Looong time!!

Wow, it has been a long time since I last blogged. So much has happened during the past six months, that I will simply sum it all up. I received my letter of "good work" from the grad school committee...YAY! I am beginning the second year of my MA, and really look forward to doing fieldwork of some kind and SOON!! Man, I miss digging! This semester I am taking Technical and Professional Writing and Museum Studies. I had originally signed up for another class that was canceled today--the day BEFORE the class was to start! Nice!!

I am still working at the Montessori--and love it! It is a lot of work, but if I am not constantly busy with many irons in the fire--then something is wrong! Ha! This year I am teaching Spanish, Art, and Music along with handling the bulk of the 5th grade instruction. It's a challenge, but it will be a fun challenge!

This journey to becoming a professional archaeologist has proved challenging at times...not so much the work, but wading through the crap. While I am not going to go into a 'crap-fest' of my issues; what I will say is that every day is a brand new adventure, a new experience and a great chance to learn something new about myself.

Well, until next time!!

Happy New Year???

It has been a long time since I last posted. There has been a lot of things going on in my crazy-busy life. I realize that I have not posted anything about Ecuador...I think I am still processing...but here is a condensed version:

When we entered Quito, we stayed at a hostel which was pretty cool. We were only there for the night. The next afternoon we headed to Ibarra on the volcano of Imbabura. I must say that I had some major concerns of interpersonal relationships. The group of us that went did not know each other very well, with the exception of the survey crew, me and Jon. We all had met and maybe had a class together at some point or another, but the problem that came to be was with one person, who I shall call Andie, was an instigator that we could not ignore and eventually, we ALL dealt with the drama that she unfolded and dumped on our laps!

The idea of excavating out of the country was very exciting to me, especially since I had not excavated outside the States previously. Excavating in Ecuador was comparable to excavating cement with a dull toothpick--but we managed! Surveying was an aspect of archaeology that I had not done before. So Jon agreed to show me the ropes the best that he could. And he did a fantastic job.

We (the group) went on excursions just about every weekend. This was fun and I was able to see and experience tons. Thankfully, I speak Spanish so communication with the Ecuadorians was not as challenging as it was to those that did not speak the language.

There are many fond memories, but the one that remains near and dear to my heart was when we climbed Imbabura volcano. Jon and I stuck together--apparently, the taller one is in high altitude, the harder it is to to acclimate to the very thin air. So, we stuck together, being the two tallest people in the group. It was a beautiful day, and although the point was NOT to climb to the very top, but get to the caldera...in the end, the instructions that the leader had were not clear...we hiked for about two hours, and once we returned to our homestead, we were told that there is NO way we could have made it because the hike is about five hours--one way! But, the experience was great...just being so high in the sky and taking in the view, the smell of the wind...the sun on my face--priceless.

I have not yet processed a LOT of what occurred. There were elements of danger, there were moments of just shear frustration (five grown women sharing one bedroom and one bathroom), but there were also moments of just beauty. Some may read this and say "the interpersonal stuff doesn't matter"... well, in most cases, I do not pay much attention to that, but when one person puts the team in constant strife, divided lines, and in some cases danger due to stupidity--it matters. The idea of a team is to stick together and make sure that everyone is safe and okay. After all, we were in a foreign country, besides the professor, the Ecuadorian students and myself, none of the others spoke Spanish...after six weeks of working, living, eating, playing, traveling and basically feeling like we were in a Real World/Big Brother/Survivor television program... we finally left for home, Jon had had enough--someone took something of his, and he flipped--rightly so. Unfortunately, his item was never recovered; he felt that his concern was brushed aside as if he had lost his mind. Geez, as I am thinking of what was going on during those last few days-I get nauseous! I remember Jon telling me that this experience would be the WORST I would ever have...I can only hope he is correct.

In the end, I am thankful for the opportunity--I learned a lot about myself...and to me, that IS the most important thing is EVERY experience that I have....and I learned tons about archaeology, surveying, working within a crew that is not very united and how arrogant some 'Americans' can be. But, hey....life is all about the journey!

Until next time!