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UC Students in Crete: Hersonissos, Crete -- After a week of almost all-nighters, Susan McClure finally has a chance to sit down and leisurely eat some Greek pastry. She is
more worried about the goat she will be eating tonight than the public presentation of the model she has been working on
frantically this week.
The University of Cincinnati architecture senior is one of 12 UC students on the UC Sustainable Development Group working on the problems of mass tourism in Crete. Tonight, team leader Michael Romanos will present the team's work at a public meeting at the Hersonissos Cultural Center. McClure also knows that Romanos, the region's mayor and other officials from the municipality of Hersonissos will also throw a big party for the UC team at a taverna in Kera, a picturesque village near the top of the valley. Coming at the end of a time of extended effort in connection with their research, she would normally be looking forward to the relaxation.
At least that would be the case if it were not for the goat which will be served. "Any meat boiled sounds kind of sketchy,"
McClure said in between bites of her pastry.
Glad she has had the chance to work and study in Crete for the past six weeks, she admits that one of the difficulties of her stay here has been the food. Never mind the fact she had to completely redo the model for a pedestrian road on the city's main strip two times.
"I have a sensitive stomach," she said. "I bought some Frosted Flakes, and those have kept me going. I totally miss pizza and pop
tarts." She can't bring herself to eat lamb, which is a Greek staple; she is used to plain meat and potatoes that her mother
cooks.
Her favorite part of the visit is the hospitality she has witnessed. "Everyone is so nice. The Greek people get a kick out of it if you try to speak Greek." She compares the villages here to Chillocothe,
Ohio, where her mother grew up. Just take Chillicothe and put it on the side of a hill, she says.
"The goat bells are awesome," she said. "Have you heard them? It's so quiet up there on the hills, and then, you'll just hear the
goats and their bells."
She also loves Greek ice cream. "It's almost like sherbert texture. There are ice cream stores on every corner (in the port),"
she said. McClure and her fellow-model makes often ended their late nights by getting
ice cream at 5 a.m. before heading back to the hotel for a few hours sleep and then heading back to work the next day by 9
a.m.
"It is not really any more work than a normal studio, except for the past few days here," she said.
She would recommend this kind of international experience for other UC students. "It's been a learning experience in more ways
than one. I am glad I came because I grew [up] in Cincinnati and go to UC," said the Indian Hill High School graduate. "It's
nice to get away from home, and I feel like I am helping out here."
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