Of late: subbing, diphthongs and R.E.M.

I received a birthday card this year that read "You're officially too old for rock concerts." And as I sit here writing this, sniffling and thinking about what tea to drink before bed, I'm worried that may be true. I'll come back around to this sometime. 

Last week I substitute taught a couple of classes. One of my favorite teachers was absent and had asked me to cover for her for the day. Highlights include teaching Greek 11th graders about the Black Panthers in a segment on MLK Jr. and the civil rights era, interpreting an excerpt from the Joy Luck Club with precocious seventh graders and general feelings of competency in the classroom. Only two guys in one class gave me any trouble, and it was both harmless and somewhat amusing, though I tried to keep my amusement under wraps. Two boys sitting front an center in an exam skills class kept talking when they were supposed to be taking a practice test. Then one of them begins telling me that the other is swearing at him in Greek. I offer my condolences but admit that I speak no Greek and advise his friend to swear in English so I can understand. He declined. So it goes. I still only know one Greek cuss word. I didn't hear it.

Speaking of Greek: our classes began this evening. Way, way too many vowels -- 6 e sounds, 2 o's, 2 a's and a variety of vowel combinations that sounds like other vowels. Our teacher seems great, and is mostly interested in our learning conversational Greek at first, and catching up with the grammar later on if we decide to stick with it throughout the year. I'm hoping to -- I keep having great conversations with cab drivers who are eager to teach me a couple of words. I should keep a notepad for new vocabulary. I'll get on that. 

So! This weekend. In high school I studied in France for a summer with a group of about 12 Americans, one of whom happened to be coming through Athens over the weekend. We met up on Sunday and went to the Monastiraki flea market which is incredible. I want to go back sometime by myself to really snoop through the piles of antique jewelry and old Greek comic books. We went to the Roman Agora, Hadrian's library, the ancient marketplace, and my personal favorite: the temple of the winds. It's a stout hexagonal tower at the foot of the Parthenon that was used to measure the winds, the time of day and the rain. Each side has a different personification of various winds beneath which lines have been carved into the marble to act as sundials. There was also something on a plaque about how on days without sun, the rain measured the time of day. This is either the best mistranslation in the history of historical plaques, or proof that Ancient Greece was not only the birthplace of modern democracy, but of magical realism as well. Probably (hopefully) both. 

It's still Sunday: post archeological sites we head through the National Gardens to the Panathinaiko Stadium where the first modern Olympic games were held. This was not the last stop on our tour of ancient ruins, but rather a return to the 21st (or at least the 20th) century. You see, Greece has recently gained its very own MTV station, a station which, from what I've seen, plays repeats of Rihanna songs with the occasional Madonna/Justin Timberlake dreamteam combo. Perfect. So, in celebration of this new station, R.E.M. played a FREE CONCERT. Their latter-day uber-politico-rock seems only OK, but "Losing my Religion" and "End of the World as We Know it" more than compensate. A fantastic Sunday. 

And yet, that birthday card. I was way underdressed, not having planned on staying out until the wee hours when I first left the house. Excuses, excuses, I know, but now I'm sniffly. 

And it is time for tea.