If you know me well, you know that I rarely do something where I know exactly what is going on. 99% of the time I am completely clueless, and am just hoping for the best. This summer shall be no different. In continuing my year abroad, I have decided to join the Gonzaga-in-Sinop summer program, which is taking place in the small town of Sinop, Turkey.

To be honest, I knew just about nothing when it came to archaeology- I don’t even study history or classics. Being an IR major, I thought it would be good to know more about ancient history to see how and why things ended up being the way that they are. I also thought it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to spend time digging along the Black Sea in Turkey. How many people get to say they spent their summer doing that? It was also much better than the alternative of going back to Carson City and working at my local ice cream parlor for the summer.

It has been almost a week since I arrived in Sinop. It is a peninsula town with a ton of history to it. Very few people speak English here so I have started to learn basic Turkish phrases (none of which I pronounce well based off of the confused looks the locals give me). It is a very cute little place. There are beaches just about everywhere and I have loved it. One of the cool things is that five times a day, you hear someone giving the call to prayer- something that I think is really cool. You don’t even really need a watch to tell time because the call will give you an approximation of what time in the day it is.

I have gone swimming almost everyday since getting here. I will probably turn into a mermaid before I leave.

Aside from spending time at the beach I have (kinda) started to work on site and dig. I had to watch and learn for a couple of days, but now I think I got the hang of it (I hope). Archaeology is a destructive science and mistakes are almost inevitable, which is pretty great for me since I am pretty much guaranteed to make a mistake.

Our average day looks somewhat like this (Monday-Friday and Saturday ending after lunch):

• 6am-Breakfast
• 6:30- Go to site
• 9am- Tea and Cookies
• Noon- Lunch
• 2pm- Clean up and break time (BEACH TIME)
• 4-6pm- Sorting
• 7pm- Dinner
• 8pm-Lectures

It is a long day, but definitely really interesting. Who knew I could be bothered to wake up before 9am? I am working muscles I did not even know that I had- it is great. Also, I am spending a ton of time in the sun, something I kinda missed after the long, sunless months of the UK. Although the sun and dirt can get to be a bit much, I like to think of it as character building.

This is something new for me and something I had never really thought about archaeology as an actual profession. I am stoked to learn more about it and learn some new skills. I am still kinda unsure about what exactly I am doing and my archaeology vocabulary definitely needs to be refined. That being said, I am hoping for this summer to be filled with tons of learning, sun, beach, great conversations with greater people, and a new insights about the world I am so eager to explore.

-L