It's Hot!

Well the desert heat seemed to find us today! It was so hot out at the dig and people were dropping like flies!

Before I get to today, I wanted to add a little about last night. It turns out we did go out after the lecture because we were hungry. We decided to have a little mini Levine dinner and have Kevin take us somewhere. Of course, we needed some falafel and it was delicious!

There were French fries inside my falafel pita. This is my kind of sandwich. 

Aren't they cute?!

Anyway, today was an exceptionally hot and dusty day on the dig so I handed out the bandanas for people to use as dust masks. I felt like my friend Brandon who was on the dig last year with my entire face covered:

These people were the dust culprits and I sit right by here so I had to cover my face. They uncovered a great mosaic floor today that I will try to get pictures of tomorrow. It is a great find! I also made a new friend today!

This is Muhhamed. He told us he's 14 but I think it's more like 10 years old. The head archeologist is paying him as a summer job to fetch water and help around the dig. He speaks only Arabic and I work with him the most of the day so we've developed our own language of hand gestures to communicate. He's a super sweet kid and hard worker so we have fun together. Plus he's teaching me more Arabic which I like. Today he taught me that the Arabic word for tea is chai!

After the dig, I took Jamie and some other girls to one of my favorite places in the city. The church of St. Peter of Galicantu. Dr. Zablotsky and I went last year and I fell in love and had to share. There is a beautiful overhang that gives you a panoramic view of the city. Plus this church itself is incredible. This church is on the site where Peter denied Jesus 3 times (in theory). It's ornate and gorgeous and I love going there. 

Excuse the dirt. We came right from the dig. 

Tile and stained glass ceiling. 

Peter denying Jesus. 

Our plan for the rest of the day is to rest of course and go shop around the old city for a little while this evening. We're pretty tired so it won't be long but it's so fun and we don't want to waste time. 

On a more random note, check out these cats from today. Jerusalem is filled with cats and these were particularly funny. Cat one is on a pillow:

And cat two is in a box!! The cat found a box, drug it over and got in it to sleep! Hilarious!!

Kevin Doing Nothing:

4am is EARLY!

Man I was not happy when my alarm went off this morning! 4 am is so early! It's still the same day in the US when I get up! We got up and had some tea and pasteries before we walked to the dig. The old city is really incredible when no one is out there. It's a very special thing to walk through there and take it all in peacefully. Plus what's better than this sunrise over the Mount of Olives:

I feel so blessed that I get to start everyday by seeing this. 

We had a person injure their ankle on the way this morning and I had to go back through the old city to find them so I got all kinds of extra walking in but I ended up having to sit with her most of the day today. The shades went up over the dig which was really nice but they tried to collapse on us a couple of times before they were secured!

We also had a film crew on the site today working on a project so that was really neat to be a part of. 

 

Somehow it was decided that I would be on tea making duty as well today. Now I need to explain a little why this is a big deal and why I didn't want the job. The head archeologist is obsessed with tea and it has to be made just right. If he doesn't get perfect tea, he is mean and cranky all day. I did not want to be responsible for that but apparently that's my new job. Here's my sketchy tea set up:

Other than a few bumps and scrapes, the rest of the day went fairly smooth. Jamie, another Levine on the trip, found her first coin today so I am thrilled for her! Our dig site really looks fantastic all cleaned up. Here's a picture of the site from the top of the hill, facing the Mount of Olives in the background. 

Tonight is Dr. Gibson, the lead archeologist, lecture and we are all going so I will be staying at the hotel for the rest of the day. Dr. Gibson is quite long winded to say the least so it will be interesting to see how long we are there even though it is interesting. Until then, I will be eating all of the hummus I can find from lunch! It's so delicious!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Shalom!

Kevin Doing Nothing: 

Dig Day 1

Today was the first day of the dig. We got to start at 8am which was great for getting over jet lag and had a delicous breakfast. The weather is fantastic so our morning walk was very pleasant. 

It was so fun to go over the walk that I've practically memorized from the last trip. Apparently there is a huge light festival going on in the old city so it's decorated everywhere with crazy things like elephants on the wall. I will definitely be going to see that. 

We spent the morning cleaning the dig site and removing the debris so we can start with a clean dig site tomorrow. No remarkable findings today and no one really got sick. People just over did it some and felt dizzy but that's typical of the first day. 

 

We had upside down chicken for lunch today also which is my favorite meal I've had in Israel so far! I was thrilled and ate a ton! Yummy!!!

After lunch, Jamie and I headed out for our most favorite activity...shopping! But first, we needed an iced chocolate. This is iced chocolate: 

It's not really like a milkshake or chocolate milk but it tastes like heaven in a jar. I got my nativity scenes which I'm very excited about and I got some hot pants with elephants on them. So cool!

Our final stop was to the Western Wall because it's one of my favorite places in the city. 

Finally, this is a new special part of my blog. It's the Kevin Doing Nothing section. We have an ongoing joke in our program that Kevin does nothing on the dig site but in reality he's doing very important recording of findings and keeping the dig running. But in the fun spirit of our joke, I will be posting a picture of Kevin doing nothing every day. 

 See you all tomorrow! 

I'm back in Israel!

Well after quite a day of travel, I'm back in the beautiful city of Jerusalem listening to all of the sounds of the city from my hotel room. Our flight from Charlotte was delayed and then our flight out of Phildelphia was delays too for bad weather but all of that bad weather meant that lots of people missed their flight so we had room to spread out on the plan. I don't sleep well on planes so I used the 10 and a half hour flight to catch up on movies. I watched the second Hunger Games (dark and twisty), two slap stick comedies to try to feel better after Hunger Games and started Dallas Buyers Club but will have to finish it on the way home. I sat with Dr. Tabor so we got to reminisce about last years trip which was very fun. 

We arrived in Jerusalem and I got my luggage no problem! We got to the hotel just in time to have the delicious dinner prepared by the hotel. I was thrilled when the hotel staff remembered me from last year! They were all so kind and even asked about my life while piling on the fruit and desserts of course! 

After dinner we had a meeting to discuss the basics of the dig and at that meeting, I got to see all of the people from last year! Tomorrow at the dig, we get to arrive at 8am instead of 6! I'll be posting more pictures tomorrow since that's when the dug actually starts!

Once in a Lifetime...A Second Time

Well hello again everyone!

On Friday, I leave for a once in a lifetime trip. Again! I am so excited to be writing on here again because that means that I'm going back overseas! And back to Israel I go! I am so thrilled.

I am going back to Jerusalem, Israel to Dig Mount Zion like I did last summer except this summer, I'm going as staff! I will be the nurse on the dig site this year since I am officially a registered nurse! I'll be blogging about my experience again and I am thankful to have people keeping up with me while I'm gone. 

As I said, I leave with the group from UNC Charlotte and Dr. James Tabor on Friday June 13th and will be staying in Jerusalem for two weeks. I am so thankful to have this opportunity and will be updating everyone regularly! Feel free to look back in the blog to see my experiences from last year.

Expectations vs. Reality

Not everything in life can go as smoothly as we plan it. Sometimes we expect more of ourselves and our plans than we can actually do.

This is the case for Mongolia. I wanted to come to Mongolia to learn from the locals and help the people around me. I believed that I could conquer this trip and was prepared to be there. I did not realize how difficult that truly would be.

After some time in the country, I realized that I had made a mistake by going. I was not prepared for the difficulties I faced and I felt abandoned and isolated. The hospital was not what I expected and there was little regard for the feelings of the mother. For people who know me, I am very passionate about mothers and babies as well as the birth process. I believe it should be celebrated and treated with respect not violence and disdain. 

I am not a person who gives up easily and I fought hard to be able to stay. After much contemplation and weighing of all of the options, I decided it was best to return home. I was honestly concerned for my safety because of incidents that occurred on the streets and I was not willing to compromise my safety. 

Now all of this is not to say that everything was bad in Mongolia. I had an incredible host family. They welcomed me into their home with open arms and I became very close to them. I learned from them and laughed with them. 

Mom and sister

Great homemade food. 

I know many of you were looking forward to hearing about this trip and I am sorry to disappoint. I believe very strongly in self preservation and making sound decisions. The decision to leave Mongolia was made in a sound state of mind with no reservations or regrets. I believe that visiting Mongolia could be an amazing experience but integrating yourself in the life and work as an alone American woman is a different story. 

I have returned home with a greater appreciation for America. I believe our healthcare system is backwards in many ways but has also evolved by leaps and bounds to benefit our patients. I am greatful for the many blessings I have and even the chance to go to Mongolia and experience things for myself no matter how it worked out. 

Thank you so much for following my blog these last few weeks. I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you.

Orientation Day

Today was my first full day in Mongolia. I slept in a little and my host sister made me a huge breakfast. Way more than I could ever eat but it wasn't bad. I'm not sure what alot of it was though. Sometimes it's better not to ask questions. 

My host family is very kind and the apartment is nice as well. The best part is they have wifi so I don't have to leave to communicate with people. 

My bedroom

The hallway 

Living room

My sweet sisters

My orientation day started at 1130. A projects abroad worker picked me up and we took the public transportation to the office. I had a small orientation there about the medical placement and the dos and donts of being in Mongolia. We had Korean food for lunch...still not a fan...and from there she took me to the center city. She pointed out all the shops and important places to know while I'm here. It was a great way to see the city for sure. Here's a few pictures of what I saw today. 

Games in the park

Blue sky building

The central square

Gorgeous mountains creeping up behind the city

I learned that Mongolians don't drink water. It's for sale bottled everywhere but they just don't drink it so I got myself a huge water! Also, I'm probably going I die on public transportation or get but by a car before I leave here. Apparently you're just supposed to cross the street when you feel like it and hope the cars stop...not reassuring...

And when they say developing country, they mean it. Most of the buildings are stopped mid construction and the ones that are built have been around since the 40s and 60s. But the little glimpses I caught of the countryside are incredible. I can't wait to go out there. 

Now I'm resting because I'm still exhausted from traveling and Israel. I'm not sure when my host parents come home but I'm sure dinner will be an adventure as well. I promise to post about it if it is.