Today I'll finish posting the pictures from Mykonos. Most of my commentary today will have nothing to do with these pictures.

Yesterday I met Vincent (Fulbrighter from NY)for coffee. He's a professional, not an academic, and he was working on a project rather than teaching/research, so his Fulbright experience has been quite different from mine. We talked about university teaching. I think he may have an interest in a second career: maybe not changing but adding to what he's doing. I
reminded myself how fortunate I am to have the job I have.

Most of the Cycladic islands have these windmills but Mykonos, being the most photogenic, has them all just so. They're all out of commission since they don't grind flour this way any longer. I wonder how hard it would be to convert them to energy production. With the cost of energy it would seem to be a practical thing to do.

Last evening was my last time meeting with the

documentary class. I was little sad to say goodbye to them. Of the three classes this is the one that has come closest to "regular" teaching. I think they were glad to have me teach the class this semester. Several of them are planning to ask me to write recommendation letters for them in the future. A couple were surprised that I would be willing to do so. Given the fact that so many students don't attend the lectures I have to think that those who do are going "above and beyond."


Along the shore are bars and tavernas, facing
west, to optimize views of sunset.

After shaking hands with all the students I raced back to the apartment to meet up with Kim, Mark and Martha. The department was hosting a farewell dinner for me at a nearby fish restaurant. Not only did they invite Kim and me but they also kindly asked if there was anyone else we would like to include, which is why Mark and Martha attended. The Fulbright executive director was also there. They had also extended an invitation to the Ambassador and his wife, even though we didn't expect them to show.
You know - one of those professional courtesy invitations. The announcement of the dinner listed 9 p.m. (a little early by Greek standards) but we arrived about 9:15 and at least half of the group had not arrived by then. Most everyone was there by 9:30. We sat outside at a long table. It was the first time I met the spouses of several of the professors. I even met one of the professors for the first time.


It should go without saying that the food was excellent and there was way too much of it. We had a couple of items that were new to us. We
have had both squid and octopus before but these appetizers were prepared very differently. The squid was done with a pesto sauce and the octopus had a honey glaze. Both were served on a bed of shoestring potatoes (evidently a mark of the restaurant).


I happened to be seated next to Artemis, the Fulbright director, and asked her whether she was regularly invited to farewell dinners for Fulbrighters are she said never. What's more, she said, she didn't believe that departments ever have such farewell dinners. She kindly said that
she said it was a tribute to me. I humbly told her that it's not a tribute to me but rather to what a great department Communication and Media at the University of Athens is, and that she should do whatever she can to see to it that they get a Fulbrighter on a regular basis. I believe that if there is a regular rotation every year, or even every other year, it allows them to get into a pattern. There is always a ramping up time at the beginning of a Fulbright grant as I know from my vast experience of doing two (insert sarcastic tone here). If a department - any department - had a regular schedule of hosting visiting professors, they could build it into their schedule,
and it would be better for all. Of course there's a practical limitation. If Fulbright is only granting a handful of professors receive grants each year and one particular program gets grantees on a regular basis it could cause a lot of friction. One of the major goals of Fulbright is to improve relations, not make them worse.


Dinner went late into the evening. Fortunately the restaurant was only 10 minutes from our apartment so we made it home by 1 a.m. I felt sorry for Professor Sorogas who lives more than an hour's drive on the north side of Athens.


This tree's trunk would have made an interesting picture on its own. The fact that the cat was resting up there was just a bonus.

May 26 was Anthony and Megan's second wedding anniversary. When we got home from the restaurant we tried calling them (it was mid-afternoon in California) but didn't reach them. Had to settle for leaving them a phone message and posting on their Facebook pages.

This last picture for today is the start of my pictures from the island of Rhodes. We left Mykonos Friday evening and arrived in Rhodes Saturday morning (our anniversary). The port town is a medieval town so it had a very familiar feel after living in Macerata twice. A lot of it is not original but was reconstructed by Mussolini back in the 1930s. He and the King of Italy were setting this up either for retirement or summer home or something but that kind of never worked out. This picture is part of the triple-moat system built as protection. Interestingly it was designed as a dry moat. I didn't know there were such things.