Documenting Cultural Heritage: Artifacts and TraditionsA service learning course in Paros, Greece

Today was a day that everyone had been looking forward to since we arrived to Paros. After the rainy evening that we had the night before, we were all hoping that the weather wouldn’t interfere and cancel our plans. Lucky enough, when we awoke this morning the sky was clear and sunny! We left our villa around 9:00am and headed for the port to catch a ferry ride to Antiparos. Just a short ferry ride and car ride later we arrived at a little boat that would take us from Antiparos to Despotiko.

Despotiko is a nearly uninhabbited island which is home to the Sanctuary of Apollo. Our main project end goal is to complete a documentary about Despotiko and the Sanctuary of Apollo, as well as use 3D softwares to re-create what the sanctuary used to look like. Visiting Despotiko today was a very vital source of information and reference for our project. We were able to record footage of the sanctuary, interview the main archaeologist, Yannos, explore the various textures, rocks, and spatial surroundings for the 3D team, and also learn more about the sanctuary and the ongoing archeological dig site.

On the island, there was a beautiful view of the Aegean Sea where the waves crashed up against the cliffy rock formations. We spent some time admiring the view and of course taking a lot of photos. On our way back to the dig site we noticed that there were nearly over one hundred goats off in the distance. There is one goat herder that lives on the island with hundreds of goats. Once we left Despotiko we took our small boat for a ride to see some beautiful rock archways. The water was crystal clear and bright blue with color. Everyone really enjoyed everything we got to see on our adventure. Today was a huge step forward with our project and we can’t wait to start putting together what we learned. Finally, to end this wonderful day we stopped for a nice dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant!

-Riley Mineart

After a very relaxing day at the beach, we met at the music school early in the morning to continue our documentary productions. Before we started, Albert went over the plans for the following days with us. Albert then led us in some yoga poses to stretch our body. Then we gathered around in a circle to give each other shoulder massages to relax tight muscles. With the energy revived, another wonderful day began.

As we planned, the video team broke into two groups to keep the project moving forward. Riley joined Sheheryar and Thomas to help them carry and set up equipment. They went to picturesque beaches to take some B-roll for the documentary. The images and footage they took are as beautiful as paintings. The rest of the video team was focusing on editing and creating lower thirds. Osvaldo and Andy were working on shortening the interview with Yannos. They watched the footage over and over again to locate the essential parts from it and put them into logical orders. They discussed the script with the research team, and recorded a temporary voiceover to make the editing much easier. I was sitting next to them creating the lower thirds. Since the textures I had so far were not very satisfactory, I hope to take some great high-resolution images tomorrow.

The 3d modeling also went very smooth today. I talked to Wen and she imported the statue model into Maya so she could break them into parts. We left the music school around 5:30. On the way back to our hotel, out of the car window, the first rain at Paros arrived.

-Jiachi Liu

The students were given the day off today. Our first intention was to take a bus to the Mortellos beach but several students overslept (myself included) and we missed the bus. We headed down to the docks to inquire about possibly taking a boat, but unfortunately all of the boats were for fishing not transportation. We decided to head down to the beach northwest of our location.

It was a good thirty minute walk along the coast to the beach. It was a great day for sunbathing and snorkeling. The water was warm and clear. In order to use our beach chairs/beds we were all asked to purchase a drink at the nearby restaurant. After getting settled into our spot on the beach we took some time to sunbathe. While we were there, several of us went into the ocean. Sarah, Osvaldo, and Sheheryar went snorkeling while Jiachi, Cynthia and myself splashed around in the shallows. Jiachi found several clams and Osvaldo found a sea urchin. Later, the group in the ocean was joined by two more sunbathers Julia and Ashley while Riley and Mandy decided to take naps. It was much needed relaxation. It was a nice way to de-stress from adjusting to life here on Paros.

After several hours the group decided to head back. During the trip back, I began to experience dizziness and nausea. I guessed I might have had too much sun and stopped with Jiachi and Cynthia to buy a hat for our walk back to the hotel. Once I was back I decided to inform Albert that I suspected sun poisoning and we took a trip to the local hospital. As it turns out I was slightly dehydrated. The doctor also thought I may have caught an intestinal virus that was making its round on the island so he prescribed antibiotics.

The other students, after a short break at the hotel, went out and enjoyed a nice dinner. All in all it was a great day.

– Wen Krogg

While most of the students slept in this morning (finally), the instructors, along with a couple students, were up bright and early to start on the foundation of our project. The interview with Yannos is critical to making this video. I spoke with Sheheryar this morning when he got back from the interview. He explained that they got to the Aegean Center around 11 in the morning to set up the equipment and test the video and sound before Yannos got there. Yannos ended up arriving around noon and the interview went very smoothly. He answered the questions that the students and instructors had written for him and the interview concluded after about half an hour. We had an encounter with our first scorpion this morning when we got to the school. Julia was standing by the door and noticed something yellow shoot across the floor. She asked Thomas if there were any scorpions here and he assured her that there were small ones on the island. (Smaller scorpions are apparently some of the most dangerous). They were able to brush it out the door with a broom as it coiled up and prepared to attack, and all was well. I did not realize scorpions were common residents of the island. I didn’t know at the time, but I actually saw one on our hike yesterday morning and thought to myself, “that is one creepy insect”. Little did I know, there are mini scorpions around the island and my ankle was only a few inches from one. I got a little nauseous at the thought, but soon forgot about it as I let out a chuckle while trying to close the bathroom door at the little school we work at. The bathrooms are very small here. I am forced to stand on the toilet seat in order to close the door and I giggle every time from feeling so ridiculous. At the school, everyone was divided up into our separate rooms where different teams work on their material for the project. We were able to get a great deal done today having the interview at our disposal. We left the school around 6 in the evening and returned to the Villa Katerina. Everyone found their own way to get dinner for the night. Some people went out for dinner while others stayed in and made their own with food bought from the market down the street. My roommate, Julia, and I decided to make egg sandwiches. It was a productive day overall, but I think we all can admit that we are looking forward to our free day tomorrow!

-Ashley Broyles

Today was the earliest we have gotten up, or at least most of us. Thomas Lewis asked us yesterday if we wanted to do a morning hike up the side of a tall mountain in the distance. The majority of us agreed because we are quite a unique group of people. After struggling to wake up at 6:30, we met in the lobby and headed out. The sun was just coming up so it was a pleasant morning. We went off trail going up, but it was fun because going off trail allows you to see what most people do not. We eventually got back on trail and after an hour and a half, we made it as far as we could go. It was an amazing sight seeing Paros from above with the sun rising slowly over the mountains. It took us around half an hour to get back which was just enough time to meet the rest of the group for our journey to the archeological museum. We stopped and grabbed breakfast at one of the amazing mini coffee shops around the city. People ordered many scrumptious things including different types of crepes, Greek yogurt with fruit and honey, and no morning would be complete without coffee. We then walked to the museum, stopping at various points throughout the town with Albert William leading the way. We soon arrived at the museum and we all scattered like flies, flocking from artwork to artwork admiring their ancient beauty. I was personally amazed at how archeologists could find various pieces of a statue and try to reconstruct it.

After spending an hour or so gawking at the works of art, we headed back to Villa Katerina to get ready to go to our own personal mini school to get some work done for our project. We spent around 3 hours researching and completing an awesome time-lapse of the town we shot the night before. It turned out great! We are going to do a couple more tonight after dinner, which was our first group meal. After class, we each went our separate ways. Some went to town, others went back to the hotel, and I went to the beach to do a little snorkeling. It’s awesome how there is so much to do in this little village. This island has more things to do in all of Indianapolis in my opinion.

-Ozvaldo Ayala

Hi Everyone,

Today, we organized all of our equipment and started our pre-production for the documentary.

We all had a bit of a late start adjusting to the time zone. We began with breakfast at Meltemi, a small restaurant right by the beach. Afterwards, we headed to our headquarters at the local music conservatory where we set up our equipment. Today was a long, but productive day.

The video team including Jiachi, Osvaldo and I went with Thomas to check out the video equipment and establish a workflow. We shot a mock interview to test the lighting and get everyone familiar with the post-production process.

Riley, Mandy, Sarah and Wen, comprise our 3D team. They have a lot of work creating the 3D model of the ruins. Riley and Mandy worked on 3D modeling of the historic artifacts. Wen modeled historic statues from that time period while Sarah spent the day researching architecture in order to accurately represent the ruins.

Julia, Ashley, and Cynthia visited the local library where they researched the region and its history towards developing the script. They also searched online databases and interviewed the local librarian.

Everyone was asked to submit questions about those aspects of the ruins that interested them personally.

Andy assisted everyone as well by consulting with the video team concerning audio issues and helped Julia, Ashley and Cynthia focus their research for the script.

After a long day of working, we got a chance to kick back and relax by treating ourselves to dinner at Hibiscus, a local pizza joint – the oldest restaurant on the island. Later that evening, the video team recorded time-lapse video before finally returning to the villa for a good night sleep.

Efharisto!

Sheheryar Ahsan

This is the hotel our group will be staying at for the entirety of our trip. It is very nice and incredibly beautiful!

This will be the classroom we will use while studying in Paros at the local music conservatory.

What a great group of people!

Our group met for the first time at the School of Informatics and Computing on the campus of IUPUI.

We enjoyed  our first meal together at the Greek Islands Restaurant.  

A few days before departure, Professors William and Lewis discuss how to safely pack the equipment for its long journey. 

This is our last meeting before departure.  Each of us is responsible for bringing some gear.  Next stop, Greece!