Elizabeth Short

Ok. An end statement.

Today, as we sat eating our last gyros (tear) on a bench in Monastirkai, it seemed like only a week ago that we had stood in a huddle and eaten our very first gyros there. The term seemed to fly by, and yet, we’ve done, seen, and learned so much since those first gyros. I’ve had the most amazing time getting to know the people on this trip and seeing all the beautiful and awe-inspiring things we have seen. I feel a very close bond to the friends I’ve made on this trip, and to Greece itself. PCC once quoted Virginia Wolff, something to the effect of, “You can’t really know a person and not like them,” and I’ve found that to be completely true, both of the people on this trip and Greece itself.

For me, this trip was about joie. Every day, we would wake up and see something absolutely breathtaking; a piece of artwork, a mountain, the hazy purple light over the ocean…you just can’t be sad when you are surrounded by so much beauty.

When we read Herodotus in CLST. 19, we talked about how the Croesus story was a paradigmatic story for the entire Histories (non-veterans of CLST 19, bear with me for a second). Retrospectively, I decided that my personal experience with the Jameson Raid paper was a paradigmatic story all of CLST 19, and now, retrospectively, the day we spent at Kassope is a paradigmatic story for this FSP. In keeping with the standard routine, I will not tell you what I’m thinking and share my take aways from Kassope.

We went to Kassope while we were staying in Preveza in Northern Greece. At Kassope we did a fun assignment, yes actually FUN. We walked around this pretty abandoned site and decided where we would want to dig to get more information about the site, which was really cool to think about. Then, the sun came out, and we were given the task of making a flower wreath for the woman at the hotel because it was May Day (May 1st) and making flower wreaths is what you do. So we started making these flower wreaths and everyone joined in as they finished their assignment. At first, weaving these flowers was really tricky and fruitless…they kept falling apart! However, once we realized that all you had to do was braid the stems, we started making these awesome flower wreaths. Before you knew it, we had enough wreaths for everyone, even PCC and Sarah!

Then, we stood on some column drums and played WAH! in our awesome flower crowns. The air was full of sunshine, springtime, joie and the sounds of laughter and WAH! rang through the mountainside.

It was a perfect day. I had a lot of perfect days here, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. I love this FSP. How’s that for an end statement?