I finally made it to Israel after a long flight through Baku, though with good food and no problems (which was very nice). I got in Sunday and made my way to the kibbutz, which, in accordance with my public transportation luck, took quite a while. I missed the stop on the train into Tel Aviv and had to take an hour ride through the city to get to the central bus station, That was only the first of my problems, but I did eventually make it :)
Life since then has been super busy. Starting Monday we were up on the Tell cleaning and weeding. The weeds this year are so tall! We had to cut away paths just to get to our area up on top. But we also luckily had a large group, even in the first week and were able to get a lot done. So by Tuesday we were actually able to start digging, which was awesome and way faster than most years.
Our group included a few students from Bar Ilan, who were fun ,but also varying in english. This last week Jeff was gone on a BYU center trip, so Eric was in charge and I ended up being the best Hebrew speaker (which isn't saying much...) So they were put with me in my main square (though I was running between a few). We got by pretty well, though, Half of our talking was pantomiming, but we all taught each other our language and had some fun, The two girls I was especially with were, admittedly, a little pampered and never even cleaned their own homes. So when I had them clean a wall like ten billion times, they thought it was hilarious. They'd ask what they had to do, and then before I even answered, went "linaqot! (clean)" we definitely got that word down in both languages,,, And then they would start singing the Cinderella song. They started calling their little room their home since it was the only thing they'd cleaned so well :)
We ended up finding a new wall, which was fun, and helped us learn where some house rooms are for sure. And doing lot sof other digging in other areas. So it's been good and hot and tiring, but very nice to be back. It has also been so fun to see everybody again and catch up from the year. We really do have a good group this year and everything;s been going well.
On the weekend, we of course went up to Jerusalem to stay. We didn't do too much, but definitely took the chance to recuperate and relax. Saturday was pretty exciting, We went to church in the morning, I was excited when they had the sister from Moldova teach the RS lesson in Russian, that was fnu to listen to. In the afternoon there was a 4th of July party at the Albright Institute. Which meant more schmoozing and talking, but also good food. Including meat and cheese on the same table!! But I actually didn't get to savor it too much as we had to hold back and save our stomachs for later.
That night we were invited to a Ramadan feat, which was awesome!!! It's been Ramadan since I've been here, which definitely provides for a different experience. There are lights everywhere and at night it is crazy in the Muslim quarter (where our hostel is). Once the cannon goes off around 8pm, then things ocme alive, the lights go one and there are fireworks going off all over the city until 3:30am when feasting starts again, So we got fireworks for Independence day too! :)
Anyways our shopkeeper friend, Zach, as well as Omar next door, invited us to come to their shops for dinner. it was absolutely delicious, but so much! We definitely didn't finish, and they laughed at us, but we got away with it because we were Americans... It was a wonderful opportunity, and we were very grateful.
And then Sunday we drove back to the Tell to do it all over again!
Also, if you want pictures, go on facebook. I actually haven't taken any, but luckily there are some that are taking a whole lot.
Life since then has been super busy. Starting Monday we were up on the Tell cleaning and weeding. The weeds this year are so tall! We had to cut away paths just to get to our area up on top. But we also luckily had a large group, even in the first week and were able to get a lot done. So by Tuesday we were actually able to start digging, which was awesome and way faster than most years.
Our group included a few students from Bar Ilan, who were fun ,but also varying in english. This last week Jeff was gone on a BYU center trip, so Eric was in charge and I ended up being the best Hebrew speaker (which isn't saying much...) So they were put with me in my main square (though I was running between a few). We got by pretty well, though, Half of our talking was pantomiming, but we all taught each other our language and had some fun, The two girls I was especially with were, admittedly, a little pampered and never even cleaned their own homes. So when I had them clean a wall like ten billion times, they thought it was hilarious. They'd ask what they had to do, and then before I even answered, went "linaqot! (clean)" we definitely got that word down in both languages,,, And then they would start singing the Cinderella song. They started calling their little room their home since it was the only thing they'd cleaned so well :)
We ended up finding a new wall, which was fun, and helped us learn where some house rooms are for sure. And doing lot sof other digging in other areas. So it's been good and hot and tiring, but very nice to be back. It has also been so fun to see everybody again and catch up from the year. We really do have a good group this year and everything;s been going well.
On the weekend, we of course went up to Jerusalem to stay. We didn't do too much, but definitely took the chance to recuperate and relax. Saturday was pretty exciting, We went to church in the morning, I was excited when they had the sister from Moldova teach the RS lesson in Russian, that was fnu to listen to. In the afternoon there was a 4th of July party at the Albright Institute. Which meant more schmoozing and talking, but also good food. Including meat and cheese on the same table!! But I actually didn't get to savor it too much as we had to hold back and save our stomachs for later.
That night we were invited to a Ramadan feat, which was awesome!!! It's been Ramadan since I've been here, which definitely provides for a different experience. There are lights everywhere and at night it is crazy in the Muslim quarter (where our hostel is). Once the cannon goes off around 8pm, then things ocme alive, the lights go one and there are fireworks going off all over the city until 3:30am when feasting starts again, So we got fireworks for Independence day too! :)
Anyways our shopkeeper friend, Zach, as well as Omar next door, invited us to come to their shops for dinner. it was absolutely delicious, but so much! We definitely didn't finish, and they laughed at us, but we got away with it because we were Americans... It was a wonderful opportunity, and we were very grateful.
And then Sunday we drove back to the Tell to do it all over again!
Also, if you want pictures, go on facebook. I actually haven't taken any, but luckily there are some that are taking a whole lot.
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