Μυ %ιγ Φατ Γρεεκ Σαββατικαλ

(My Big Fat Greek Sabbatical)

(last updated June 18, 2004 ) 

Welcome to the homepage for the Reger/Folta year in Greece, updated now to include photos and descriptions of a very busy spring.   We update this journal irregularly, as the inspiration strikes us.  Send us any questions you may have!

Our year in Greece is over -- it's a sad time but an exciting one, too, as we think about seeing old friends and getting back into the rhythms (yuck!) of work and all. We'll keep updating this page and adding things (Gary in particular still has about 15 pages partly written!) even after we are back, till we have said what we have to say. (For something about the continuation of this web project, see the end of the page.)

We have two new reports from Alison on Alison's Friends and Riding the Bus.

From Caroline we have a new report on Greece Gifts.

And Edie and Gary present Caroline's Mini Olympics and  Alison's exciting Sports Day at Byron College, a daytrip to Delphi, Easter at the American School, then our Easter week trip to Crete with pictures from around the island, and around Athens in April with Edie's cousin Denise, as well as a special feature on the beautiful spring flowers of Crete.  Also, a report on our kids' starring roles in the April assemblies at their school. 

Edie's got some older entries on A Trip though the Athenian Agora, More around the Neighborhood, Spring Flora, Greek Independence Day,  and Everyday Egypt in pictures, The Art of Christmas, Gardening and the Weather, and Rugs.  Still older stuff is:  Thanksgiving Night at the Bouzoukeria; and also Past and Present, Domestic Economy, which has been revised and now contains pictures, Byron College, The School Year Begins and Learning Greek;

Caroline has a new entry, Floppy, as well as her classics:  Visiting the Akropolis and Shopping in the Plaka;

Alison on Our House -- and both the kids together present Alison and Caroline's Frequently Asked Questions and  Stupid Pictures! --

(right)  Edie meets guy in Arbor Acres cap, selling guidebooks at the pyramids

and Gary's opus magnum, On the Road with Kids, Part 3. The Athenian Diary Goes to Egypt.  Gary just returned from another two-week trip to Egypt to explore the oases of the Western Desert; so stay tuned for a full report! In the meantime, though, here are just a few pictures of the incredible sights and sites that he saw! The full story, which will be posted as available, appears in The Athenian Diary Goes Back to Egypt -- The Western Desert. There are now several days' worth up; check it out! For our third trip to the Argolid, this time with visiting friends, check out On the Road with Kids, Part 4. One More Time in the Argolid, and a Side Trip to Lakonia, with Friends. Finally, Gary has begun to put up a page on his trip to Turkey with colleagues in April.

Gary also has two other new entries: A Night of Exotic Dining -- Greek Agriculture Meets Archeon Gevseis, reporting on the final celebratory dinner of his ASCSA seminar in an Athenian restaurant claiming to cook genuine ancient Greek food, and The Greeks Vote -- Elections, 2004, a short report on the elections held Sunday, March 7, 2004.

You can find Gary's older entries archived here.                                At right, loot from Egypt

Planned trips: Possibly Sparta and the southern Peloponnesos.   And once the weather turns good to stay, we will have to make a trip to those much-vaunted (and deservedly so!) Greek islands!  Much excitement to come, even though we are now only two months or so from our return to America!

Please write to us, as it's always good to hear from friends! It's easy: 

            Gary's email is: gary.reger@trincoll.edu

            Edie's email is: eafolta@hotmail.com

Contact one of us if you want to write directly to the kids. 

And if you've really got a lot of time to waste, you can check out the current weather in Athens, today's traffic situation in Athens (always abysmal), the great new Metro system, or the opening times and current exhibits of museums and cultural attractions.  You can also check out the English edition of the Kathimerini newspaper (the conservative daily paper) or the Athens News, which is a weekly aimed at the English-speaking community in Athens. You can read some really charming letters from Athens in George Vecsey's Postcards, a feature in the New York Times by a sports writer in Athens for the Olympics. He has a great eye for telling detail and a refreshing taste for daily life.

For the continuation of our "adventures" at home in West Hartford, Connecticut, click here!