In case you were worried
I do have other friends besides Toby and Tracey. Even more, in fact, than the ones I'm going to talk about now. Yes, Fulbright pays well...
Before Christmas, I spent a lovely four days perfecting my fifth wheel skills with two lovely couples on the island of Paros. Little did I know that the lovely exterior masked a secret passion for obscure board games...
But before I get to that, we had a great time enjoying the island. Although Joanna was held hostage by her master's thesis, who also doesn't allow photos, her husband Jonathan and I accompanied Cavan and Rae around the island. All was going peachy: we found a private beach (above), climbed a mountain or two (with our car...hey, it totally counts!), and "watered" the famous marble quarries.
Then I made the mistake of mentioning my marathon time. Immediately Jonathan's ire was aroused. Now I'd heard the rumors about him being a minotaur, but I never believed them until he gave me a first-hand lesson in how he deals with "braggarts."
Almost as intimidating, Rae and Cavan also turned aggressive. "Oh yeah? Well we have a band with a cool name. It's called Raevan! Top that Mr. Oooh-I-can-run-26-miles-la-di-frickin-da!" Just in case I didn't believe them, they reenacted their album cover shot, which, I gotta hand it to them, is pretty sweet. The music that they make, I don't really listen to it. But the fact that they make it, I respect that.
Anyways, I managed to regain our composure until we got back to our cabin and started playing some world-domination game (except you couldn't attack your enemies; just control the world's resources. There was also a stuffed Marx doll that you got to rip apart with your teeth). It was pretty fun until Jonathan (always the firecracker) put down a card that said "Apocalypse" on it. All the sudden we heard a loud noise, went to look outside, and lo and behold, witnessed a nuclear explosion.
Needless to say, nobody won the game and Jonathan is in Greek prison. Forever. But I feel like I learned alot. First, being fifth wheel isn't so bad when the husbands have man-crushes on you. Second, there is no cave on the peninsula opposite the main harbor of the island, no matter what the map says. And finally, Greece is the only place you can sit for 6 hours in a cafe waiting for your ferry and not get hassled to leave even once. Even though you only ordered one drink and made some children cry.
Before Christmas, I spent a lovely four days perfecting my fifth wheel skills with two lovely couples on the island of Paros. Little did I know that the lovely exterior masked a secret passion for obscure board games...
But before I get to that, we had a great time enjoying the island. Although Joanna was held hostage by her master's thesis, who also doesn't allow photos, her husband Jonathan and I accompanied Cavan and Rae around the island. All was going peachy: we found a private beach (above), climbed a mountain or two (with our car...hey, it totally counts!), and "watered" the famous marble quarries.
Then I made the mistake of mentioning my marathon time. Immediately Jonathan's ire was aroused. Now I'd heard the rumors about him being a minotaur, but I never believed them until he gave me a first-hand lesson in how he deals with "braggarts."
Almost as intimidating, Rae and Cavan also turned aggressive. "Oh yeah? Well we have a band with a cool name. It's called Raevan! Top that Mr. Oooh-I-can-run-26-miles-la-di-frickin-da!" Just in case I didn't believe them, they reenacted their album cover shot, which, I gotta hand it to them, is pretty sweet. The music that they make, I don't really listen to it. But the fact that they make it, I respect that.
Anyways, I managed to regain our composure until we got back to our cabin and started playing some world-domination game (except you couldn't attack your enemies; just control the world's resources. There was also a stuffed Marx doll that you got to rip apart with your teeth). It was pretty fun until Jonathan (always the firecracker) put down a card that said "Apocalypse" on it. All the sudden we heard a loud noise, went to look outside, and lo and behold, witnessed a nuclear explosion.
Needless to say, nobody won the game and Jonathan is in Greek prison. Forever. But I feel like I learned alot. First, being fifth wheel isn't so bad when the husbands have man-crushes on you. Second, there is no cave on the peninsula opposite the main harbor of the island, no matter what the map says. And finally, Greece is the only place you can sit for 6 hours in a cafe waiting for your ferry and not get hassled to leave even once. Even though you only ordered one drink and made some children cry.
posted by Jeremy LaBuff at 3:21 AM
2 comments
