Dig Day 5

As we started work on Friday we were told this is the hardest day of the dig -- people are tired, muscles hurt, and the shade cover still needs to be put back on.

The drone was not repaired, so Alex quickly took pictures before we put the shade cover back on. Even at 6 am it was hot. Typically around 10 am, after second breakfast, we get a nice breeze. 

Charles, our go-to guy with questions, was given his own section to dig. He seemed happier in this role, though he was very good and patient in the other role.

A note on temperatures, it has been sunny and in the mid-80s each day. Not too bad. At night it cools off into the 70s and feels heavenly! (A note now that we are finished: not a drop of rain, and only one day where temps hit 100 degrees, the rest had highs in the mid-80s.)

I am still in charge of setting up for lunch, but now I have added setting up the labia (?) -- a machine to measure the heights of different levels. Having a bit of a language barrier with Gunnar. He doesn't seem to realize I'll be setting it up and taking it down each day. I'm glad to learn something technical.

Today I helped uncover a section of cobblestone. Our leader, Emily, was thrilled

and worked with me. I enjoyed the sense of camaraderie, even if it didn't last long. I asked G to take a picture of me by my big find. As I don't find pottery cleaning (and if I do, it is not kept), this was as exciting as it gets for me.

By the end of the day, though, I was tired of people. Fortunately we were not cleaning pottery or attending a lecture. Many people figured out how to blow this Popsicle stand and left before Shabbat and travel restrictions set in. On the one hand, happy for the them. On the other hand, jealous no one invited me along. In reality, I needed to stay back in my air conditioned room all alone to recharge. Everyone is nice, but I'm not used to being around so many people ALL THE TIME. Julie thrives on it all, but not me.

I had been thinking I was not hearing much from Don and Ashley, then a flurry of texts showed up that had been stuck in a bottleneck. The time zone difference makes it hard.

Many people have purchased SIM cards and hide into their home lives on the bus ride. They are nice enough at the dig without their phones, but want to stay connected to home more than I do. The time zone difference makes it hard to connect -- Don is in bed as I am leaving for the dig. He is at work when I come back. Rinse. Repeat.

After the dig I returned to Akko/Acre and walked along the Sea Promenade. I dipped my feet in the Mediterranean Sea. Even a non-beach person like me could get use to that water. There are certainly prettier beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, but not closer to to dig site.

After dinner I discovered a labyrinth by a small cemetery on the Kibbutz. All of the people in the cemetery died around age 20 -- different decades represented. Other than the dates, the rest was in Hebrew. Update: I hoped to learn more about it, but never found the right person to ask.

Meanwhile, I try to be helpful without stepping on toes.

 

Notes: 

1) I saw a couple of cars decorated with flowers for weddings. It looks amazing, but I wonder how they get the flowers to stay on the cars while whizzing down the highway.

2) My laptop's touch pad stopped working. Computer geeks tried to fix it. Steve loaned me an external hard drive. This morning I did what I did last night (double touch in the upper corner) and it worked. My iPhone stopped holding a charge, but using Julie's official charger it worked again.

I still want to go home and sleep in my own bed. The airfare for tonight was more than the round trip to get here, and no refunds for the unused airfare. That and I don't know HOW I would get to the airport, though mass transit is much better than at home.