4 Days and Counting

On Friday afternoon, I will be flying to from Chicago to Dusseldorf and from Dusseldorf to Athens for the space of three months. Until then, I feel like the hobbit in his hole... and that means comfort.


"I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth" - by which he meant: "What am I going to get out of it? and am I going to come back alive?"-Bilbo Baggins


Off for the misty mountains, I suppose. I've puttered around Waukegan and Gurnee for too long now. When you begin to call a drive to Racine an 'adventure,' it's time to broaden your horizons. Considering that I've never been out of the country, never been away from Gurnee more than two weeks, and I've lived in the same room for more than 19 years, this trip seems a bit daunting. Although, walking in the footsteps of Socrates, visiting the ruins of Mycenae, and sailing around on the Aegean makes me feel more less 'hobbitish.'


The Great Conversation inspires courage. The idea of real adventure calls for a fierce and jealous love of the horizon.  


Embellished idealization calms my nerves. If Bilbo Baggins, Elwin Ransom, the Baudelaire Orphans, and Arthur Dent can travel outside of their comfort, so can I. From March 11-May 27, I will be studying a range of history, philosophy, literature and art in Greece. The program is through my school (Lake Forest College) and fulfills requirements for both a History and Classics degree. I'll be staying with a fantastic group of students, studying under great faculty members, and visiting some of the most amazing places of the ancient and modern world. Should be worth leaving my hobbit-hole for a while. 


I'll do my best to keep you posted on my whereabouts and activities. 


Sincerely until then, 


Eddie Kristan