Jordan Day 1, June12

Arrived about 7:30 PM last night. The airport here in Amman is very yellow. Yellow signs, yellow glass windows, yellow lighting. Yellow. And crowded. And hot. You have to buy a visa before entering the country. $15. Not bad after the 12.5 hour plane trip. ( I sat next to Ahamad, a 53 year old Jordanian man with four kids and one wife, who hates blacks because one killed his brother in New Orleans. I have his number in case 'i have a problem and need any help')

Got to the hotel and went to bed. Didn't sleep much and 3:45 AM comes very, VERY early when you don't sleep. But the red dawn was nice to watch.

But the first day on on the dig was fantastic. I am in field D of the dig (there are 6 different fields or holes people are digging in), and we have a structure in the field that we are excavating. Speculations are that we are diggin' up a home, or perhaps a granery. We have found alot of pottery pieces, and before i arrived a shard with writing was found(a HUGE discovery in the field of archeology), as well as a small painted statue of a horse or bull (take your pick I guess!)


Our team is great. My friends Amanda, Dustin, Scottie and Shawn are all on my field. It's good times. We have rapping, dancing, singing and lots and LOTS of sarcasm. I fit right in! Shawn demonstrates the art of pointing to a wall here.

We eat breakfast at 4 AM, hit the road, dig till 9:30, eat second breakfast (yep, like hobbits!) and then dig until 12:45 when the desert tries to roast us alive, so we pack up and head home. In the PM we clean pottery for two hours, eat lunch and take naps. Many people are complaining about the falafel and pita and hummus and insist I will be sick of it in a week, but I fail to believe them.
My job on site is mostly sifting dirt and sand. I get to find lots of pottery and beads and bones which is fun. All the lifting of the goofahs (rubber buckets) is a real workout (don't worry Mom, I'm watching out for my arm!), but anyone who wants to arm wrestle when I get home....

Field D looks like this. Before dawn, Day 1. Scottie is in the picture, setting signs for official dig pictures.

On for day 2!