Wrapping up

Well, I meant to post a final, wrap-it-up blog for all y'all out there before I left, but what with the packing and the rapid-fire pottery work, I was unable to do so. So instead you are hearing from me now, a week after my return. Now I have the extra wisdom that comes from being a whole week older.

Leaving was, as I said, a very fast whirlwind operation. The last few days down on the kibbutz were pretty much occupied with finishing all the pottery because Jolanta was coming to do a final reading of it. Unfortunately we had no idea when she was going to be there. So to prepare for the Second Coming of Jolanta I had to recruit several others, particularly Maria and Sara, to count tesserae and other tasks that you can do without having to know much. When Jolanta came it was indeed as a thief in the night, because I missed her. But thankfully everything was ready for her.

We also had several fun end-of-the-year parties. Efrat and her husband (I can't remember his name-- I'm so sorry if you're Efrat's husband and you're reading this) had our team over to their house for dinner. They told us everything about the kibbutz and kibbutzim in general; they helped me understand better a lot of the stuff I wrote about in the last post of this blog. They're both such wonderful people. It was sad to finally say good-bye to them.

Then there was the pan-dig party in the tourist event area behind the fish restaurant. It was fun, except it was a barbecue and it took about an hour and a half to find the grill and the charcoal, get it lit, let it get hot, and cook everything. At some point in the middle of all that I fell asleep, so I went to the coffee shop to get some coffee to keep me awake. It worked, and soon I was enjoying some chicken and some lamb-kebabs with everyone else. It was a wonderful time to finally get to talk at length with some of the Polish students. The Haifa people have come and gone to Hippos, but the Poles have been with us since the beginning. Some of them are incredibly brilliant young archaeologists. Marek, for example. He's studying to be an expert in Iranian archaeology, even though Iran doesn't allow any digs on their soil! Someday, perhaps.

And who could forget our final team event, the "black tie" party orchestrated by our own Jennifer Mills. Brian and I both showed up wearing pictures that were puns on the phrase "black tie," both of them involving the word "Thai." There was live music there and everything. It was splendid.

This dig has probably been the single coolest thing I have ever done. I have learned so much, but more importantly I have met people and been exposed to cultures I will never, ever forget. Not to mention the fact that I have gotten a great workout and, they tell me, a great tan. But I think what I'll remember most will be the place itself. I have lived more than a month on the lake where Jesus met his first disciples. I've washed my clothes in the water he walked on, walked in the hills where he gave some of his greatest teaching, and felt the wind that he once calmed with a word. I have a new physical connection with my faith that few people ever get to have. God definitely gave me the opportunity to go to Israel. I thank him and pray that I can someday come back.