A conversation in struggling Greece is, often as not, about the superlatives of doom: The country is on the edge, the people are headed toward catastrophe, and the state, drained of cash and lasting political consensus, has effectively ceased to function. Yet in Athens, home to nearly half the population, the garbage trucks make the rounds at night, traffic police in smart blue uniforms pull over motorists and tourists stroll around the ancient sites or lug suitcases on wheels through the heat-soaked side-streets.

For a country where crisis has become an intimate state of mind, there is plenty of benign normalcy around, lots of reminders of the rules and infrastructure and hygiene standards that define what it is to be a Western European country, imperfections notwithstanding.

Many of you have been asking about the crisis in Greece and whether or not I have experienced anything unusual. The answer is-- no. Every morning, I wake up at 8 am to make the 45 minute walk to the Acropolis. I stop by the local bakery, Beneth, and wait in line for a good 10 minutes to pick something up for lunch, most likely a Koulouri. Then, I continue walking down the busy streets, dodging the countless number of scooters and cars into the Plaka neighborhood. In Plaka, millions of tourists come per week to experience Athenian life and to climb to the top of the most sacred hill, the Acropolis. The city seems bustling, with money flowing.


However, I am an English-speaking student doing my best to avoid all dangerous situations. I have heard about a lot of incidents that have been going on in Greece.


Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi6TbLmeFoQ
I have plenty to say about that, but I'm sure you are all thinking the same thing..




Besides all of the politics and crisis talk, I have been busy working!! I have been working at the Parthenon for a little bit over 2 weeks now. My current project is taking a hand drawing of one of the cornice blocks and redrawing it in 2D and 3D AutoCAD. After I am finished with my drawing, I will take Orlandos' dimensions done from the 1940's and compare them to the material that is left in the cornice block today. From those calculations, the restoration team can determine the percentage of new material they will need in order to restore the cornice block.