I’ve spent less than 48 hours in Turkey and I’ve loved every minute. Yes, even waking up at 5am to dig for hours in the hot sun, to hack at a root system until it’s out of the ground, and yes, even with the extreme humidity. This whole experience is amazing and every day presents new challenges and victories that I hope I’m ready to tackle.
Something I find particularly interesting is that we are working on a site that has been active for thousands of years. Although we haven’t been here very long, we are finding pieces of pottery last seen by someone who thought nothing of the vessel made to hold water. Yet here we are using to see what their life was like, to see what we can learn about the past. I was shocked at how quickly we’ve made progress on the site. Within two days it is mostly cleared of bushes and grass and we have begun the early stages of excavation. It was a tough time clearing away the brush, and a few of the plants fought particularly hard to keep their place on the acropolis.
Another surprising component of life in Turkey thus far is how quickly I’ve felt at home. While life here is much different than before (from the long hours in the sun to the fact that I now know how to use a pick axe), I find myself appreciating every minute and feeling like I’m doing something meaningful. The change of pace is welcomed and I feel a great sense of accomplishment after we finish working for the day. It certainly helps that the people here are fantastic. Working on top of a mountain and dumping buckets of dirt really brings us closer together. I think it’s safe to say that Turkey is an extremely special, amazing, and awesome place and I’m so exited to see what the summer brings. This place really rocks.