It was a dark and stormy night. The airport was quiet, we were the only ones left (besides the hundred other people waiting to board the 777 out of Atlanta to Tel Aviv). We grew tired and weary, wanting only to stretch out in the roomy airplane seats and eat a deliciously catered meal and watch a movie on our big screen personal television sets - but the lighting on the runway prevented us from doing so until it was "safe." So we waited. We left after midnight and arrived in Tel Aviv a little after 7 pm Israel time Friday...safe and sound. And that's really all that needs to be said about the getting here... Today was Sea Tour Day - meaning Dr. Schuler walked us up the mountain to Hippos and showed us the whole site, including our first glimpses at the Northeast Church - our lovely project for the next four weeks - then we went to Kursi (the site commemorating Jesus casting the demons into the swine whereafter they ran down the hills and into the lake), Capharnaum (the "home base" of Jesus' ministry and where Peter's house was), Tabgha (a site with a fully reconstructed Byzantine church commemorating the feeding of the 5,000), and the Mount of the Beatitudes (no religious significance, just a church set up in a pretty place) before it was decided that our "tails were dragging" (Dr. Schuler's words) and it was time to return to the kibbutz. We did just that. And now, to spare you from the play-by-play of the rest of the day, just know that we are here safe and have made it through the first 24 hours. Check back tomorrow, to see if we made it through the first actual dig day.
June 2007 Archives
Here I find myself (which is a good start, because I hate being lost), sitting at the Security switchboard at Concordia in St. Paul, working my last ever shift (after 4 years of being here) and I just checked the Security e-mail. What should I find, but the "Hippos Excavation Emergency Notification" e-mail that was sent out, with all the responses coming in from people and a special folder for all these to be placed in! My first thought was that it's good we have this system of communication in place (way to go, Dr. Schuler) and now I'm thinking, "Wow...it's only 4 days until we go...groovy!" Oh wait, now my thoughts have changed again (I just finished a large coffee, so my thoughts are short and jumpy) the e-mail reminds me - I need to post to my blog! Dr. Schuler asked for a post before we leave, and I was planning on writing yesterday, but I [clearly] forgot. Anyhoo - I am now at work with plenty of time on my hands (well, I mean, I'm working...but I just sit here and answer phones, so I can type) and too much caffeine in my body (which is bad because I'm confined to this chair for the next 5 hours) and this is just what is "coming out" for my first entry. Well...I will claim that I can't help it. And now, about Israel - in one week I will be on the mountain digging and sweating and dirty...HOORAH! I like that I know what to expect (having been there the past two summers) and I can still be super excited about it! I am fully prepared to move dirt, eat tomatoes and cucumbers, kill scorpions, clean pottery, and draw rocks! And now, realizing this first post is bouncing all over the place, I am cutting myself off from the keyboard temporarily before I lose all reader support for this blog! I do hope, though, that you all check back and keep up with my unique perspective of what is happening on the other side of the world during the 4 weeks of July. Until next time...
