{"id":1474,"date":"2015-08-13T06:49:43","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T11:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2015-08-13T06:49:43","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T11:49:43","slug":"on-self-family-and-throwing-rocks-off-cliffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/2015\/08\/13\/on-self-family-and-throwing-rocks-off-cliffs\/","title":{"rendered":"On Self, Family, and Throwing Rocks Off Cliffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

I began my first blog post with the confession that I\u2019m not very good at processing change, and that up until the last minute, doing archaeology in Turkey felt entirely unreal\u2014something that was going to happen to some other Catherine, not me. But for some reason, leaving feels different. As we were closing our trenches yesterday and doing one last tour of the acropolis, I swear that the only reason I wasn\u2019t in tears was because I had already sweated everything I could out. I know I\u2019m going to miss the acropolis and Turkey so much, and I\u2019m so glad that my family in Pennsylvania did so much to lead me to Turkey.
\nI don\u2019t think they would believe it, but my parents have actually had a substantial influence on my thoughts and actions. I am convinced that listening to A Prairie Home Companion<\/em> since I was in the womb led me to eschew my native east coast schools for St. Olaf, and I similarly believe that growing up wearing Istanbul t-shirts and evil eye necklaces\u2014entrapments of their fascination with Turkey and Turkish culture\u2014led me to going on this adventure. I actually realized their influence right before leaving, and to be perfectly honest, it freaked me out. Was I leaving the country for a month to do hard physical labor for myself, or for them? Would I actually enjoy myself, or would I just tell myself that so this course wouldn\u2019t be a total waste of time and money?
\nLuckily, all my worrying was for naught. It is true that I am not the ideal candidate for this course (a Classics major who isn\u2019t afraid of the weight room and is also an expert landscaper, with skin impervious to the perils of roots and rocks), but I still managed to enjoy myself and learn a lot all the same. The one quality that carried me through this project was my sense of adventure. If you don\u2019t mind travelling to a new country without knowing a word of the language, or eating something that may or may not be beef, or thinking analytically while also doing hard labor in forty degree heat (Celsius, of course), then this course is for you. Although I now know that I won\u2019t be doing archaeological excavations as a career (I honestly don\u2019t think my bones could handle it), I have definitely gained from this trip a greater appreciation for what archaeologists do, and I could see myself pursuing this as a hobby. I mean, this wasn\u2019t a bad way to spend the summer\u2014I\u2019d be more than willing to do something like this again. Even if you don\u2019t have a special interest in the classical world, or in history in general, I can guarantee that at least one moment in Turkey will resonate with you\u2014even if it\u2019s just one where you\u2019re bonding with your fellow Oles over a bewildering trip on a \u201cdiscotheque\u201d boat, or experiencing awe at touching a really nice piece of fineware during pottery washing, or just looking at the amazing view from the acropolis. If you\u2019re at all curious about archaeology or Turkey, or if you just want to do something a little different next summer, apply for this program.
\nAs for the practical side of things, I have a few suggestions. Bring twice as many \u201cnormal\u201d clothes as the packing list suggests\u2014you\u2019ll change into them every day after the dig, and if you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019ll sweat through them just by sitting in un-air-conditioned rooms. But since they don\u2019t become encrusted in soil after a day\u2019s use, they will never be a laundry priority, no matter how funky they end up smelling. I also suggest making a few trips to the weight room before boarding the plane. I came to Turkey with the belief that archaeology would make me stronger (which it has\u2014my arms have progressed from being Super Limp Noodles to now being only Regular Limp Noodles), but it also helps to have some muscle mass before you try to toss rocks and buckets that seem to weigh almost as much as you off a mountain. It also wouldn\u2019t hurt to download all the readings and at least some of your music before coming to the dig house. The Wi-Fi here is about as reliable as rain in southern California, and having music you like and reading you need on hand makes this experience much more enjoyable. Finally, leave enough room in your suitcase for Turkish pants\u2014they\u2019re the best thing since flush toilets.
\nI hope that the next recruits for this program have as great of a time in Turkey as I did, and that the fear of blood, sweat, and tears won\u2019t scare them away from a truly incredible adventure. Elveda<\/em>, Turkey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I began my first blog post with the confession that I\u2019m not very good at processing change, and that up until the last minute, doing archaeology in Turkey felt entirely unreal\u2014something that was going to happen to some other Catherine, not me. But for some reason, leaving feels different. As we were closing our trenches […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1417,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Iz8A-nM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1417"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1479,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/1479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}