My first overseas trip

My Greek adventure actually began on one of three trips to Austin to teach ManageWise. It so happened that the a travel agency was located close to the State Auditor's Office where I was teaching and I wandered in on my lunch break. I picked up a few brochures and brought them back to the hotel and flipped through them, searching out the most intriguing tour within my budget and vacation time allowed. With a price of about $2500 and a week's length in mind, I narrowed my options rather quickly to two -- a week in England or a week in Greece. Both could be fun, but Greece won out for a few reasons. Perhaps it is in part because my brother and my erstwhile girlfriend Michelle both raved about how they loved Greece. Also, it boasts a great deal of history--being the Cradle of Civilization is no minor point. When I read the itenerary and saw places like Knossos, Rhodes and Patmos listed, I knew I should go.

After confirming with my boss that I could get away for a week, I agonized a bit more over the decision and committed myself via credit card. I have always wanted to travel, and though only a small percentage of the population of Americans even own a passport (someone said only 4% but I didn't verify) I'm probably in a minority of people within my income and education who have never been abroad. It seemed like a rite of passage. Okay, maybe I'm overestimating the value of travel a little. When all of us instructors went out for lunch one day to an Indian restaurant the topic of my impending trip came up. Greece. The birthplace of democracy. Home to the Parthenon. Streets where once walked Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Themistocles, Pericles, and countless Persians, Romans, Byzantines . . . all one instructor had to say was "My sister went to Greece. She went topless." Ahem. So much for culture.

Getting my passport was an arduous task that shook my full faith and credit in the United States government. The passport arrived ni the mail in a timely fashion. Inside it was my photo and the name Mary Frances Frederici, age 70-something, female. Insensed, I fired it back the next morning with a note that said, "I am clearly not Mary Frances anyone. Please fix this." A week later I was in Austin again and called the passport office. They said they had received Mary Frances' passport back but not mine. The following week I went there in person and after two trips to the Mickey Leland building, finally had a correct passport.