Eight days into the excavation and I have learned that I hate the rain here. With Thursday bringing enough rain to cancel a day of excavation, my team and I are unable to finish leveling AC6C and start removing wall-fall near the east wall and start to expose what might be a wall parallel to one in Unit Two. So, I have come to hold a deep grudge against the rain and love for the heat. Even though the heat can feel particularly angry, I have learned to love it because it allows us to continue our work. I have also learned to be able to push myself more when it comes to the weather and work. In Minnesota and elsewhere, I typically hate the heat and try to stay out of it unless there is a pool, lake, or ocean near me where I can swim, but here I have learned that after a while it does not seem to smother me as much with a few water breaks.
While in Gazipasa, I have also come to appreciate the beauty of the city and the drive to our site. I have always been in awe of the mountainous view from my balcony and while driving to the site; it was only recently that I started to look at the city with more interest. The wildlife continues to thrive in areas that are densely populated. Every aspect of the wildlife is beautiful in Gazipasa and I am already sad to think about how in a few weeks I will have to leave it for a suburb.
My thoughts on archaeology and the work had always recognized that it is hard work in uncomfortable weather conditions, but going through it has made me appreciate the process even more. I had also recognized that it is a slow process, but after working on-site with my groups and discussing what we have found, I see now that it does not feel as slow when you are a part of the archaeological process. If someone looked at our notebooks and official notebook, they would find countless theories and questions that have been disregarded by new theories and questions. To the tourists that come to the site, it may look like a slow process and that we are not finding anything, but in reality, we are always coming up with new theories with every pass through our site.
