Our first work week in Turkey is already done! I have never been more physically exhausted or blissfully content in my life. I’m not going to lie, when I first got in to the dig house I was both overwhelmed and homesick. I had been traveling for two days and running on very little sleep and suddenly I was surrounded by people all speaking a foreign language and crowded into a small room with 5 other girls. I realized that I way over packed and there was almost no room for my stuff, in fact the stuff I use daily is currently under my bed and my suitcase has found a permanent home out in the hallway. Monday morning, after I had gotten some sleep, I immediately began enjoying almost every aspect of life here in Gazipasa. Each day starts with 6 different phones with 6 different alarms all going off at 5am creating a sort of weird symphony, which is almost always followed by the sound of beds creaking as every single one of us turns over and goes back to sleep for 5 more minutes. Throughout the day there are many moments like these, where universal things, such as the desire to sleep in, break down the language and culture barrier.
The Turkish students living with us are some of the nicest, warmest, and liveliest people I have ever met. Two of my roommates, E (pronounced Echee) and Serap (pronounced Sare-ap), are Turkish and they have been so kind and patient with me. They both have such a wealth of knowledge that they have been more than willing to share with me, whether it is teaching me how to pronounce the same four Turkish words over and over again or teaching me more about archaeology, I am constantly impressed with their sweetness and their brilliance. The Turkish students also know how to have fun. They all seem to have this happy demeanour and are quick to laugh, sing, or dance. On Thursday, the bus that I was on coming back from the dig depot to the dig house was a mix of both American and Turkish students. Some of the Turkish students turned on the radio and got up and started dancing right there in the bus as it was moving. For the rest of the ride back, more Turkish students would get up and join in the dancing in the little space between the benches and the door. Everyone, including the American students, who wasn’t dancing was clapping along and cheering for the dancers. On Friday night, a sizeable group of both the Turkish and American students went to a local bar called Konrad’s. One of the Turkish students brought a guitar and a group of the Turkish students wrote and performed a song about the people in our excavation site. The Turkish students proceeded to sing quietly strum throughout the evening. At one point, one of the American students played the guitar and sang some American songs for the Turkish students. At another part of the table, there was a group playing both Turkish and American card games. Hanging out with the Turkish students is just always an amusing and cheerful time.
We aren’t just here to get to know some Turkish friends, we do actually work most of the time. The excavation work itself is significantly more enjoyable than I anticipated. It is definitely hard work, all of the St. Olaf students like to joke that since we are working so hard for hours each day we will all get swol, or super fit, by the end of the summer. We even named our group chat “SwolchaeOLEgy” because of this joke and the fact that we are all Oles. While it is physically taxing, it is really satisfying and I have found that I actually like clearing dirt, which is what I do most of the day. I have always loved rocks (and it helps that my last name is pronounced “rock”) so I get really excited at all of the different types of rocks I have found in the area I have been working in. I can now identify some of the rocks that I find and I think that is just so cool. I have also learned how to use a pick axe, measure the altitude of a location, how to identify pottery (you lick it!), and so many more things that I never imagined I would know how to do. There has been a steep learning curve, but I am loving every minute of it and I don’t think I would change a single thing about this experience.
You must be logged in to post a comment.