EC EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUMMER PROGRAMS: Crete at First Glance

Friday, June 2, 2017

Crete at First Glance

Beauty. Humility. Generosity. Family.

That is what Crete at first glance is. And second and third and fourth.

Being here on the island for the first few days has given me a chance to open up, take in my first impressions, and digest a little bit of the enchantment I am in for these next three weeks now. The classroom has contained great lessons and conversations that have translated throughout interactions outside of the institute.

Earlier in the week, Dr. V and I took a drive to give Yannis, a man that helps around the institute, a ride home to his village in the mountains. A very beautiful, yet curious, ride. Much of my time here has been spent watching, observing. Dr. V pointed out the olive nets lining mountains while respecting the trees as they ran around them, waiting for the olives to fall. We acknowledged the amount of work that something like that must take. The labor that must go into the lining of the nets as well as collecting the olives once a year when they have fallen and are ready - a curious and dreadful idea. One that you can admire, but could never imagine living. Cretans are a very admirable people. Their hard work and love for their hard work is beyond anything we students could truly understand. Visiting the Manousaki winery, we learned about the love that Cretans have for their wine. Romeiko. A wine that the Cretans are fighting for due to new refined wines moving in because of tourism and the taste for wine changing. In a way Romeiko parallels the idea of love for their hard work. The authenticity of their wine, whether it is drinkable or not. It comes from their island and their culture, therefore it is something to be proud of. It is this sort of character that I feel brings enchantment to this island amongst other admirable characteristics.

It is immensely refreshing to see a people so proud of their island and what they have worked for. In many ways, the island reminds me of my own island in the South Pacific - American Samoa. Family as a priority. God. An honorable work ethic. It is more than the natural beauty of the island, but rather the beauty the people bring to it as well. For the next three weeks, I am motivated to explore further the parallels as well as the unique qualities of this island that reminds me of home. And I think many others who are from other places on the globe can also agree that a little bit of home is found here for everyone. Crete beyond first glance, I am learning, is more than enchanting and breathtaking, but an intricate gem located in a very important place on the map. I am moved to work towards delving beyond first and second glance of this majestic island and really dig deep as to its importance in the Mediterranean.

No comments:

Post a Comment

EC Eastern Security Studies Program

In the summer of 2011, as the "Arab Spring" was unfolding and the "Eurozone Crisis" was entering its second year, the Emmanuel College Eastern Mediterranean Security Studies Program was established in Crete, as a way to make the location the classroom. Beyond the grand theoretical, historical and political understanding that can be achieved through reading and classroom discussion and exchange, a more immediate, intimate and truer appreciation of the complexities can only achieved by experiencing the cultures, languages of personal interaction.

Since 2012 students have been able to combine an intensive curricular study, with the experience of immersion and living in a local setting. The geopolitical and geoeconomic forces that have acted in the region for centuries, can be identified in the classroom, but they can only be understood by being there. This year's EC EMSS Program will add a fourth week of study, experience and exploration and will also travel to the islands of Rhodes, and Cyprus. In Rhodes we will be partnering with the Prefecture of Southern Aegean and the Aegean University, while in Cyprus we will be hosted by the University of Nicosia.