Athens!

January 22, 2022 June Cotte Leave a comment

Well, sort of Athens and Athens-adjacent. Our first day in Greece we tooled around Pireaus.

The second day, while I took my students to the Corinth area, Joe and Dan went to Poseiden’s Temple, which is on the coast south and east of Athens. It looks gorgeous from the pictures they took, but it was very cold and blustery.

Every morning before we left the ship, everyone had to take rapid antigen tests. We continue to see very small numbers of positive cases (2 or 3 a day out of maybe 500 people), and those people and their close contacts are isolated or quarantined quickly. It feels quite safe here, which is odd for a close living situation. But the testing is well-done and efficient, N95 masks are required, and there are capacity limits everywhere there should be on the ship.

For the final couple of days we took the metro into Athens. After strolling through the sights, like the Agora and Hadrian’s Arch, we made our way past the Acropolis. Our apartment had a partial Parthenon view, which was pretty day or night. We had an amazing lunch and generally great food the whole visit.

Wine at lunch for us, excellent smoothie for Joe!

The first day Dan and I climbed up the Acropolis. Winter is definitely the time to come to Athens! It was sunny and cool, but hardly any people. Of course, COVID is an issue, but I generally think the cold weather (for Greece) kept people away too. So awesome for us.

Our final day we all went to the Acropolis Museum. Joe was last there when he was 9, but doesn’t really recall a lot of the details. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. After a touristy but delicious final meal in the Plaka area, we made our way circuitously back to the metro and back to the port of Pireaus. I had heard from the guide on the student trip that a church near the port was really worth an inside visit, so we did that on the way back to the ship. And it was indeed a spectacular Eastern Christian (aka Greek Orthodox) church.

Greek Orthodox Church in Pireaus, devoted to St. Nicholas (yes, that one), who is also the patron saint of sailors

I am posting this from Cyprus, which will be the subject of a later post. But on the way, we sailed very close to the Greek islands of Naxos, Mykonos, Delios, Santorini, and finally Rhodes.

We also saw a beautiful “moon-set” as we waited for the sunrise. And a gorgeous rainbow, as the weather (and the colors) change constantly at sea. As I write this, we are heading to Cyprus and the nearest mainland is Turkey. More soon…

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A Semester at Sea Field Class

January 14, 2022 June Cotte 4 Comments

This week was the first of my “field classes” where we take our students for 8 hour experiential education experiences in ports. I was privileged to take my Marketing 300 students to the Corinth area of Greece.

You may know of Corinth from the story of Sisyphus, or from First Corinthians, or even from Ricardo Montalbán’s description of the “finest Corinthian leather” (you have to be my age or older to get that reference). There is still an incredible fortification/ancient city and fort there, which I snapped a picture of from the bus. Not great, using an iPhone at great distances and from behind glass 😦

But we were in the area to visit two very successful companies, and learn about their marketing strategies. First up was Skouras Wines, where we were able to get quite close to the wine production process (I posted a short video below the pictures showing some of the bottling and packaging process). We also learned quite a lot about marketing this very successful brand outside of Greece.

After that we moved to Markellos Olive Oil, a fourth generation family business making high quality olive oil. Virtually all the product is exported, and we were shown the production process (although it wasn’t running, as the season is over) and then heard a lecture about the company’s B2B strategies. Then, some yummy tastings!

Finally, we ended our day with a delicious lunch at Almyriki restaurant and headed back to the ship. Oh, and on the way we stopped at Corinth Canal, a 4 mile long canal cut by the same builders as the Suez Canal.

Semester at Sea Spring 2022 Marketing 300 Field Class, Greece

An excellent learning experience, in simply gorgeous surroundings.

Thanks again to Markellos Olive Oil and Skouras Winery for sharing their expertise with us!

June's Posts

Adjusting to Ship Life

January 14, 2022 June Cotte 1 Comment

On Semester at Sea, the faculty and staff always board the ship a few days ahead of the students to get used to the ship, go through orientation, etc. This voyage, we just stayed docked in Naples as we did this. Once we embarked, we could not leave the ship again due to COVID protocols (I suspect this is going to be my most common phrase in the next four months), so it was a bit odd sitting still, so to speak.

Getting used to the ship before the students arrive

The technology on this newer ship is much better, but the satellite internet speeds on the ship still preclude any streaming services. But I have to say that I am looking forward to a few “Zoom-less” months. And the coffee is about the same as last voyage, so I am glad we brought our own! And thanks to Rebecca Cribbs, we can keep it warm as we move about the ship!

But once the students joined us, along with multi-generational life-long learners, we set sail. Not everyone who planned to could join us, as some tested COVID positive in their home countries, some independently in Italy, and some who tested positive right in the boarding terminal and were whisked away to government quarantine. Those voyagers will join us in Greece. On the way to Greece, we had wonderful views of Mt. Etna

We’ve had our first ship-wide COVID tests, and a few more cases were discovered each time. They are now in isolation cabins on the ship. In Greece, we have to do rapid antigen tests every single day that we leave the ship. Here in Greece, there are indoor and outdoor requirements are for full N95 masks. I am really anxious about testing positive in any given port, and being left behind. So, we are doing what we can to stay safe. And I know the SAS people are doing their very best too!

I am currently sitting in a lovely apartment in Athens, sipping wine after climbing all over the Acropolis today. Yesterday, I took my students on a Field Class, where we visited a winery and an olive oil company. More on that visit in the next post!

June's Posts

Naples and Area

January 1, 2022 June Cotte Leave a comment

Welcome to our newest adventure! Our entire family, along with the wonderful Rebecca Cribbs, arrived in Naples, Italy Dec. 21. We have explored the city, spent a day at Pompei, and also toured the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts. It’s been an adventure-filled 10 or so days, with lots of pizza. lots of climbing, and lots of fantastic Italian wine. And in a first for all of us, we ate Chinese food for lunch on Christmas Day, and pasta for dinner!

After much drama and stress using remote tele-health COVID testing, Jack and Rebecca return to Canada Sunday January 2, and we head to the ship for the Semester at Sea program. I’ll be teaching undergraduates international marketing and consumer behavior, with experiential elements designed around the countries on the itineraries.