Wow, I am so sorry on the lack of blog updates, dear readers! I am still trying to make myself be motivated in times of stress, and when I am motivated, I am so focused I think of nothing else! Also, I didn't realize how difficult it is to keep our house clean before. We had enough people doing little things here and there this whole time and never noticed how much that really helped. In the end, it feels like I never stop cleaning. Work on my cemetery is progressing rather well, I hope. I had a panic attack Wednesday night over it thinking I was really behind, but when I talked to the others about it, everyone seemed to think I was the only one in control with things going smoothly. Sweet! Anyway, here's the update I promised last week...
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I visited
the Palestinian economic center of Ramallah, located in the West Bank – a quick
and easy 30 minute bus ride from Jerusalem!
Nutter
trapped himself on the roof next door! An account of our attempts to save him!
May and June
are ideal wedding months and the International Conservation Center building is
the ideal location for wedding photos!
The fishing
culture in Akko is not only related to boats, but also net and harpoon fishing!
I spent the
weekend with one my advisors, Kamil, and his amazing family in Haifa. He took
me to Nazareth since I’ve never been there! It was a great time, I ate a ton of
Arabic food and drank more Arabic coffee than I ever have in a single weekend.
I’m surprised I didn’t absorb Arabic into my language list I heard so much of
it this weekend! The pictures in Nazareth are of the Basilica of the Annunciation. For the sake of time for myself, you can check out the wiki page for the basilica for more info.
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| "Synagogue Church", so named because it's believed to be the synagogue Jesus first started his teaching ministry. |
Now I’m just
focusing on getting my project done. I’m working in the Greek Christian
cemetery outside the old city. It’s used by all the churches in Akko: St.
George, Greek Orthodox; St. Andrew, Greek Catholic; St. John’s, Roman Catholic;
and the Maronite Church. The oldest graves are in complete ruin and the community
really wants to fix it up. Pretty much, what I am doing is creating a
documentation, conservation, and maintenance plan for these communities. My
project will be in two phases: Phase I – compiling historic records to identify
the main importance of the cemetery to the communities and the city of Akko;
Phase II – surveying the present conditions and past maintenance, creating
grave typologies, identifying urgent care, and creating a plan that includes
short and long term maintenance goals, including budgeting and volunteer care.
I’m pretty excited. Here are some photos of the cemetery now:
I’m also
starting the job search, networking. I need to find a job! I’ve also decided
that I will definitely return to the States at the end of July/beginning of
August! Whether or not I remain in the States is questionable and dependent
upon the job search. I’m looking for historic preservation work, private or
government, in the following parts of the States: Philadelphia, Washington, DC,
San Francisco; or I’m also looking in Israel. We’ll see what happens!
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