This morning several of us went to Christ Church, an Anglican church just within the Jaffa Gate. I found out later it was the first Christian Church built within the Old City, and because they were not allowed to erect a cross, they built the church in the shape of one. The inside was designed to make Jews feel at home, as if in a synagogue. This means there was lots of wood paneling and high domed roofs. It was a beautiful church, but even more it was very beautiful to worship with brothers and sisters overseas. Last time I was in Israel, we did not have the opportunity to go to church, but I can tell I will love weekly worship. Although Jerusalem is considered the most holy city in the world, I learned there are only about 5 Christian churches in all of Jerusalem. I also hear they tend to be very segregated between Jewish believers and Palestinian believers, but Christ church makes it a goal to try and reach both groups. We prayed for Jews and Palestinian Believers, and sang in both ...
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I made it safe and sound! Everything went smoothly with the plane, and I even was seated next to a girl also going to JUC! Another student who was on the plane knew the way to get to the college, and it was a simple process. When they lead me to my room, I could hardly believe how awesome it was. It is on the fourth and top floor, and you need to exit the main building and cross the rooftop to get to it, which means the view out our front door is of the new city of Jerusalem, facing west for lovely sunsets! I have two roommates, both very nice. After settling in yesterday, I went for a walk in the old city with a couple other girls, and at 6:00 we had Shabbat dinner as a group back on campus. Shabbat dinner is every Friday, and is the only tie we all eat at a set time. There are candles, tablecloths, and Halah bread, and we also read some liturgy. After dinner, they wanted to keep us up a bit longer, so we sang some songs and then played a game. Then bedtime! I slept very well! Today ...
O'Hare Airport, Chicago. 1/28/16 I'm at the airport ready to begin the adventure! The hardest part was saying goodbye to family, if only I could take them with me! I am very excited though, in about 14 hours I'll be in Israel! I read a verse in the Psalms, which I want to remember during my trip. Psalm 125:1-2 "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mt. Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore." Seems appropriate, especially since my school is on Mt. Zion. (How awesome is that?) This will be the trip of a lifetime!
Gathering GPR data at Cane Notch, TN. I certainly learned a lot about GPR while in Tennessee! The first day we gathered data, we only did one 20x20 Grid. By our last day, however, we finished four grids in about for hours. Hopefully we will be able to cut the time down a bit more at Shimron, and we will be working full days. The red box is where the antenna are, sending and receiving radio waves. The results show up on the screen which I am carrying. This control is also what we use to start and stop data collection, as well as set certain factors, like how deep we want to record data etc. Today I received my student visa for Israel, which means I am all set to fly in a week! Now if I can finish the mapping assignments due upon arrival, I will be golden. I am glad to have a chance to learn about the land a bit more before going there though, it is an enjoyable assignment!
When I tell people I'm studying archaeology, I usually get one of two responses. It's either "That's so cool!" or "So you play in the dirt." I laugh at this, and the Indiana Jones jokes that almost always follow, from both parties. But truthfully, I've swung back and forth between these two responses myself.Today, after a check-up, I chatted with my dentist for a bit about my trip. His response was the latter. He wished me the best, but ended with the comment "Well, the real world will be waiting for you when you get back!" It is true, this trip feels surreal on several levels. When I'm in the Arch Lab, or with the Geo-archaeologists in TN, for instance, people talk about going to Israel, and Petra, and the City of David as if it were a casual business trip, and for them it is. But for most people, going to the Holy Land is a dream never realized. While this prompts me to feel grateful, it also places me in a position of limbo, fee...
Today marked our first day of training in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). I, along with seven others who will be at the survey in Shimron this summer, are spending a week in Johnson City Tennessee under the instruction of Dr. Eileen Ernenwein. Dr. Ernenwein teaches Geophysics and Geoarchaology at Eastern Tennessee State University. GPR is only one of several Geophysical survey methods, and is perhaps the most complex. However, the advantage of GPR is that it can produce a 3D map of surveyed ground, unlike Magnetometry, for instance, which only provides 2D data. GPR, as its name suggests, emits a radio wave into the ground, and records the reflection of the wave back to the antenna. As the wave encounters objects or changes in soil composition, which alters the velocity of the wave, part of the wave is reflected back towards the surface. By examining these reflections, it is possible to determine subsurface features. Although GPR is mostly used for purposes other than Archaeology, su...