were going to have an incredible experience...
We were going to go INSIDE the Parthenon.
This was it!!! I really thought that I was going to pee my pants or throw up. My adrenaline was pumping and I couldn't believe what I heard. Now-- for those of you who don't know, NO ONE is allowed inside the Parthenon, expect those that are working on the restoration OR graduate students studying in Greece. This was the most significant thing that I have experienced ever.
I cannot believe all of the events from today... and I can't believe all of the adventures ahead of me!
I miss you all! Please look at my other pictures on Facebook and Skype me when you can. :)
Emily "I'm slowly becoming more and more Greek" Lenke
I started off the day walking to the hotel, to meet the study abroad group in Plaka. My walk is exactly 30 minutes, through neighborhoods of Pagkrati, past the Olympic stadium, and through the Zappeion Gardens. I decided to put in headphones today and listen to some upbeat country music, just to remind me of home. AND-- since no one was around me, I decided to sing out loud a little bit. :) Well, as I was crossing in from of the Zappeion gardens, a few dogs started running up to me because I was singing out loud. Naturally, I was frightened because German Shepherds aren't the nicest of dogs back home, especially if they are running towards you. However, in Athens, there are dogs EVERYWHERE, and they are all very friendly. But after the initial shock, I accepted my new friends to walk with me the rest of the way to Plaka.
After meeting up with the group, we walked to the Acropolis. I have been there multiple times before, but this time is MUCH different...
We did the normal ascent to the top, stopping short of the Propylaia. Thanos and Myrsini (two Georgia Tech professors) did their usual lecture about the history and the architecture. Then, Thanos received a phone call, speaking in Greek. I could make out words like "nai, nai" and other positive hand gestures. When he hung up, Thanos informed us that we were going to have an incredible experience...
We were going to go INSIDE the Parthenon.
This was it!!! I really thought that I was going to pee my pants or throw up. My adrenaline was pumping and I couldn't believe what I heard. Now-- for those of you who don't know, NO ONE is allowed inside the Parthenon, expect those that are working on the restoration OR graduate students studying in Greece. This was the most significant thing that I have experienced ever.
Above is a picture of me, standing in the pronaos of the Temple of Athena Parthenos (Parthenon). You can see that there aren't any other people inside, and there is a crane in there too. The crane was being used to take one of the metopes (a sculptural element above the column and below the roofline) down to clean and put into the New Acropolis Museum. Even to see restoration work in action from afar was incredible.
After we learned all about the techniques and history, we had the chance to go into the Propylaia, just like I did last year. We met with Pedros, a marble sculptor, who gave us about a 2 HOUR tour. We even got to try to bang on some tools to carve marble.
I miss you all! Please look at my other pictures on Facebook and Skype me when you can. :)
Emily "I'm slowly becoming more and more Greek" Lenke
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