In 1997, I got to live in Athens for nearly five months as part of Penn State’s overseas study programs. There were 23 of us, and we had an incredible adventure.

This is me in the center, flanked by my upstairs neighbors, Alicia Toland and Erin Casey. We are on top of the roof of the little center where we had classes. This is the first day of classes, as a matter of fact... January 12! It was about sixty-five degrees and sunny (although I admit... I enhanced the color of the sky to differentiate between the sky and the mountains, which were somewhat obscured by smog).

This is the view from our apartment building’s rooftop at sunset. Breathtaking. The smog really did a wonderful job of filtering the light into a spectacular display of crimson, gold, and rust. On perfect days the smog was thin enough to see out to the harbour at Piraeus, so there was the extra effect of sunlight on water.

This is the entire group in the Pelopponese during the first week of March.

What? You didn’t expect me to show you Greece without showing you the Parthenon, did you? You know, we could see the Parthenon from our apartments, and it was just a twelve minute walk from our building. The first couple of weeks, my roommate Brian and I just couldn’t stop marvelling at it. We’d be walking to class. “Look, Brian. The Parthenon.” We’d be walking back from class. “Look, Brian. The Parthenon.” Eventually its prominence subsided out of our immediacy until it was nearly time to go... then suddenly it loomed over us as a reminder of what we were eventually to lose, and our morning ritual resumed. Ah, o Parthenon mou...

And here we are again, the whole group, this time at the Temple of Poseidon.

I felt that this page took too long to load up, so I’ve split it into two pages. To continue your Hellenic adventure with me, just click on the forward arrow.