text: I turned 18 before arriving Greece, which meant I could be drafted into the military. When my draft board learned that I was on a cattle-boat trip, they told me to just keep doing that for my service. I think the cattle boat trips are unbelievable for a small-town boy. Besides helping people, I had the side benefit of seeing Europe and China. But seeing Acropolis in Greece was special. The next special thing I got to do was taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, a city with streets of water.