Today started with a rough morning. We were all ready around 9am to head to the quarry, an underground marble cave, when Professor Albert William informed us that our trip was canceled due to the weather. Everyone’s mood changed at that moment, saddened by the change in plans; instead, we headed to school to work. Our day really started after our daily cup of coffee, courtesy of Thomas Lewis. The 3D team worked on their sculptures while the video and editing team worked on editing the video. Jiachi and Andy assisted in the filming of an interview alongside our professors, Thomas Lewis, Albert William. The research teams, myself included, were given an assignment to head into town and gather footage that will later be used for a time-lapse video.
When the sky cleared up after the morning rain, Ashley, Julia and I headed into town just before siesta, which begins as early as 2:30 for some of the stores and restaurants. We started our journey at the center of Parikia and went north past the main street, known as Market Place, and then met up again at the center. After we were done filming we patiently waited for the rest of the group at Villa Katerina. At this point I thought we were done for the day and that I wouldn’t have much to write about… My roommate, Wen, later proved me wrong.
I was resting in my room and reviewing my pictures when Wen asked me if I would like to eat Thai food. I immediately jumped out of bed and said yes, of course. Once I was ready, I later found out that Julia, Osvaldo, Sarah, and Jiachi were also going – we’re always ready for food adventures. Sarah and Julia are sushi enthusiasts, Wen and Jiachi love Asian food, Osvaldo loves noodles and I love just about everything. Thomas Lewis, our film professor, decided to drive with us to the restaurant since it is in Naoussa, which is on the other side of the island. 
We witnessed beautiful scenery as we drove to Naoussa. It took us almost 20 minutes to arrive at Tao’s Restaurant, passing chickens, cats, and cattle along the way. It’s a big restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but it has a worthy view of the island. Once we went inside, a waiter informed us that a party of 70 had booked them for the next hour. We couldn’t believe that our morning plans were overshadowed by rain and now we wouldn’t be able to have dinner. After looking through the menu anyway, we made the decision to spend the hungry hour visiting the center of Naoussa.
Thomas drove towards the center and we visited a restaurant right in front of the port. Fighting hunger, we decided to get soft drinks and appetizers. I ordered “fried potatoes,” or French fries, and an Americano coffee; Thomas and Wen ordered fried tomato balls; Julia ordered syrup cakes; and Sarah ordered cheese pies. Jiachi was feeling bold today and decided to order a dish called “ Strange.” Naturally, we were all curious about this meal and wanted to try so we shared our food with one another like a big happy-hungry family. The “Strange” dish was actually tuna, potatoes, tomatoes and lots of cheese in a pot; it was a lot like a potpie.
As we were enjoying our appetizers we realized it was starting to rain again, the fourth time today. I still remember when we were back home at IUPUI and Albert said there will be no rain and no mosquitoes in Paros. No one is safe from mosquitoes and it has been raining for the past 3 days – we even saw hail on Tuesday night. Nonetheless, it came to pass again. After the rain we headed back to Taos at the perfect time; the 70 guests were all gone and the servers were invitingly waiting for us.
I was anxious to eat and decided to order Pu Nang Chicken; Jiachi and Julia ordered Pad Thai; Wen ordered sweet and sour vegetables; Thomas ordered curry vegetables and Osvaldo ordered super spicy noodles with tons of broccoli. To our amusement, Osvaldo, who has awaited spicy food since we left home, turned red and dripped with sweat after every bite.
We might be far from Indiana but the bad weather seemed to follow us all the way to Greece. However, the gloomy morning turned into a bright day for most of us – even the rain couldn’t stop our fun. We never have a dull moment in Paros; our energy and hunger helped us turn this day into another adventure.
-Cynthia Morraz