Written by Alexandra McClain
Last March, Mike and Beth James had never even seen the Artemis Hotel in Porto Rafti, Greece. This fall, they are in charge of it and play host to 30 Harding students. They moved to the Artemis in late July as the new directors of the HUG program and said they are adjusting to Greek life well.
“The first month we were here, it was just Mike and I,” Beth said. “We spent a lot of that time learning the alphabet and pronunciations of Greek letters.”The staff of the Artemis was on vacation when the Jameses arrived, so they had to figure several things out on their own.Beth said they have found their way around Greece and have even found a few favorite tavernas, small Greek restaurants, for dinner. However, one adjustment that has not been easy is driving in Greece, Beth said.”I drove to Athens the other day for the first time and people are crazy! They just park wherever they can fit their car,” she said. “On the side of the road, in the middle of roundabouts; it’s so weird.”Unlike other parts of Europe, where lanes are merely suggestions to be followed or not, Beth said there are not even lanes to be suggested in Greece; everyone just drives everywhere.The Jameses were introduced to the Greek medical culture when Mike was admitted to the hospital for surgery on his arm after tearing ligaments while removing a seat from one of the HUG vans.”It was actually nice,” he said. “The rooms were small, and there were three of us in there with no air conditioning; but I received excellent care.”Around the time of Mike’s surgery, 30 students arrived in Greece for the HUG program, a first for most of them as well.”We’re leading these students around, and we don’t really know where we’re going,” Beth said.Fortunately for the Jameses, Dr. Dale Manor, professor of Bible and archaeology, is a HUG professor this semester and has spent a lot of time with past HUG groups, which they said is proving to be an asset. The Jameses said they were also lucky enough to keep Monica Helton, the assistant director and former HU student, for one more semester before her wedding in the spring.”We have 24 girls and six guys, so the guys are getting a workout with chapel and church services,” Beth said.Mike is also getting a workout spiritually. Within two weeks of their arrival, members of the nearby church where the Jameses attend asked Mike to preach for them occasionally.”The church in Glyfada has been so welcoming; we’ve already made some greatfriends,” Beth said.As the semester progresses, the Jameses are getting acclimated to Greek life and are looking forward to their continued Grecian adventures.
