{"id":2227,"date":"2018-08-06T21:31:01","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T02:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/?p=2227"},"modified":"2018-08-06T21:31:01","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T02:31:01","slug":"turn-at-last-to-home-afar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/2018\/08\/06\/turn-at-last-to-home-afar\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn at last to home afar"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a cluster of various moments from this internship which I will easily be able to recall in future years. All are associated with positive feelings mixed with some exhaustion, as well as a strong sense of accomplishment and growth. For me, this trip concludes a seven-month-long study and living abroad hiatus I embarked upon last December. Let\u2019s just say I\u2019m very glad to have an additional few weeks to process everything before jumping back into fall semester because a lot can (and certainly did) happen in seven months. <\/span><\/p>\n

Among this cluster, I will most certainly remember the feeling of crouching low to the ground, eyes scanning, sweat dripping, sunscreen making me a magnet for all the dirt in the vicinity, airborne and otherwise. <\/span><\/p>\n

I will remember the calluses quickly forming on my right hand as I used my trowel and a pick ax to evenly peel off layer upon layer of soil \u2026 and then I\u2019ll remember how difficult it is to do that evenly when there\u2019s wall fall. <\/span><\/p>\n

I will remember the unexpected excitement and delight when I came across something as seemingly small and inconsequential as a sherd of pottery or glass. <\/span><\/p>\n

I will remember the quieter, more profound sense of awe when I realized that the wall plaster I found was the same plaster early Christians from as early as the third century mounted and painted. A Christian myself, I\u2019m still amazed at the thought of early believers using the same space over fifteen hundred years ago to worship and likely to baptize new followers of Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

On a lighter note, I will remember my friends and I singing along to all our favorite songs on the playlist. Don\u2019t ask me how or why, but \u201cHooked on a Feeling\u201d and \u201cOcean Man\u201d are now melodies that easily transport me back to the acropolis. <\/span><\/p>\n

I will remember laughing while trying to keep a camera still since Julianne and I decided to film the team during some sillier moments for the music video we plan to make. We\u2019re hoping to create a memento to look back on generate good propaganda for future recruitment.<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, I will remember an odd feeling of loneliness when I boarded the plane to leave Turkey. I didn\u2019t have a team to eat dinner with that evening, and I realized just how much I enjoyed spending time with my friends – they\u2019re not simply classmates anymore. As much as I\u2019ve claimed to be an introvert, I really do value the way in which the St. Olaf team made weeks of dirt and sweat a fun, adventurous learning experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

There is much to be said about how memorable this experience was, but I\u2019m also going to attempt to defend the value of study abroad programs beyond their good memo<\/span>ries and Kodak moments. Living and studying in other countries has made me better prepared to face life as a soon-to-be college graduate. (Look out, world! I already have some experience with you!) Personally, the past seven months have largely impacted the way I now approach my future – a change you might not immediately suspect but one that will hold considerable influence soon enough (i.e. next spring, when I graduate).<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, if I can live and function such a long way from home for so long a period of time, then my abilities are much more than I expected. My plans for the future are now growing more ambitious and better defined by the day because I now have hope and even confidence in myself. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, where does Turkey fit into all of this? Turkey has given me tangible results that help reinforce my newfound confidence. I saw with my own eyes what used to look like a small hill with a few rocks and tree stumps transform into an archaeological dig site with plenty of walls, stairs, and artifacts. Over the course of a month, I watched the team\u2019s theories evolve and react to new findings. I witnessed our comprehension of the site become increasingly sophisticated, and I watched with a weird mixture of sadness and pride as we cleaned and closed all our loci on the final day. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the concluding internship to seven months spent abroad, it challenged me past where I thought my limits were, both mentally and physically. I was exhausted and homesick and thought I had reached my breaking point. But here I am, right before my eyes, I have a few more mental and physical calluses in addition to a nice farmer\u2019s tan. And, I know that when push comes to shove, I will persevere and learn something from it. <\/span><\/p>\n

I recently read <\/span>The Hobbit <\/span><\/i>for the first time, and after seven long months, I can\u2019t help but be reminded of Bilbo\u2019s journey back to Hobbiton at the end of the novel. I\u2019m in much the same position as I sit here and reflect on my big Adventure during this long plane ride. And since Tolkien describes the transition from adventure to homeward journey with this phrase, so shall I conclude this final entry with a full and happy heart: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYet feet that wandering have gone\/ Turn at last to home afar.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a cluster of various moments from this internship which I will easily be able to recall in future years. All are associated with positive feelings mixed with some exhaustion, as well as a strong sense of accomplishment and growth. For me, this trip concludes a seven-month-long study and living abroad hiatus I embarked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2867,"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-2227","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-zV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227","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\/2867"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2227"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2254,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227\/revisions\/2254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}