Last night I had a good talk with my roommate about how she got into archaeology and went about pursuing graduate school. She's in her 7th year at the university of Chicago. She has been extremely kind and helpful while I've been here. It really helps to make things a lot easier.
Everyone keeps asking me how I am adjusting to such a different world. I'm sure the experience is different for everyone, but for me, since I know that I am going to be here a while, I went with the dive in and get soaked approach. I don't really take the time to think about how to adjust to something, or whether or not I approve or disapprove, whether I can or can't...when you're here, you just do it...when you walk into a bathroom, and the bathroom is a hole on the ground, you don't hold it, especially when you've drank 4 bottles of water to combat the heat and potential dehydration. When your only way into town is through the thrill ride they call a taxi cab, you don't think about how nervous you get in cars, you just get in there and go. When you're burning more calories than you could ever possibly keep up with and you just saw about 3 different bugs land on your dinner, you pay no mind, you finish the meal. When the air is so dirty and polluted that when you blow your nose the tissue is black, you don't think about whether that's the last straw and that maybe it's time for home, you take another deep breath, and you throw the tissue away- and that is if you were smart enough to pick up your own tissues. Lesson number one in egypt: where ever you go, carry toilet paper, because you will not find it anywhere else. When you come in after a long day and think, oh I got a little color on my face, only to realize it was nothing but oil and dirt, a fine veil of bus exhaust..you just make sure you use some extra soap.
I could go on, but you get the point. Somehow I have really managed to just cut myself off from anything that I may have judged as gross, or unbearable. It's not even a matter of "managing" without, or making the best of a situation, it's just being or doing: in other words, sure things are different, but here, they make sense. Egypt is poor, it is covered in trash, the air is dirty, the bugs are constantly crawling on your skin and crossing the street makes Indiana Jones seem like a square dancer. I don't love it here. But I don't hate it. I have only been here a week, and while the culture shock has been tremendous, I can already tell that I will miss it here when I leave. Visiting the sites is wonderful, but the experience is a true gift. Even if it does involve the insanity that is transportation. I really wish i could record what a car ride is like. My professor described it as being in a video game. Crossing the street is extreme Frogger, and driving is any racing game you can imagine. Like I was saying before, my first time in the car, driving home from the airport, I let out one gasp at a near collision before my professor told me to relax and accept that this was what traffic was like. After that I was almost able to enjoy it. The thing is, they are really aggressive drivers and it's almost fun to watch them zig zag in and out...you would never have guessed how close you can actually drive next to cars and peoples without hitting them until you experienced it here. But they are really good drivers. it's not like they are all trying to be idiots, this is just how things are here, and they are very good at maneuvering. My roommate further added that their cars are like their livestock. It is probably more expensive than their house. They take excellent care of their cars and are totally dependent on them to get to their places of work. In other words, if they smashed up their cars they would be losing nearly everything. So they are actually very careful, just in a MUCH different way...
My cousins both recommended I bring with me Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The book has really been tremendously valuable in coping with some of the issues I face here:
In case you missed it, here's a close up:
This morning when I went downstairs I found out I had been given a new nickname: The Spider on account of me hopping on furniture and climbing the walls last night to try and kill all of the mosquito's in my room: weapon of choice: Ayn Rand!
I've been falling asleep during the same paragraph of this book for the last week now...but to be fair that is universally true of reading material as of late.
When I went to Sakkara and Dahshur a few days ago, I was actually tagging along with a group of people that Richard was showing around. They are from the states, some from Michigan, and work with/or or know Richard's wife. They were really Nice and really enthusiastic about archaeology. They came into the lab today to see what some of the stuff was like and it was really cool to have peopple so interested in the things that we do.
I don't really know how I feel about the fact that a week has gone by. On the one hand it seems like it has been so much longer...it really blows my mind that I have only been here a week. But then I think about how quickly one week will turn into two, and two into six and that by the time I get home there's still an entire half of summer. My perceptions of time are just all wacky right now. i think it might be because of all the sleep i've been getting. I probably haven't slept this much since I was a child, which is a very good thing. Though you would not believe this mattress...if I can even call it that...I'm pretty sure it's filled with straw and mud...maybe some bricks too seeing as though I cannot make it move at all. The mattress is at an angle, its like theres a big ole body on the left hand side stuffed in there and the other half is flat. It is quite an awkward sleeping platform: but I still fall asleep quite easily...so there you have it, if you want a better night's rest, don't bother with spending lavishly on linens, comforters, and top quality mattresses, just get yourself some good ole jet lag and work 10 hours in the desert, you'll sleep like you did when you were a baby!
Here are some pictures of me that Richard took while we walked around the site and one is after going through the Red Pyramid.
Sorry this was a long winded entry. Tomorrow/Saturday's will be filled with pictures from the Fayum.
Hope everyone is doing well!
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