First week of the Archaeology in Greece Program is done! Since I am a returning student, it feels surreal to be back in Ancient Corinth. The town center is around a fifteen minute walk from the accommodations. What we call the platea is small, only taking up maybe 2 blocks. It is filled with restaurants, gift shops, a pharmacy and mini markets. Next to the platea is the Temple of Apollo, one of the oldest standing Doric temples in Greece. It is unbelievable that we walk past it everyday to get lunch or dinner. The towns people are very close knit and some of the shop keepers even recognize me and other returning students from last summer. After being here last summer, I feel like I know which places have the better gyros, Greek salads or souvlaki. The shop in the center of the platea has the best gelato and is the best treat to share after work with friends or trench mates.

I am living in a studio apartment with three other people. Two are friends from last summer and the other is another Pitt student I became friends with this past year. Since it is a studio we all essentially share the same room with a kitchen and bathroom. There definitely has to be some compromise and scheduling for when someone is using the two areas, but I am confident it would be easy to solve any conflicts that come up. There are 10 other apartments on the property and most of them surround a central courtyard. All the apartments are housing students on this program, mixed returning and new, providing an open and friendly dynamic. The central courtyard is the perfect setting to spend time outside and talk to other students.

Coming back to the excavation this summer, I have an assistant trench supervisor position giving me more responsibilities. I was assigned to a new supervisor to the program so I help him with procedure specific to this excavation. I also help teach the new students excavation technique while still participating in digging. Along with digging, I fill out paperwork, take measurements and record data needed to keep track of excavation progress. I am learning and will continue to learn analytical, leadership and management skills in the coming weeks. I am enjoying aiding and being a resource for the new students, while also making new friends of all different backgrounds interested in the same thing. I also volunteered to help run social media for the project along with two other returning students, so follow @lechaionhslp on Instagram for content from the project!