Dirt is my friend: life on an archaeological dig

We have been digging for a few days now, and the best way to describe it is dirty. Even after I shower, the towel is still covered in reddish-brown clay. However, I wouldn't have it any other way.

We wake up at 5. I'm beginning to like early mornings. The site is about 30 minutes by bus from our hotel. The bus drops us off at a dirt road where the Greek workers on the site pick us up in pick-up trucks and drive for about 5 minutes until we reach our site of Iklaina. Sitting on the edge of the back of a truck, I have definitely had my fair share of whacks to the face with an olive branch. Let me just say, they are not so peaceful. 

On the site, we are excavating a palatial complex that we think may be a district palace of King Nestor. If we are right, we have uncovered a new dimension of government and politics in the Late Bronze Age Mycenaean period which shows sub-rulers beyond the state level. To corroborate this, a Linear B tablet was found at the site. Linear B is the script/language used in the Mycenaean period for tax purposes or other federal documentation, and therefore only found in important palatial complexes. There are only 5 places on Earth where Linear B is found. Iklaina makes 6. We're officially on the map. (roaring applause) 

In the trench I am working on we have uncovered a drain, a wall, and part of a floor. I am learning a lot, getting very dirty, and have developed a few blisters. I do thank RISE for teaching me how to use a pick axe, because no one else knew how to do it. However, I now have to do all the pick axe work. At least I'm getting strong arm muscles!

I'm picking up a little bit of Modern Greek, but I don't know how useful it will be when I'm back in Athens. So far I know the words for please, thank you, hello, goodbye, shovel, brush, hammer, tarp, pottery, and rock. I think that can get me through the metro, right?

All settled in at Pylos!

I have finally reached my destination of Pylos, Greece, after a combined total of 28 hours of travel time, all of which on no sleep. But it is worth it. The flight to Athens was delayed an hour while we were on the plane and I had the great pleasure of sitting the row in front of a family of 5 kids, all under the age of 6. Who was right behind me? A screaming two-year-old, who, when he was not crying his eyes out, was pounding away at the back of my chair. At least he was cute. We came to a compromise by the end of the flight: I played with him and he stopped kicking my chair. 

On arriving in Athens, we boarded a charter bus that drove us to Pylos (on the west coast of the Peloponnese). While all of us were massively jet-lagged, no one could sleep on the 6 hour drive, the scenery was just too gorgeous.  

We curved around the edged of mountains, through tunnels and across massive expanses of olive groves. This place is beautiful. I tried to get as many pictures as one could through a tinted bus window.

We got to Pylos and settled into our rooms. Because of a rooming mixup, I got a double room all to myself, which I am not complaining about at all. It has a balcony that overlooks the bay, over which the sun sets. 

Can you get any better than this? Oh wait, I forgot it's a single room. It can get better. 

For dinner, we ate a four course meal at a tavern across the street under a canopy. There I got to know a lot of the people working on the dig with me. They all seem extremely nice and excited to have this opportunity. After dinner a few of us walked down to the town square (literally about 100 meters away) and watched part of the Mexico v. France soccer game at an outside pub. 

We have orientation and visit another archaeological excavation tomorrow, then on Saturday we get to start digging. I can't wait!

Home (bitter)Sweet Home

As I write this I am snuggled up, warm in my bed from my childhood in my parents' house, and settling into a good night's rest. We finally made it home to New Jersey after a long day's drive. At one point, it took Karen and I over 2 hours to go 30 miles...let's just say DC traffic is ridiculous.

It's definitely an intense time right now. Emotionally, it's been crazy. Excitement, fear, anxiety, loneliness, longing, anticipation, sadness and joy are just a few emotions that pass through my mind at any given point. While I dreaded leaving Chapel Hill, I wait in anticipation for my journey to come. Yesterday evening I walked through the campus. At dusk, the light filters through the leaves in McCorkle Place, littering the grass with patches of dimming sunshine. I will miss that. I will miss the calm echo of the bell tower and the constant excitement that surrounds the Pit, even when no one is there. It is as if the bricks hold onto the conversations, arguments, SBP campaigns, and service announcements, simply waiting for someone to listen. I will miss the intriguing debates and surprising authenticity of original thought that can only come from a college campus. The people, the places, the memories are all comfortable and broken in. I'm leaving this to start something which completely lacks any sort of recognizable comfort. And I like it.

"Hold your own, know your name, go your own way, and everything will be fine."