June 2008 Archives

So I realized that today is THE DAY when the team heads over the Israel (and how my list of "Things to Check and Recheck Before You Go to Israel" is no longer relevant).  I perused through a few of the blogs and the anticipation, excitement and nerves are evident.  Oh the good ol' days... 

At this time last year I was:

            -Rechecking my plane departure time to make sure I didn't miss my connection to Israel like the first year (and arousing great chaos at the House of Neumann)

            -Searching to make sure my boots were indeed IN my bag because I had almost forgotten them in the back of my closet

            -Worrying that my job on site as "Small Finds Coordinator" would ruin any future I had in archaeology

            -Praying that no wars would break out, thereby cutting my time on the dig short

            -Hoping that when I came home again I would have a place to live for the following school year in the scary city of Cincinnati

            -Wondering above all else if the nagging anxiety about graduate school in the fall would ever pass...

Considering these worries and anxieties, hopes and prayers, I cannot help but think how "different" this year is.  Currently I am:

            -Rechecking my plane departure time for a weekend in Washington D.C. and hoping to make it to the Louisville airport in time to not stress out the college roomie traveling with me

            -Searching to make sure I have a proper pair of shoes for the trip this weekend so I don't end up in worse shape than when I began

            -Worrying that my lack of progress on my languages this summer will ruin any future I have in history

            -Praying that nobody picks this weekend to launch an attack on our nation's capitol

            -Hoping that when I come back on Monday all my various family members will be healthy and happy when I finally get to go back home to Wisconsin

            -Wondering above all else if the nagging anxiety about graduate school in the fall will ever pass...    

Curious.   

While others are planning to leave for Israel in just a few days...here is what I've been working on...

ich bin

du bist

er/sie/es ist

wir sind

ihr seid

sie sind

Sie sind

ich war

du warst

er war

wir waren

ihr wart

sie waren

Sie waren

 Golly, will I miss the lab this summer as I sit at my desk in the graduate reading room, looking at the concrete wall outside my window, dreaming of the dirt...

The purpose of this blog is to act as the reality check to all the fun that soon will be happening on the dig site (I'm jealous - can you tell?).  As such, although I will keep many of the mundane details to myself, the plan is to discuss much of what my day entails. 

For starters, I have discovered that for any budding classical archaeologist, languages are key.  This morning, I sit in an empty computer lab on the deserted campus, waiting for my German class to begin.  Four languages must be attempted this summer (ancient Greek, Latin, German and French) in preparation for classes and mandatory exams in the fall.  The summer just began this week for me, but already I have spent the greater part in the library, reading a play by Plautus and the wonderful historian Herodotus.  I'm also dealing with the residue of the past term, as some of my students aren't pleased with the grades they earned (Head's up to all budding archaeologists: most of you will be teaching at some point to earn enough money to fund your obsession with dirt!).      

But never fear, dear reader, some joy is to be found.  For example, I can now end my studying for the day around six or seven in the evening instead of ten or eleven.  And in the evening, I can pick up a book - a REAL book - full of silly plot lines and ridiculous characters.  Best of all, I can finally take an oil painting class at the Art Academy (something I could not do either during the school year OR if I was on the dig).       

Quite frankly, completely diving into the languages and history of a people can be as satisfying as jumping into a 5×5 hole in the ground.  And there are less bugs.