I may take no credit for this particular composition. You will have to speak to Leif and Nick Gantt about that one. It involves stinging bees, spiky plants, blisters, and dirt. It’s cynical and snarky, but in a good way.
I have had the unique experience of having worked in nearly every trench on this site in the past 10 days. Part of it is out of my control- when you have a bad knee, there’s only so much you can do. But those days of being injured gave me a great deal of perspective into other parts of the site, and I developed skills I would not have if I had not been forced into immobility. I have discovered that being on a dig is what you make of it: you can be on one of the richest sites in Turkey, and a bad attitude can ruin it. On the other hand, you can be confined to a chair on one of the richest sites in Turkey, and still develop a really valuable skill (I am the master trench sketcher. Got a dusty and precarious wall? Let me articulate that for ya). Bouncing around has given me a wide set of abilities, which I wouldn’t have discovered if I had never changed places. Live and learn.
Facing the end of the season, I find that I am wishing for more time. I didn’t truly grasp until last week how incredible this site is, and now I’m wishing for more time so I can keep doing what I’m doing. I’m wishing for more time because, without really realizing it, I’ve become invested in the site as a whole. I care about the work I’m doing, and I think it is incredibly valuable. A visitor asked me today why I had come, and the only viable answer was, “How could I not?”
Three days to go. Let’s see what we can figure out.