In 1984 I spent 3 months on the island of Nisyros, along with 17 other college students from Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon, as part of a cultural study program. We studied the language, history and cultural customs of Greece. We studied Greek mythology in context with their modern poets. We were given Greek names, paired off with local families and taught Greek songs and folk dances and even threw a “Glendi” (a celebration) for the island in which we performed the dances for our friends and families. By the end of our stay we not only felt we had become a part of the island, but the island had become a part of us.
Through the tutelage of Nick Germanacos (who currently runs “Ithaca,”a study abroad program in Crete) we were challenged to rethink America’s romantic notion of the “individual” and consider the value of community. We came to understand the concept of “parea” as more than a casual circle of friends but one where bonds run deep. We were introduced to the poetry of Yiannis Ritsos, George Seferis, and Constantine Cavafy. I vividly remember sitting outside, gazing at a spectacular view from the village Nikia while Nick read to us during one of our poetry classes. Cavafy’s poem Ithaka became for us the quintessence for a new philosophy of life, destined to change us forever.
Members of the Sfakianos family with Mark Schultz (Sakkelaris) and Elizabeth Wilson (Stefania) from our group.
Me with my host family, Maria and Kostas Orsaris (my parents) and Thrasevolos (my brother).
the day of our "Glendi." Our families lent us traditional Nisyrian costumes to wear for the event. Unfortunately only part of the group is pictured herre. There were 18 of us on the trip all together.
Ithaka
By Constantine P. Cavafy
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon — don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon — you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time:
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind —
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
It is perhaps a coincidence that Lewis and Clark College is planning reunions for many of the overseas trips this summer and ours is included. We have all found each other, all 18 of us through Facebook and email. There has been a lot of catching up through our communications. Many of us have not seen each other for as many as 20 or more years. Being back in touch has generated a lot of excitement. Everyone will be attending the reunion in June. That is, except for me because I will be on the island. I have no complaints, but I do wish I could be in two places at once this June. I will be thinking of my "parea" and I am sure they will be thinking of me.
This project was funded through the Savannah College of Art and Design, Inc. Presidential Fellowship for Faculty Development.
Members of the Sfakianos family with Mark Schultz (Sakkelaris) and Elizabeth Wilson (Stefania) from our group. 
