Greece Travel Journals
Sudents are required to keep a Travel Journal as part of their
Study Abroad coursework for the University of Arkansas.
Please note the difference between a “Travel
Journal” and “Site Report
Notes.“
A. A TRAVEL JOURNAL usually contains
your reaction to things and people, and is more personal. It reflects your
own thoughts about what you are experiencing. You may include sketches,
quotations from things you read, your own poetic compositions, and anything
else that will help you remember your feelings and impressions of the adventure.
Please do not write intimate, personal, libelous, or false information.
Have fun. Be creative.
Examples of Travel Journal entry (yours can be wildly different;
the following are just to give you a feel of the general kind of thing we
are looking for.)
- “Today I saw the Parthenon for the first time, and it was all
I had expected, and more! The crowds of tourists there made me think of
a bunch of ants that had just found a sticky wet lollipop on the sidewalk,
and swarmed towards it.” - “Eating in tavernas on the sidewalk and seeing all the people
go by in the evenings (“volta“) makes me wish that we
did that more often at home. It gives me the feeling of how the Ancient
Greeks spent a lot of time outdoors, and how they interacted with each
other in their communities more than we do in our country.” - “Greek food is wonderful, but I can’t stand the yogurt, although
our professor told us that we shouldn’t be in Greece without appreciating
the ‘culture’. Another one of his puns. Ha ha ha.” - “Mycenaeans are cool. I would like to learn more about what life
was like in places like Tiryns, Pyos, and Mycenae. I want to buried in
a tholos tomb.” - “I’m confused. How come sometimes Attalus is spelled us and
sometimes os? I’ll ask this in the morning, if I can remember.” - “The National Archaeological Museum is awesome. I want to come
back and spend at least a week going through the vase painting rooms and
sculpture displays. I like the archaic korai the best. The way their garments
were sculpted with all those folds, and the bright paint that decorated
them makes me wish I could have seen them when they were all standing on
the Acropolis. Also, I want to spend a lot of time in the Epigraphical
museum and read all the inscriptions I can.”
B. SITE REPORT NOTES usually
contains facts, figures, and academic information.
Taking notes like this are optional, for your own use, and do NOT need
to be turned in. They might come in handy when you are writing your examinations,
so it would be a good idea to take a notebook to the sites.
Example of Site Report Notes:
- “Palace of Nestor. Linear B. tablets found that show centralized
administration. Megaron ‘Throne-Room’ plan, with frescoes on floor and
walls. Many drinking vessels. Evidence of wine production and chariot repairing.
Older palace nearby. Tholos tomb associated with palace. Destroyed by fire
13th century. Cause of destruction unknown.” - Stoa of Attalos; Athens, Agora: Built by Attalos II of Pergamum. Gift
to Athens: 159-138 BCE. Second floor used as viewing area for Panathenaic
procession. Later incorporated into post-Herulian wall (after 267 CE).
Doors walled up. Architectural pieces put into shops to add bulk to wall.
2 shops on each floor. Open colonnades = most floor space. Wares put outside
during shopping hours, inside shops when closed. Pausanias does not mention
Stoa of Attalos, which was really an ancient shopping center. 116 meters
long.”
[Please keep your Travel Journal separate from you Site Report
Notes — in a separate notebook.]
Expectations for TRAVEL JOURNALS.
1) Before departure.
Have at least two entries, dealing with your preparations. What are you
doing academically to prepare yourself? What are your expectations? What
are your concerns? How are you preparing for the trip in a non-academic
way? What about your report topics excites you? What do you wish you had
more time to do? What books are you thinking of reading and/or bringing
with you?
2) During the trip.
If you can compose a couple of paragraphs daily, you are doing well.
When would be a good time to write? On the bus? In your hotel room while
your roommate takes a shower? In bed before you go to sleep? In a museum?
On a hike? By the pool? In a taverna?
Just jot down some impressions, make some sketches, describe some scene,
incident, artifact, newly-learned fact, new associations, cool inscription,
linguistic connection, whatever has stimulated your interest.
3) Frequency
Try to write something every day (however brief) , and that way you won’t
feel the need to catch up and try to remember all the interesting stuff
after five days have gone by, and you get things jumbled up. If a day goes
by without an entry, don’t worry; just get back to it and know that in a
few years you will be glad that you rescued these precious memories.
You will probably feel overwhelmed with all the stuff you want to write,
and be frustrated that you don’t have the time or energy to write every
thing down. Don’t despair. Hit the highlights, make a few short notes to
remind you of what you would like to write if you had the time. These notes
will stimulate your thinking later on.
4) Evaluation
The professors will read and evaluate the Travel Journals at the end
of the trip.
- Journals which have been kept faithfully with 20 or more entries, well
and thoughtfully written (and legible) might receive a grade of A on this
assignment. - Journals with fewer entries (17-19), without as many observations,
might receive a B. - Those which contain even fewer entries (14-16), of mediocre quality,
might receive a grade of C. - Those which show little or no thought or care (and 10-13 entries) might
receive a grade of D. - Students who do not turn in acceptable Journals (fewer than 10 entries,
with little relevance or thought) might receive a grade of F.
RETURN TO GREECE 2009 MAIN PAGE.
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