Daily Updates
Week Eight: May 9
09 May: Kari and Melissa Reporting: After a night’s rest in the nicest Galaxy hotel we’ve seen in Greece, we left for our day at Oeniadai. We had been forewarned to wear long pants and expect a large overgrown site and were pleasantly surprised to find it filled with Greek workers weedwhacking the place (where were they yesterday at Stratos?!). Our goal for the site was to write up an entry for the archaeological Blue Guide. We broke up into small groups and spent the morning wandering around the area. The site was inhabited by various wildlife, including but not limited to dirty sheep (like we haven’t seen them before), people-shy cattle (or “cowies” as Katie liked to refer to them), toads, turtles and lots of snakes (and by lots, we mean LOTS). Reactions to the latter species varied from elaborate staring contests to screaming “oh my God!”, running in place, clapping hands, and finally running away (these last four reactions were all demonstrated in a single coordinated move by our illustrious leader Elizabeth upon finding an innocent little snake sunning itself—later, she also found another snake in the toilet and we can only hope her reaction was a bit more contained). The site itself was incredible. The theater was extremely well-preserved, but the small temple and baths left something to be desired. The most amazing part of the site were the ship sheds, which are the best preserved we’ve seen so far since the huge building was cut straight from the bedrock. After we had our fill of the site, we met back at the theater only to discover that Evan was still wandering around somewhere. We organized a retrieval party and set out to find him. Of course, he turned up at the theater within five minutes of the party’s departure and those of us who had to climb hills in search of him were none too happy. After a lunch break and the Greek workers had left, we put on a very compelling, heart-wrenching rendition of the first act of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starring the up and coming young actress Leslie Bonaventura as Hamlet. Miss Rebecca Perkins also turned in an exquisite performance as the Lords and Attendants, a career-making role. Keep an eye on these two young ladies, folks. You’ll see their names in lights one day.
09 May:
09 May: The theater of ancient Oeniadai.
09 May: Getting ourselves together to explore the site.
09 May: One of the many snakes we saw today!
09 May: The site was full of animals: sheep, cows, turtles, snakes.
09 May: Michael, turtle lover extraordinaire, finds an old turtle's shell.
09 May: An ominous sign or art nouveau? Only time will tell...
09 May: A live turtle.
09 May: The fortification walls at Oeniadai.
09 May: Part of a tower.
09 May: Polygonal masonry from the fortification walls.
09 May: The incredibly well preserved ship sheds.
09 May: The ship sheds.
09 May: The fortifications from afar.
09 May: The ship sheds.
09 May: A local cow.
09 May: Michael hangs from one of the gates in the fortification walls.
09 May: Having lunch and gearing up for the group performance of Hamlet in the Oeniadai theater.
09 May: Elizabeth, your friendly TA.
09 May: Getting into character for the play: Ani as Bernardo.
09 May: Rebecca as the royal attendant.
09 May: Mike as Horatio, Chris as Marcellus and Randy as Francisco.
09 May: The happy family: Katie as Laertes, Anais as Polonius, and Melissa as Ophelia.
09 May: Liz and Sarah as the one-liners: Cornelius and Vortion respectively.
09 May: Evan sports his still bloodshot eye and makes a great ghost.
09 May: Sarah and Kari as the incestuous couple, Claudius and Gertrude.
09 May: And last, but by no means least, Hamlet herself, Leslie.
09 May: Act 1, scene 1 of Hamlet.
09 May: Hamlet talks to his father's ghost.
09 May: The audience is glued to their stone seats.
09 May: Hamlet and Horatio.
09 May: Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus, who has acquired a club foot for this production.
09 May: The drama finishes dramatically with a round of laughter from the ghost. THE END.