It was a five hour bus ride back to Athens, down off the mountain plateau to the coastal plains and along the northern shore of the Pelapponese, across the Loutraki-Corinth channel that cuts through the isthmus as a shortcut for medium sized boats, past the modern and beautiful cable bridge. The main roads, what we would call interstate, are in good condition, but streets in villages are narrow and we marvel at the skill of the bus drivers maneuvering through them.
Once in Athens the students started packing a few things for three days on Santorini island. I opted out of that side-trip as I had been there before and I wanted a few days to contact the Kostoulas family in Athens. So Dr. Dewey and I went out to buy track phones. We just missed the Wind shop closing - by 5 minutes. But he did not give up; having been in Athens several times in the past seven years, he thought he had seen one at another Metro stop and we found a small shop that was open, attended by a man from Bangladesh. We were able to get phones for half of what they would have cost at the bigger shops and had a good visit with the shopkeeper. This man sends money back to his family in Bangladesh and showed us pictures of his children and his brother.
Everyone is always pleased when we try out our modest Greek phrases. The hotel staff here at Candia is always happy to have us return. One of the students bought a large box of pastries and shared it with all the rest of us including the hotel staff - one way to be well-remembered!
Today I am looking forward to a visit with my friends here in Athens. Theodosia is a mathematics teacher in the high school and she also tutors students to help them pass the college exams. I am anxious to learn how the bad economy here in Greece has affected them; both Theodosia and Christos have government jobs.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment