In Turkey, my job consisted of excavating, keeping detailed notes on that excavation, and washing pottery. Every work day, we left for the site at 5:30 am, had breakfast, dug, had a tea break for half an hour at 10, then back to digging until 1 when we had lunch, back to the dig house and then pottery washing at 4:30 until 6:30, dinner at 7, mostly nightly meeting at 7:45, then bed. We worked not only with other Americans but with Turkish professors and students as well.
While in Turkey, some of the skills I improved are attention to detail, being able to work well with international colleagues, and being able to work in challenging conditions. The weather was a challenge to overcome. It was between 95 and 110 everyday with very high humidity, It would take less than half an hour to become dripping with sweat most days. But I worked through it. It was not something I was able to change and the work needed to be done, so I learned to preserver through the heat and the sweat.
Excavating is not just moving rocks and dirt, you have to be constantly looking, taking in information as it’s uncovered and putting the pieces of the puzzle together as you’re moving rocks and dirt. Having a sharp eye is important for being able to see small bits of pottery, glass or bone and collecting them. Attention to detail is important in articulating, being able to find the best ways to get all the dirt out and knowing when the dirt has become “clean dirt”.
As someone who hopes to attend grad school in Europe, living and working with people from another countries is a great experience. As English speakers, we were often unable to communicate very well but, through hand gestures, facial expressions and google translate, it was never difficult to make myself understood.