The Last Lecture

This week I traveled to Karditsa and Trikala to give guest lectures to teachers of English in both cities, which are about a half-hour apart.  These were my last lectures in Greece.  Speaking with teachers of English was new to me, however, I felt confident in talking with them because teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing are ultimately teachers of English, too.  In the first photograph, I am giving the lecture to the teachers in Karditsa.  In my speech, I talked about Groundhog Day and, surprisingly, at least to me, they knew about it.  Afterwards, they took me out for dinner at a local restaurant.  We discussed American writers such as Faulkner and Steinbeck.  They were impressed that Michael Cunningham, the author of The Hours, was in my car (when I was on the Friends of the Library Board for Doylestown, PA, I had the pleasure of picking up guest writers).

I stayed overnight in Trikala at the Hotel Panhellion.  It was an old hotel that had been refurbished recently.  I liked it a lot.  The best feature was the large bed in my room in contrast to my twin bed at Stavros Niarchos.  Just outside the hotel was a river that runs through the city.  In addition, there was a monument to Greeks in World War II.  Wednesday evening, five teachers of English took me out for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.  It was excellent and they were wonderful company.  On Thursday, I gave another lecture to the teachers of English in Trikala.

After the lecture in Trikala, the Advisor for the Teachers of English, Marina Kollatou, dropped me off at a bus stop for the trip back to Ioannina.  I would have liked to stay longer in Trikala, because nearby are monasteries that are on top of mountains.  Fortunately, I was able to see them from the bus.  However, I felt I better get back to Ioannina.

When I began my Fulbright grant at the end of September, February seemed like a long way off.  Yet, I knew that the day would come when I would need to pack my bags and begin the process of returning home.  That day has arrived.  Tomorrow, I will depart from Ioannina for Athens.  A good friend and colleague from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will meet me in Athens on Tuesday.  I intend to be a tour guide for a couple of days and then we will depart on Friday for Sarajevo and then Tuzla, Bosnia to give guest lectures on working with children who have cochlear implants.  I return to Athens on February 8th and depart for Philadelphia on February 10th.

It is difficult to put into words what this experience has meant to me.  Greece is a beautiful country, but the people are even more beautiful.  I came here knowing no one and now I leave with dozens of new friends.  I met numerous students, teachers, and professors and each one was kind and welcoming.  Several invited me into their homes, especially during the holidays, which I will always remember.  Each time I met someone or gave a guest lecture I was keenly aware that I was the face of America and I hoped that I represented my country well.  Furthermore, I also knew that I was representing my home state of Nebraska (which I mentioned in several of my presentations), my colleagues and teachers at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (whom I also mentioned often in my lectures), and, most importantly, my family.  No matter where I go in the world, it is never far from my mind to conduct myself in such a way that brings honor to my family, especially my mother and father. 

The day after I returned to Ioannina I received an email from Marina thanking me for speaking to her teachers.  Without realizing it, she succinctly described my ultimate goal while here in Greece.  She said, "It's so valuable to have the opportunity to hear what is happening in other places of the world and be able to compare and contrast.  That opens a window to the world and brings people closer, helps understanding, and self-awareness, isn't that right?"  If I accomplished this, then my time here was well-spent.

Thanks to all of you that have followed my blog over the past four months.  I have appreciated your feedback and comments.  My fondest hope is that I will get to talk with each of you upon my return to the U.S. and regale you with stories of the wonderful experience that I had in Greece.