I Was on Greek C-SPAN!

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  Athens, Attica, Greece
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Lots of tourists take pictures of the exterior of the Greek Parliament building (which I was telling you about before, it used to be the Royal Palace when the Bavarian monarchs were installed by the world powers to rule in Greece), and you can see the changing of the Evzone guard every hour.

But this morning, we actually got to go inside and take a tour of the interior. When you visit the U.S. Congress building, you can view the floor of the House and Senate from a balcony high above. But in Greece, we got to sit ON THE PARLIAMENT FLOOR in an actual seat of a Member of Parliament (MP).

Our guide explained that the Parliament floor used to be the royal palace ballroom. Then, in 1922 when one million refugees from Turkey poured into Athens during the Great Catastrophe population exchange, this room was used as a bunkhouse to shelter refugees

Exterior of Greek Parliament

. Now the Parliament meets here to debate and vote on bills.

As we listened to the guide, we noticed a man with a large camera on his shoulder following us around, taping us. We found out that it was the Greek version of C-SPAN, and our visit to Parliament was going to be featured on TV! They asked five of us to give individual interviews on camera: Jane, Fingers, Mary Lou, Black Belt, and me. The reporter asked us how we felt visiting Parliament, and what our favorite thing about the tour was. I was so proud of the eloquence of the students. They really represented themselves and our program well to the Greek viewers. Now we are TV stars.

Then, our Intercultural Communication teacher Eleni took us to a very small but dramatically beautiful eleventh-century Greek Orthodox church. The walls were covered in Byzantine frescoes and lined with icons. As we sat in the congregation area, devout Greek people came in, crossed themslves (with thumb, index, and middle finger pinched together to represent the Trinity), kissed the icons, and bought tall, thin beeswax candles to light with their prayers. Eleni told us about the partition with three doors, behind which the priests bless the communion and read from the Bible. There were also two lecterns, one on each side of the partition, for chanters. Behind us, there was a spiral staircase and a small balcony, from which the priest could preach. Near the balcony was a huge covered throne for the Bishop to sit in. The air was heavy with incense. The worshippers did not seem bothered by the presence of college-aged American tourists sitting in their church snapping pictures. If I worshipped in this church, I would not be surprised that people all over the world would want to come in and experience the beautiful atmosphere.

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Sitting where the Greek MPs make history

Orthodox priests work behind this ornate partition

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