Today was jam-packed with activities! We started out our day at the aquarium (ενυδρείο = enydreío), and saw some incredible sea creatures including a turtle, sharks, and sea horses. That fish in the picture was my favorite thing in the exhibit because it reminded me of my childhood stuffed animal, which was a fish with big eyes and a huge mouth. I’ve been to several aquariums in my lifetime, but it was nice that we were the only people in the exhibit and that we could take our time seeing things for ourselves, without a commercialized feeling attached to it.
After the aquarium, we made a short trip into Heraklion and had about half an hour to spare before we met with some representatives of the EU in Crete. I went to the post office with Theodore to get postage stamps (γραμματόσημα = grammatósima) for my postcards. I like to send postcards to friends and family when I go on vacation, but this time I sent fourteen because I came to Greece by myself. We had to get a number (αριθμός = arithmós) and waited in line, but someone was kind enough to swap numbers with me, so that I could get what I needed faster.
I met up with the rest of the group at the EU Embassy, and we learned about their role on maintaining European presence on Crete. It was interesting how they mentioned that they must keep in mind a broad audience because when it comes to the island, there are people who live in the city, and people who live in the mountains—it is imperative that they are able to acknowledge diverse needs, and provide proper education about why they should care about being part of the EU. Someone asked about the train collision in Athens, and if it correlated with the smashed windows and graffiti on the city streets. The representative explained that people were protesting against the way civil servants are hired, as they can move from job to job with minimal training. This can create many unqualified workers in the system.
It was a short walk after that to the Heraklion Ancient Technological Museum. As an engineering major, I found this museum particularly interesting, as we were shown various technologies that were used in Ancient Greece for religious, measurement, and creative purposes. Science and religion were deeply intertwined back in the day. In fact, clergymen would pay inventors to bridge the connection between gods and humans through small innovations (it’s reminding me of Arcane!!!)
For example, an early prototype of a “vending machine” would dispense water when offered a coin. It would not discriminate between a large or a small coin, symbolizing that the gods accepted everyone, regardless of their social status. People believed that the water was miraculously appearing from the gods, when in truth, the inner-workings of the vase showed a simple pulley system, in which only the weight needed to be overcome to dispense the water—it was not an act of faith, just an invention!
Afterwards, we went to the Ostrich farm and did a little bit of dancing. If anyone was hesitant to dance at first, they seemed to be enjoying it greatly by the end of the session. Everyone came together for a circular dance, which started slow, but became faster and faster as it progressed. We had the opportunity to dance along to live music, played by the lyra, a three-stringed instrument, and a rhythmic guitar. I play a few instruments myself, so it was cool to see musicians in action!
We ended the day by going on Crete TV and meeting the mayor of the region back at Ideal Hotel. I was nervous to go on live television, but thankfully I didn’t have to do that much! The mayor seemed very genuine and down-to-earth. We learned that he was Maria’s classmate! He answered our questions about what it was like in his position and he entertained them, with Maria as a translator. Before he left, he gave us little gifts as souvenirs to take home. It was a quite an eventful day, but I was able to experience so many things, and for that I am thankful.
Greek Words
ενυδρείο = enydreío = aquarium
γραμματόσημα = grammatósima = postcard
αριθμός = arithmós = number
στρουθοκάμηλος = strouthokámilos = ostrich
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