Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Greek Islands
Friday May 29, 2009
On Friday our boat did not leave until 5:45 in the evening so we spent the day in the town of Fira which was about a 20 minute bus ride away from Kamari, the town our hotel was in. Fira is the capital of Santorini and hosts a fantastic view of the caldera of the volcano that blew up the island some time between 1620 and 1520 BC. This event is what supposedly led to the myth of Atlantis.
Here is what one of the guide books I bought has to say about the Myth of Atlantis:
“One of the greatest and most fascinating enigmas of ancient history is the abrupt decline of the Minoan civilization which seems to have disappeared quite suddenly while at the height of its splendor.
In the 1930s the Greek archaeologist, Spyridon Marinatos, suggested the theory that at the end of the Minoan civilization was brought about by the tremendous eruption of Thira which, according to geologists and vulcanologists, occurred sometime between 1600 and 1520 BC.
Thira, 120 kilometers away from Crete, had already been the center of an earlier volcanic eruption 25,000 years ago, and the ashes had fallen throughout the southern part of the Mediterranean. The eruption of the second catastrophe was followed by a gigantic tsunami wave that devastated the Aegean coast, destroying cities and crops. It had been calculated that this eruption was four times more powerful than that of Krakatoa in 1883 when the sun was obscured by ash for three days and the roar of the explosion was heard at a distance of 300 miles.
In the 1970s the technique of radiocarbon dating enabled scientists to date a tree trunk found under the volcanic ash on Thira to 1470 BC The dating supported the theory of the Greek geologist and seismologist Angelo Galanopoulos who had linked the destruction of Thira to that of Atlantis, the mythical lost continent what he identified as being the Minoan civilization...it is now almost certain that the collapse of the Minoan civilization was brought about by the devastating effects of the eruption and subsequent tidal wave that destroyed Thira.
The view from Fira was beautiful! The town itself was very touristy with lots of shops so it wasn't all that impressive. We went to the archaeological museum there which was interesting – very similar to the one we went to in Athens but on a much smaller scale. I still can't get over how advanced the civilization was so long ago. It really does beg the question of what happened??
We took a different type of boat from Santorini to Crete – it only took about 2 hours. The boat was big but very fast. It was kind of like a catamaran – it ran on two skids. We arrived in Heriklion, Crete around 7:45 in the evening and our hotel was very close to the port. It was a really cute boutique hotel but Jason didn't really like it because he thought the air conditioner smelled like cheese. I didn't really smell this. It had a cute rooftop restaurant that we ate it (overpriced) and our room had a huge balcony with a nice view of the port.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
On Saturday we went to The Palace of Knossos. What a stinker of a site! This ancient Minoan site was absolutely ruined (in my opinion – and that of others, I found) by some crackpot “archaeologist” named Arthur Evans who “restored” the site from 1900-1932. This Evans character was a really wealthy guy who decided, for some reason, he was an archaeologist and that his legacy was going to be to excavate the site of Knossos. What he actually did was “restore” it with lots and lots of cement, made up really weird scenarios of what he thought the different areas of the site were and did things like reconstruct the columns and paint them, place frescoes on the walls, etc. According to the book I bought at the site “Much has been written about the restoration that Evans carried out on the ruins that he was excavating and he was much criticized by many authorities who considered his technique arbitrary and unorthodox...During the work of restoration, largely financed from Evans' own private income, modern materials such as cement, bricks, and steel were used to consolidate and rebuild parts of the structure...”
Jason and I were both pretty disappointed with the Palace of Knossos. After spending our morning and early afternoon at this place, we picked our luggage up from the hotel and took a 3 hour bus trip across Crete to the city of Chania.
The bus trip was actually pretty nice. We drove along the coast and the view in many places was very nice. Crete is much greener than Santorini and Athens. It also had mountains and pine trees – it actually looked a lot lot like Colorado in some areas. We arrived in Chania around 5:00 PM and we took off from the bus station to try to find our hotel. We walked down about two blocks and were standing at an intersection trying to figure out where we were when we finally witnessed what we are surprised we hadn't witnessed before...a car crash.
One of the first things we noticed in Athens was how crazy the drivers were – and Crete was no exception. We were waiting for the walk signal at an intersection and we saw the light turn and a black car started to go and this white car came speeding down the street and crashed right into the side of the black car which had just started to drive through the intersection. It was so close that I put my arms up to shield myself from flying debris. The impact sent the black car flying backwards into the side of a building where it finally stopped. A few seconds after it happened, it was totally silent, then suddenly, all these people came out of seemingly nowhere. Which was actually a good thing for us because we were able to ask for directions to our hotel.
Our hotel in Chania was fantastic! It was in the “old port” area, right in front of the marina and surrounded by the historic buildings and an old wall that was built by the Byzantines who took over the area in 961 AD. The area is so interesting because it looks like a Venetian city but has actually been occupied by the Romans who took over in 69 BC, and it was chosen as a “Seat of the Bishop” as Christianity appeared there in the first century AD up to the 9th century AD. From 821-961 AD Chania fell into the hands of the Arabs who were ousted by the Byzantines in 961. In the first half of the 13th century, the Venetians took over who further built up the fortifying wall around the city and from where the look of the area today came from. In 1645 the Turks seized Chania and the Catholic churches in the area were all turned into mosques. In 1913 Crete was unified with Greece.
Our hotel was really nice. Our room had a balcony that was right over the water. The view especially in the evening at sunset was absolutely amazing!
Because we wasted our time at that stinker of a site in Heriklion, we only had an evening and a full day in Chania.. We spent the first evening wandering up and down the waterfront and we had a nice dinner at a (what else?) Greek restaurant with a nice waterfront view. Then we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the night sitting on our balcony and listening to the traditional Greek folk music some musicians were playing on the street below.
The next day we went to the maritime museum which was really fascinating. A large part of the museum was dedicated to Crete's involvement in World War II. We had no idea that there were huge battles fought right there in Chania during World War II – and there were lots of pictures and and actual items from the German soldiers that invaded the island in the museum. Things like German guns and their mess kits, boots and medals, etc. We also didn't realize how close Crete is to Egypt – which is where they evacuated many of the civilians living on the island during the war. It was really interesting.
After the museum, we went on a boat ride out to some small rocky islands off the coast of Crete. The first one we went by was tiny – just a bunch of rocks really. This was the place where they made lepers and sick people go way back when. It seemed really sad as it was so small and rocky and I can't imagine how anyone could survive there. We both hoped that they at least built the people they put there a little house or something. The second island was a bit bigger and it is a nature preserve. It supposedly had goats on it but we didn't see any. We stopped at this one to see a crashed German war plane that is under the water and to snorkel. I just could not believe how incredibly clear and blue the water was! Jason convinced me to get into the water and I was going to try to snorkel – but it was just way too cold so I spent a total of about 2 minutes in the water before I wussed out and climbed back up onto the boat where I sat and shivered until we got back to Chania.
Our last night in Chania was as nice as the first. We spent most of the evening sitting on the balcony and watching the sun set. We really enjoyed this little town in Crete.
On Friday our boat did not leave until 5:45 in the evening so we spent the day in the town of Fira which was about a 20 minute bus ride away from Kamari, the town our hotel was in. Fira is the capital of Santorini and hosts a fantastic view of the caldera of the volcano that blew up the island some time between 1620 and 1520 BC. This event is what supposedly led to the myth of Atlantis.
Here is what one of the guide books I bought has to say about the Myth of Atlantis:
“One of the greatest and most fascinating enigmas of ancient history is the abrupt decline of the Minoan civilization which seems to have disappeared quite suddenly while at the height of its splendor.
In the 1930s the Greek archaeologist, Spyridon Marinatos, suggested the theory that at the end of the Minoan civilization was brought about by the tremendous eruption of Thira which, according to geologists and vulcanologists, occurred sometime between 1600 and 1520 BC.
Thira, 120 kilometers away from Crete, had already been the center of an earlier volcanic eruption 25,000 years ago, and the ashes had fallen throughout the southern part of the Mediterranean. The eruption of the second catastrophe was followed by a gigantic tsunami wave that devastated the Aegean coast, destroying cities and crops. It had been calculated that this eruption was four times more powerful than that of Krakatoa in 1883 when the sun was obscured by ash for three days and the roar of the explosion was heard at a distance of 300 miles.
In the 1970s the technique of radiocarbon dating enabled scientists to date a tree trunk found under the volcanic ash on Thira to 1470 BC The dating supported the theory of the Greek geologist and seismologist Angelo Galanopoulos who had linked the destruction of Thira to that of Atlantis, the mythical lost continent what he identified as being the Minoan civilization...it is now almost certain that the collapse of the Minoan civilization was brought about by the devastating effects of the eruption and subsequent tidal wave that destroyed Thira.
The view from Fira was beautiful! The town itself was very touristy with lots of shops so it wasn't all that impressive. We went to the archaeological museum there which was interesting – very similar to the one we went to in Athens but on a much smaller scale. I still can't get over how advanced the civilization was so long ago. It really does beg the question of what happened??
We took a different type of boat from Santorini to Crete – it only took about 2 hours. The boat was big but very fast. It was kind of like a catamaran – it ran on two skids. We arrived in Heriklion, Crete around 7:45 in the evening and our hotel was very close to the port. It was a really cute boutique hotel but Jason didn't really like it because he thought the air conditioner smelled like cheese. I didn't really smell this. It had a cute rooftop restaurant that we ate it (overpriced) and our room had a huge balcony with a nice view of the port.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
On Saturday we went to The Palace of Knossos. What a stinker of a site! This ancient Minoan site was absolutely ruined (in my opinion – and that of others, I found) by some crackpot “archaeologist” named Arthur Evans who “restored” the site from 1900-1932. This Evans character was a really wealthy guy who decided, for some reason, he was an archaeologist and that his legacy was going to be to excavate the site of Knossos. What he actually did was “restore” it with lots and lots of cement, made up really weird scenarios of what he thought the different areas of the site were and did things like reconstruct the columns and paint them, place frescoes on the walls, etc. According to the book I bought at the site “Much has been written about the restoration that Evans carried out on the ruins that he was excavating and he was much criticized by many authorities who considered his technique arbitrary and unorthodox...During the work of restoration, largely financed from Evans' own private income, modern materials such as cement, bricks, and steel were used to consolidate and rebuild parts of the structure...”
Jason and I were both pretty disappointed with the Palace of Knossos. After spending our morning and early afternoon at this place, we picked our luggage up from the hotel and took a 3 hour bus trip across Crete to the city of Chania.
The bus trip was actually pretty nice. We drove along the coast and the view in many places was very nice. Crete is much greener than Santorini and Athens. It also had mountains and pine trees – it actually looked a lot lot like Colorado in some areas. We arrived in Chania around 5:00 PM and we took off from the bus station to try to find our hotel. We walked down about two blocks and were standing at an intersection trying to figure out where we were when we finally witnessed what we are surprised we hadn't witnessed before...a car crash.
One of the first things we noticed in Athens was how crazy the drivers were – and Crete was no exception. We were waiting for the walk signal at an intersection and we saw the light turn and a black car started to go and this white car came speeding down the street and crashed right into the side of the black car which had just started to drive through the intersection. It was so close that I put my arms up to shield myself from flying debris. The impact sent the black car flying backwards into the side of a building where it finally stopped. A few seconds after it happened, it was totally silent, then suddenly, all these people came out of seemingly nowhere. Which was actually a good thing for us because we were able to ask for directions to our hotel.
Our hotel in Chania was fantastic! It was in the “old port” area, right in front of the marina and surrounded by the historic buildings and an old wall that was built by the Byzantines who took over the area in 961 AD. The area is so interesting because it looks like a Venetian city but has actually been occupied by the Romans who took over in 69 BC, and it was chosen as a “Seat of the Bishop” as Christianity appeared there in the first century AD up to the 9th century AD. From 821-961 AD Chania fell into the hands of the Arabs who were ousted by the Byzantines in 961. In the first half of the 13th century, the Venetians took over who further built up the fortifying wall around the city and from where the look of the area today came from. In 1645 the Turks seized Chania and the Catholic churches in the area were all turned into mosques. In 1913 Crete was unified with Greece.
Our hotel was really nice. Our room had a balcony that was right over the water. The view especially in the evening at sunset was absolutely amazing!
Because we wasted our time at that stinker of a site in Heriklion, we only had an evening and a full day in Chania.. We spent the first evening wandering up and down the waterfront and we had a nice dinner at a (what else?) Greek restaurant with a nice waterfront view. Then we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the night sitting on our balcony and listening to the traditional Greek folk music some musicians were playing on the street below.
The next day we went to the maritime museum which was really fascinating. A large part of the museum was dedicated to Crete's involvement in World War II. We had no idea that there were huge battles fought right there in Chania during World War II – and there were lots of pictures and and actual items from the German soldiers that invaded the island in the museum. Things like German guns and their mess kits, boots and medals, etc. We also didn't realize how close Crete is to Egypt – which is where they evacuated many of the civilians living on the island during the war. It was really interesting.
After the museum, we went on a boat ride out to some small rocky islands off the coast of Crete. The first one we went by was tiny – just a bunch of rocks really. This was the place where they made lepers and sick people go way back when. It seemed really sad as it was so small and rocky and I can't imagine how anyone could survive there. We both hoped that they at least built the people they put there a little house or something. The second island was a bit bigger and it is a nature preserve. It supposedly had goats on it but we didn't see any. We stopped at this one to see a crashed German war plane that is under the water and to snorkel. I just could not believe how incredibly clear and blue the water was! Jason convinced me to get into the water and I was going to try to snorkel – but it was just way too cold so I spent a total of about 2 minutes in the water before I wussed out and climbed back up onto the boat where I sat and shivered until we got back to Chania.
Our last night in Chania was as nice as the first. We spent most of the evening sitting on the balcony and watching the sun set. We really enjoyed this little town in Crete.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
In Rome
We arrived in Rome late last night (June 1, 2009). We did not have internet access at our hotel in Santorini and very limited internet access at our hotels in Crete so I haven't been able to post lately. I am now trying to get caught up!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
It is very island-y here. We have been advised not to drink the water and not to flush the toilet paper down the toilet.
The ride down the other side of the mountain was so-so. Just like the rest of Greece that we have seen, this island is very dry with lots of scrub brush and very few trees. The place where our hotel is at is very nice though. We are right on the beach – couldn't ask for a better location. The hotel is very cute with lots of outdoor seating for the restaurant and lots of beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach for us to use. The street up and down the beach is lined with cute little shops and other small hotels like ours. Very nice.
I'm seeing a trend here in Greece with the stray animals. There seem to be quite a few stray cats around here – none of which appear to be in the best health. Also, there were lots of dogs running around last night. Not sure if they belong to anyone or not. Some were wearing collars and some were not. All seemed dirty and not very cuddly.
The beach has black “sand” because it is volcanic sand. I put “sand” in quotes because it is really pebbles, and is not at all comfortable to walk on barefoot. The water is very clear and turquoise. Jason snorkeled pretty much all day – he saw lots of interesting fish and other sea critters. I found the water to be way too cold so I chose not to swim. Instead I sat under one of the umbrellas, read a book and tried to get a bit of a tan. No such luck. I'm still white as a ghost. I guess the 50 proof sunscreen I wore today didn't help. I didn't want to ruin my vacation with a bad sunburn though.
It is so nice staying at a hotel on the beach. We were able to come and go from our room all day as we pleased to use the restroom, get a snack, etc. I am really getting spoiled with these great hotel locations. Usually, we are so cheap when we travel that we end up staying someplace really far away from the sights. Staying in great locations makes such a difference!
I am surprised by how many Americans were in Athens, on the boat and are here in Santorini. I guess the recession isn't hurting too many people too terribly! I'm also surprised by how many of them are young college students. They are having such an incredibly different college experience than I had – that's for sure!!
Tomorrow is our last day on Santorini – we are going to go to the nearby town, Fira to see the Prehistoric Museum of Thira and to see the “Cycladic and Venetian style architecture” and in the evening we are taking a boat from here to Crete. Will post more later!
Wednesday 5/27/09
After going to the museum, we went back to the area around our hotel and had dinner. Then we went back to our room and got ready to go. Our ride picked us up at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday and we went to the port and got on a ferry to the Greek islands.
We spent most of the day on Wednesday on the ferry boat. The boat left at 7:30 a.m. and we stopped at three different islands before arriving at Santorini at around 3:30 in the afternoon. The ferry was really nice – we had seats inside but we only spent a few hours there (mostly sleeping) then we went up on deck for the rest of the trip. The water is so incredibly blue here! All of the islands look pretty much the same from the port. They are very dry looking – a lot like Phoenix – with no trees and lots of cute white buildings, many with dome roofs. Very picturesque.
When we finally got to Santorini, it was kind of weird leaving the boat. We had to put our luggage in a room when we boarded the boat so everyone had to go down, pick up luggage, and then they had us go stand in the area with the cars while we pulled up to the shore. We had to stand there while the gigantic and very loud ramp for the cars came down. It was kind of weird but interesting too.
I watched this show one time about a ferry boat that sank in 2001 near the first Greek island we stopped at, Paros, and now I can understand how a ferry can sink so quickly after seeing how big that opening is for the cars.
Last day in Athens
Tuesday 5/26/09
Today we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and we spent almost all day there. The museum was huge and had an overwhelming amount of items excavated from sites around Greece. Information overload but very interesting!
Some of the items there were so old! There were lots and lots and lots of marble statues and marble grave markers. The Greeks really went to town when someone died and either put a lot of gold in the person's grave or carved elaborate marble statues and grave markers.
There were lots of those creepy heads without eyes. My parents used to have one of those creepy eye-less Greek head statues when I was really young and I remember having nightmares about it chasing me around the house. I've been looking for the exact one they had...haven't seen it yet! Maybe I'll find it in Rome.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Athens: City of slippery marble steps, columns and stray dogs
Monday May 25, 2009Today we saw a lot of the major sites here in Athens. We went to bed last night at about 8:30 and we didn't wake up until about 8:30 this morning – we were so tired. This hotel is great! Breakfast is included with our room at this hotel and it was really good. It was buffet style with eggs, toast, bacon, etc. and also Greek food such as cucumbers and tomato with feta and stuffed grape leaves.
We filled up and headed out to the Acropolis, which is about a 2 minute walk from our hotel. The Acropolis is the site of many sites – most famous being the Parthenon.
Unfortunately for us, it was also cruise tour group time and it seemed as though everyone in the entire world was visiting the Acropolis at the same time as us, with the Princess Cruise tour group consisting of the pushiest people ever. Once we made it through the crowd though, it was an amazing sight to see. 
I really can't imagine how people in ancient times were able to construct such huge buildings without the technology we have today. In addition to the Parthenon, we also saw the Theatre of Dionysos, Herodes Atticus Theater, the Old Temple of Athena, Ancient Agora and the Hephaisteion Temple. All were very interesting! We also went to a small museum inside of the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos. The museum had some really interesting things – such as a “water clock” 2 jugs, one filled with water that poured into another that was used to time speeches (a little over 6 minutes) and an ancient potty chair for children! There was also a jury choosing machine they invented which was basically a big slab of rock or marble with lots of little slits cut into it and they would drop in colored balls and if the color ball you chose came out at the end determined if you were called to jury duty – amazing! I never would have thought of that.
Theater of Dionysos
Jason at the Old Temple of Athena
Hephaisteion: better known as Thisseion (449-447 BC) is one of the world's best preserved Greek temples due to its protection from the Greek Orthodox Church which used it from the 7th Century to 1834.
View from Hephaisteion with the Acropolis in the background
After spending much of the day at Acropolis, we wandered through the “Plaka” area – which is a neighborhood with mostly pedestrian streets full of shops and restaurants. Then we came back to the hotel to freshen up a bit and then we went to the Temple of Olympian Zeus which literally across the street from our hotel. What is left of this temple is really awesome – especially the column that fell down. It was huge! We also went to some nearby ruins that are still being excavated. After visiting the Temple of Olympian Zeus, we went back to the Plaka area and had some really good food.
Jason beside one section of the Temple of Olympian ZeusAthens is a big, sprawling city. The area outside of the airport looked kind of like Phoenix. It is very dry and dusty here. The area where we are is old and somewhat dirty – but there are some very charming neighborhoods and buildings around. There are lots and lots of stray dogs. There are also a lot of dogs running around that seem like they must belong to somebody because they are wearing a collar. They all seem very lazy and dirty. There were lots of stray dogs when we went to Bangkok but they were scary – the strays here in Athens are not scary but definitely don't seem cuddly. So far, we're having a really good time. We are getting ready to go back out to see the Parthenon and some of the other sites around the area lit up at night.
Tomorrow we are going to the National Archaeological Museum. I'll post more soon!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
We Made It!
We are here in Athens now. It was a long trip. We flew into London and had to switch planes there. Heathrow is an insanely busy airport!
Here is a question for you: what happens when Nikki drinks a margarita, 2 glasses of wine and eats Indian airplane food for dinner? She gets an incredibly upset stomach! Things were really rough there for a bit. Luckily, the airport here in Athens has a pharmacy and Jason was able to find some medicine for me. I'm not sure what it was - the pharmacist told him to take up to 3 a day - but it sure worked well! I'm feeling much better now.
Our hotel is nice - a bit funky but clean and in an EXCELLENT location. We are literally across the street from the Acropolis. We walked around the neighborhood a bit this evening and found some food - but we are beat! So, we are in for the evening and will go see the sights tomorrow.
Check back soon for more interesting posts and pictures...
Here is a question for you: what happens when Nikki drinks a margarita, 2 glasses of wine and eats Indian airplane food for dinner? She gets an incredibly upset stomach! Things were really rough there for a bit. Luckily, the airport here in Athens has a pharmacy and Jason was able to find some medicine for me. I'm not sure what it was - the pharmacist told him to take up to 3 a day - but it sure worked well! I'm feeling much better now.
Our hotel is nice - a bit funky but clean and in an EXCELLENT location. We are literally across the street from the Acropolis. We walked around the neighborhood a bit this evening and found some food - but we are beat! So, we are in for the evening and will go see the sights tomorrow.
Check back soon for more interesting posts and pictures...
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration 2009
Hello All - I have not posted on this blog for a couple of years - but I thought it would be a good place to put our pictures and tell our little story about the inauguration. (pics above)
The night Obama was elected we knew we were going to the inauguration. How could we not go? We live right here!! At the time, PGCC wasn't scheduled to be closed and I knew we would be busy because the first day of the semester is Thursday, January 22nd. But I couldn't imagine living right here and not going to this awesome event so I told my boss I was going no matter what!
Luckily, last week they decided to close the school. So I didn't have to take the day off after all.
Jason and I had it all planned out - we were going to go to the public area on the mall with some friends. We knew we were not going to be able to really see anything (except on the jumbo screens) but we just kept thinking - how could we live right here and not go witness history and participate in the goodwill and fun of this election?
So, you can imagine our excitement when at the very last minute, on Saturday night, a friend called us and offered some tickets she received at the last minute to the "silver" area. The silver area is the farthest from the capital building and is basically the cheap seats, nonetheless, it was a ticketed area, and we figured we were practically guaranteed a place to stand and to be able to see something.
For weeks now, the local news has been warning about this event. We were very prepared to stand for very long periods of time in gigantic crowds with limited access to food, drink, warmth or toilets.
That is why I bundled up and chose not to drink any coffee this morning. I really wanted to, but I am sooo glad I didn't!
We also saw on the news before we left this morning the long, long, long lines at the metro stations. And the weather forecast - very, very cold!
We bundled up and set out at about 7:15 a.m. this morning. The metro was not so bad at all. There were not a lot of people at our station and we actually managed to find seats on the train. By the time we got down to Metro Center (the main metro station – (http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm see link to the metro page for reference), the train was packed. We had to transfer to the blue line - and that was even more packed. But still, we've both experienced just as bad during rush hour so it wasn't a huge shock.
As we approached L'Enfant Station, an announcement was made that the train would not be stopping at that station because of crowds. We were not too worried because we were getting off on Federal Center - 1 stop past. Then, another announcement was made that the train would not be stopping there either. Everyone let out huge collective groan. We all knew (especially the people planning on getting off at L'Enfant) we were going to have to backtrack a long way to get to our ticket gate.
When the train got to Federal Center station, it slowed...and then stopped. Not expecting to get off, everyone was complaining about what was happening - when suddenly, the doors opened! I yelled to Jason "go go go!!" and we all ran and got off the train.
The station was soooooo packed. How packed was it? They stopped charging fares and they were just letting everyone exit for free. We joined the masses and went up to street level. We saw the sign "silver area" with an arrow pointing us down the street. We started walking that way when an inauguration helper pointed us in the opposite direction. So we walked, and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked....past lots and lots and lots and lots of people already in the silver line when finally, we found the end of the line over by L'Enfant station.
We stood in that spot for about an hour – only moving about half a block. There were some street vendors right next to us that kept us entertained. They were selling T-shirts and binoculars, pins and Obama watches - “Obama time two dimes!” “Obama time...two dimes!”
At first, it didn't seem so cold. But as the morning wore on, the wind picked up and it started getting really, really cold. We got to know the people in the line around us and we all started taking turns going into the buildings near us to us to warm up.
Finally, at around 10:00 a.m. The line started moving. We walked and walked and then suddenly, people started trying to cut in line. The nerve! We had been standing out there for hours, frozen to the bone and now these people were going to try to cut in front? Well, the two guys standing behind us would have none of that. They started yelling at the people who were trying to cut and the cutters actually tried to argue they'd been there all along! That's when we all joined in. We had formed our own little community in that section of the line. We had all exchanged small talk. We may not have known each others names but we certainly recognized each others faces – and we KNEW this group of line cutters had been nowhere near our little line community. We successfully exiled them. I told them that Obama would not approve!
Finally, we were back where we first came out of the subway station – hours before. We rounded the corner, could see the silver gate...we thought we were nearly there.
Then, the line died. It stopped moving. We all started to get nervous. It was 11:00. We knew that they were not letting anyone else through the gates after 11:30. Would we make it?? Then, people started walking past us telling us it was no use! They were not letting anyone else in!! We couldn't understand – we had tickets! TICKETS! We were PROMISED a space in the silver mall standing area. We had been standing in line for over 3 hours! How could they NOT let us in??
Gradually, the line turned into a mob. Our little line community began to disintegrate. We lost the tall guy with the white scarf. Then, the three women in front of us disappeared. Finally the other tall guy and the young girl were gone. We looked at each other. What do we do? Do we leave?
We couldn't turn back now. It was after 11:00. If we left now, there was no way we'd get to another area on the mall with a jumbo screen in time to see the inauguration. We decided to keep moving toward the silver gate. We figured, even if they don't let us in, maybe we'll still be able to see – or hear something.
The crowd was mad. People were disappointed. The crowd started chanting “let us in!” “let us in!” “let us in!!” and people were holding their tickets up and waving them.
Then, suddenly, we don't know what happened – but the crowd started surging forward and the next thing we knew – we made it through the silver gate! Whatever security checkpoints that were there (and holding up the line for all those hours) were gone! We got in! We could see the capitol building! We could hear music! We were so excited.
And still, the crowd kept moving...and we kept moving with it. Then, we found ourselves next to cement security barriers – with lots of open space right on the other side. Open space meant for us silver ticket people!
Next thing we know – everyone (including us) is jumping over the cement barrier. We were free! So much open space! And the crowd kept moving us forward. Then we came upon a metal security fence with even more open space on the other side of it!! We all jumped that fence and ran! Literally ran! Everyone was laughing and shouting and so happy! We made it to the silver area! We MADE IT TO THE SILVER AREA!! And it was open and free. We all moved up as close as we could to the fence surrounding the reflecting pool in front of the capitol building and then, the crowd stopped moving and we all stood there and listened to the inauguration. We were just in time.
OK, so we couldn't actually see the people up there, but we could see that there were people up there! And we were right next to a speaker so we could hear really well. There were some jumbo screens in the area on the other side of the reflecting pool. Those tall enough could see them and had an even better view. It was awesome. We were there! We really felt like we were a part of history. It was amazing. At that moment, the cold, the waiting, the lack of coffee, it was all worth it. Everyone around us was so happy. There was a lot of “whoo hooo-ing" going on and just lots of happiness. And, it was a lot warmer standing in the middle of all those people.
We stayed through the very end. And then, we fought the crowds to get home.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Sapporo
I've been in Sapporo since last Friday and it has been a very busy week. I attended a conference over the weekend and met a lot of very interesting people. On Monday I interviewed a person, on Tuesday I transcribed and prepared for two presentations I was invited to give at Fuji Women's University, presented my research on Wednesday and had another interview today.
The place I'm staying, The Sapporo Guest House is FANTASTIC! It is a facility for people doing research in Sapporo and there are guest rooms, conference rooms, classrooms, a small library and it is in the middle of a beautiful park. I wish I could stay here longer.
I really like Sapporo it is quite unlike the other places I've been in Japan. The weather is quite cool and the air is very clear. It is easy to get around and if I ever move back to Japan, I want to live up here (though I hear winters are very harsh with a lot of snow).
Jason arrives tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to seeing him.
That's about it for now. Too much going on and not enough time!
Friday, June 02, 2006
A Long Week of Studying
Well, I've been here a week and it has been a long one. They placed me in the absolute beginners class which began last Friday. It took me about half an hour to realize that this class level placement is far too low for me... and I wasn't the only person in the class that felt this way. We went to the school administrators on Friday after class to express our concern and we were told it was either the beginners class or begin with Chapter 15. While we all agreed we may not be quite ready for Chapter 15 yet, we were certainly far beyond "hello", "goodbye" and "good morning".
So, they tried to speed the class up a bit to accommodate. However, there were a few people in the class that actually were absolute beginners and they quickly became quite lost and overwhelmed. Apparently, a number of people in the class requested refunds and on Tuesday night around 9:30 PM the teachers visited all of our dorms to tell us there would be a test the following day for those of us who are beyond the beginners class but not quite at Chapter 15 yet and if we received 70% on the test, they would create a class for us that began with Chapter 8.
We all (those of us who felt we didn't belong in the absolute beginners class) passed the test and began our "new" class on Thursday. However, because we've spent most of the week in the other class, we zoomed through Chapters 8 and 9 on Thursday and Chapter 10 today and we have to finish Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 this weekend and we will begin with Chapter 12 on Monday. It went from one extreme to the other! I was up very late last night preparing for class today and I have a ton of homework to do this weekend.
However, I do need a break! So, tomorrow I am going to go to Osaka and/or Kobe with my friends Taube and Julian.
Here are some pictures of Yamamoto House (my dorm). It is in a very residential neighborhood but the building we're in is a bit strange. I also took a picture of myself working at my desk. A bit cheesy, yes but Jason thought I should post a picture of myself.
I'll post more later!
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