Of course, at the end of a month of an academic internship that requires blog posts, it would be disappointing if one of the final posts did not included reflection of some kind. Well, this is one of those blog posts; be prepared for a mediocre analysis about me and what I learned about myself in a work environment, as a learner, and personally.
I know that I am naturally curious, so it is no surprise that this trait carries into my work in the field. But, when somebody has found something I am always looking over my shoulder trying to get a look at what they just found, even if it just another piece of pottery. I think that this might have been the biggest distracting factor for my work, but it is technically still work if I am analyzing what the piece might be a part of and what its uses are; it might not be what I should be working on, but it is work. Something else that is quite significant that I learned in the first week is that I need to pace myself. I started the month by trying to get as much done as physically possible in the first few days, but I realized that by the time the afternoon came around, I was tired and taking many more breaks right before lunch, plus lightheaded-ness also came around. Although I did feel drained toward the beginning of the month, when I had to deal with some personal difficulties two weeks in, I noticed that I started to work harder, be able to carry more buckets, lift heavier rocks, etc. Maybe it was just the workout paying off, but there were a few days when I just did not stop working: no notebook or water breaks. But I know I enjoy the type of physical work that gets you thinking and is not just brutal work.
Very different from work, learning about the sites, both that we were working on and visiting, was a little more difficult for me. I know I am a hands-on learner, but I didn’t realize how much so. From working in Unit 2, I quickly took to recognizing pieces of pottery to roof tile to schist, what was shell and what was glass, telling the difference between bedrock, wall, and foundation. However, when we had gone to Lamos, even though we went and walked through the fortification walls and went down to the cistern, I do not remember much of the history behind it. Similar were the cases for Selinus, Anamur, and the castle in Alanya. Although, going to the museum in Alanya did help with my understanding of the items we were finding at Antiochia.
To be honest, I think I know myself as a person pretty well, but as I mentioned earlier I did encounter a difficult situation during the month. I thought that I handled the death of my dog pretty well, especially for being away from my family and friends. My parents did not plan for me to find out while I was away, but the few people who I did manage to tell were really supportive. I am still not sure if I let myself have enough time to process the event before going back to work or telling people, but I think that I handled the situation really well, considering the circumstances. Looking towards the future, I think that I might want to change a few of the choices that I made (I am not predicting that in another situation I will act similarly or differently, but I think that I could improve some of my choices, like when I decided to let my mother know that I knew and how).
Sorry to end on a heavy note, but there was no better way to describe my growth as a person than what I experienced. Here ends last week’s reflection. One more for the end of the month.