Greece: Initial Reflections

We’re back from Greece, safe n’ sound.  I’ll post some things about it in the coming days, but here are some initial reflections:

Greek archaeological sites: A tip for Ancient Korinthos: If you do go, be sure not to stick to the enclosed site: If you go over the road, you’ll find the ancient theatre and odeum… There’s nothing stopping you from going and investigating, although there are no signs or information.  I even stumbled across the famous Erastus Pavement: An inscription about the Corinthian politician, named by Paul in Romans 16.

Greek language: Modern Greek is much closer to New Testament Greek than I had realised – meaning that it’s very easy to get by in Greece with a knowledge of NT Greek: From newspapers to menus, much is understandable.  I also found myself even more convinced of the value of learning a language by immersion: Just staying in Greece for a few days and having to use a few phrases helped me to feel more at home in Greek – and I’m more interested than ever in thinking about including a degree of verbal immersion in teaching NT Greek in the future.

Greek people: The people in Greece were overwhelmingly friendly and helpful.  After our car accident, one bypasser looked after us, made sure we could convey our information to the police properly, helped us find our hotel, checked on us the next day, and insisted we call on him for any further help we needed.  People were very accommodating and ready to chat.

Greek driving: Hmmm… well see my previous post… and see below for Greek parking style: When they’re not double parking, they’re accomplishing quite creative feats of space-efficiency…