Everyone (including my family) returned safely from our second free-travel period last night, and we are settling down into our class routine again. I will try to bring the blog up to date in the next few days.
Our group set out from Athens on the morning of October 9 for the port of Patras. After a drive of about three hours, we arrived and boarded our ferry, which was identical in most respects to the first one we rode, for the return trip to Italy. The ship departed in the afternoon, and we had an overnight journey that was for the most part uneventful. I actually got some work done because I was able to claim a corner of one of the lounges where I was able to plug in the computer and edit some book reviews.
The ferry docked in Ancona late Friday morning. Giorgio was there waiting for us with the bus, and we spent the next few hours driving back to Citerna, with a stop for lunch at a roadside station along the way. Once back, we had about an hour to unpack before classes began. I think we started around 3:45 and went until after 7:00. It was a grueling day.
From Friday until the following Wednesday we had class every day. Because this stretch marked the mid-point of our class schedule for the semester, many of the classes (including my own) had their mid-term exams. I still have several tests to grade from one of my classes. There were many late-night study sessions and frantic attempts to write and submit papers over the six-day period. We worshipped here in Citerna on Sunday the 12th, and the male students began a weekly discussion group to explore spiritual questions (the girls have had periodic devotionals since the beginning of the semester).
I don't recall any other noteworthy events from those six days. Of course, the students had to plan their second free-travel period which began Wednesday afternoon, but I'll discuss that in the next post.
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