Am I Making a Difference?

I keep waffling back and forth on my project between utter despair and failure to actually feeling like I'm making a difference.

For instance, this morning I awoke to a feeling of abject failure. I went to bed a little after midnight and popped awake at 03:30 with the worst upset stomach and restlessness. I kept thinking of everything I was missing in my report and how on earth I could possibly finish it all. The only solution: turn the computer back on and work work work before heading out to the cemetery at 06:00. I arrived at the cemetery in a rapid 15 minutes (it usually takes 30 minutes to walk it!) and immediately set to work. I said good morning to Selem (the surly old man working in the cemetery whose toes I accidentally stepped on in the process of this project. Whoops!) and told him in choppy Hebrew what I was planning to do that morning and how long I would stay. I managed to accomplish more in an hour and a half than I have ever while being there. I had a conversation about personal philosophies in broken Hebrew with Selem, still sour about my work, but overall leaving with a sense of connection, even if it is bruised.

I worked all morning with high school students from all over Akko in the Center teaching about joint fillings and helping them mix their own mortar. I felt really good about it. So good that when I heard Michael talking about how nice a cold beer would be, I suggested splurging on Kakushka's, a local craft beer snack food joint in the new Turkish Bazar. It was awesome.

So now I'm really cracking down on my report, which I'm submitting tomorrow afternoon to the priests, directors, and advisors. Oh my! I'm feeling quite good, though we'll see how it goes after I hear back from results from my advisor! Eek!!! Nzar's brother, whom we've only just met yesterday for the first time, saw me working. 

He stopped me in my work and asked, "So you're the famous archaeologist??" I was confused. 

"I'm an archaeologist but of course not famous."

"No, you are famous in all of Akko! The priest, he keeps talking about you and the cemetery! He tells us you are working all week there."

Boy, did that make me feel good! For now. We'll see what happens by midnight...

MIA!

Well hello there, blog readers.

Um...I'm just a little...involved. Ok, maybe a lot.

When I'm not working, I'm stressing about what work I still need to do. And when I'm not stressing about my work, I'm stressing about finding a job. And when I'm not stressing at all, I'm wondering why I'm not stressing! AND when I am not wondering why I'm not stressing, I'm actually having a good time relaxing. Among all this, I'm surprised I am getting any sleep at all. Most nights I'm lying awake thinking about what I need to do, suddenly wake up with the dawn groaning about why the sun wakes me up so damn early, only to have my alarm wake me up minutes later. It's a pretty vicious cycle that is leaving me quite exhausted. Nzar comments constantly about what a "tired girl" I am. I told him I'll probably look this way until I leave because even once everything is put in its place and submitted, it'll be time to worry about my flight home! Which is only a week away! EEK!

At the end of all this, I seem to completely forget about my blog and my dear readers!

Do not worry, my precious followers! Long flights and layovers will result in pictures and updates!

Blog Update #2...I am ridiculous...

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.

"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!

Getting Crazy...

Wow, I must apologize, my dear readers. This past month has been pretty crazy. Between finishing our mini projects to saying good byes to half our crew to beginning our personal projects, I have had very little time to update. Well, that’s not quite true. I’ve gone through spells of being extremely lazy and extremely productive, which I haven’t much liked. I would prefer steady spurts of productivity to lead into rewards of relaxation. Instead I’ve been doing the opposite – being extremely lazy and then freaking out and going crazy trying to be productive. I need to work on a schedule…

Anyway, let me give you the highlights of the month of May. This is going to be in two parts…

I saw a camel in the mote around the old city of Akko!

Nutter fell asleep on the chair!

We had a tour of the agricultural lands surrounding Akko and were given more Arabic coffee, cucumbers, and tomatoes than we knew what to do with!

We said our farewells to those who were leaving early with a lovely BBQ!

I woke up to bagpipes and ended up watching a parade for the Feast of St. George!

The last rains of winter/spring.

We visited Ella at her gorgeous home in the Western Galilee, a small village called Mitzpe Abirim inside a nature reserve!

We got a special tour of the Bahai Gardens in Haifa!

Sorry for the lack of explanation on a great number of things. My mind is a little bit everywhere, so I can't quite focus on descriptions. HOWEVER, if you want some good explanations of things, you could always check out my facebook photos, because I always make sure there are explanations and descriptions there. And that's easier and faster than updating the blog, sadly. And as I've said before...I've been feeling lazy. This shall improve, my friends! But the second half of the blog posting will be tomorrow. For now, I have work to do!