Dear Brianna, This past week I have been enjoying my tour of

Greece. One of the highlights was visiting the Parthenon located on top of the Acropolis. This indeed was one of the most famous structures to the Greek people. The temple was made to honor our main God, Athena, and was built to celebrate the end of the wars with the Persians. I worshipped many Gods while I was there and I gave offerings such as fruit, vegetables and jewelry. This building was created entirely of marble from the rocks and mountains that surrounded the area. The Acropolis is 237 feet long, 110 feet wide and 60 feet high. There are eight columns in the front and back and seventeen columns on the sides (coming to a total of fifty columns.) The roof of the Parthenon is slightly slanted and built for optical illusions. On the top part of this building (the edge) there are 525 feet of sculptures that tell people many stories. The details were absolutely beautiful. This is truly a glorious building! I would have loved to help build this masterpiece along with Pericles (the ruler at the time). Anyway how have you been? I hope to see you soon, Hugs and Kisses Love, Kenzie

P.S. Please respond!

Parthenon

Dear Izzy, I'm in Greece and having the time of my

life! Today I visited the Agora which is a huge market place at the foot of the Acropolis. When I first got here I saw people selling many things such as food, pottery, furniture, chairs, tables, lamps, etc. I was so interested that I wanted to sell something too! I took a few hours making blankets and towels and set up a stand. I got a lot of money and I was able to buy you leather sandals and jewelry (which were a big hit) with my spare money. Some other things that were being sold were slaves, pottery, woolen goods and olives. One great thing that the Greek people started trading were coins. This trading style basically started in 600 B.C.! It’s so cool to think about how we developed such a great technique three years ago! Anyway, our biggest trading partner is Egypt, they have many things that are useful here in Greece. I can’t wait to come back home and share more information with you! It really was a fun experience. Oh, by the way, how was that new movie “Se Young`s Life Story ”? I hear it’s one of the best! Love, Kenzie

Commerce and Trade

Dear Alex,I`m so sorry I had to miss your wedding! I

already booked a trip to Greece and they didn’t let me change my tour time. I know I missed the big celebration but I got you and your wife a gift from the Agora! You guys will love it. While I was there I also got you a souvenir from a drama show. It was called The Downfall of a Greek Hero. The performers usually perform either a tragedy or a comedy, but they did more of an informational show for all of the new people touring Greece.

It was staged in a beautiful outdoor marble theater on the side of a hill. This little stadium was called the Theater of Dionysus. Let me tell you; it was spectacular! It could fit over 14,000 people and most of the townsmen went, except for the slaves. During the play there was a lovely chorus of between 15 and 24 men with very nice voices. The costumes they were wearing were very nice as well. They wore huge masks with colorful outfits to show their moods and expressions. I noticed there weren’t any females participating! The males took over the women's role.

Anyway, after the show I got to go back stage and meet some of the actors. They also let me put on one of their costumes and take pictures with them. They were very nice people! Well, I have to run, I am getting ready to see another show; this time a comedy! When I get back I will tell you all about it. From, Kenzie

Drama

Dear Mark,Over this past week I have been enjoying a tour

of Greece. It is absolutely beautiful here! I visited the Parthenon, Agora and the drama center. I have interviewed many women and today I adventured into the education of Athens. I met some of the teachers who told me a lot of information. They said the students start at age seven and go to school up to eighteen. Up until they were seven, they were homeschooled by their parents and family. Once they reached that certain age, they went to public school and their parents had to pay a lot of money. Usually richer children would go for eleven years. The poor children only stayed for around three to four years.

The school was divided into three parts. A Curriculum in grammaticism (reading, writing and literature), Paidotribes (sports, gymnastics and wrestling), and Kitharistes (music, sinning and drama). The teachers gave me a tour of the school, and I saw many bright faces. What I realized was that the girls curriculum was more laidback than the boys. The boys had to be smart to make decisions and participate in war while the girls stayed at home and did housework along with many other household activities. From, Kenzie

Education