The End

Well this is it. My final post, probably. Yesterday was the last day of the program. Thursday I will leave Bet She'an and stay with my family in Bet Shemesh until my flight next Tuesday. I have had a wonderful time. I've had great experiences, gained a lot of work experience, learned a lot, and made some good friends and connections.

Last Friday I did work on my presentation. For Shabbat dinner I went to the Egyptian family's house that I went to with the Taglit-Birthright group from Cleveland a few weeks ago. They were happy to have me over. Dinner was extravagant and delicious. I had a good time talking to the grandchildren and hearing them both compliment and criticize my Hebrew. Saturday I didn't do anything special. I worked on my presentation and final report.

Sunday I went with Ilan and Octavian again to Horvat Omrit to work with the group of students from Macalester College. We worked with them again on mortar and stone conservation of the steps of the temple. After we finished with our teaching Ilan took us to some sites that he has worked on around Tiberias and that aren't usually open to the public. First we went to the synagogue at Migdal, which dates to the time of the Second Temple. It has mosaics and frescoes, as well as a stone block that is carved with images from the Temple, including a depiction of the Menorah. Nearby the synagogue are some excellently-preserved mikveh baths. After visiting the synagogue we went to see the theater that was part of the ancient Roman town of Tiberias. We didn't stay long because we had to head back to Bet She'an, but it was cool to see parts of the region that tourists don't normally see. I have never visited Tiberias, but I really hope I can go for a weekend trip sometime.

Sunday evening I left Bet She'an and went to my aunt and uncle's house in Bet Shemesh for the night, so I could wake up early and head over to the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem for our final presentations. My presentation went very well I think. It was a short summary and explanation of the work I did at the synagogue of Maoz Haim. The presentation was a spoken conservation report. I talked about the history and importance of the site, the problems and conservation issues, and the conservation work we did. I also gave recommendations about further work that needs to be done. It was quick and painless. After the presentations we had a quick meeting with the staff to give and get feedback, and then we were done. I headed back to Bet She'an.

So there it is. My time here is finished. I survived over five months studying conservation and working with experts and professionals all over the country. I really enjoyed my time here. It was a challenge getting accustomed to the way life is here in Israel, but I loved it all the same. My Hebrew has greatly improved. I had some wonderful experiences that I will never forget. I am so glad I went on this program. Thank you to the staff, Shelley, Alison, Ornit, Michael, Kamil, Raanan, all the professionals we worked with, and everyone else that was involved in the planning and execution of the program.

Even though I am sad that the program is finished and I will be leaving next week, I think I am ready to head home. I'm ready to go back to the US and see my friends and family again, to watch bad television and eat both delicious home-made food and icky fast-food.

If you want to hear more about my experience or know anything specific, just ask! Also check out my photos, I just added some new ones!

Entering the Final Stretch

Well the end is near! I can see the finish line. Wednesday was my last day working with the guys at the synagogue at Maoz Hayyim. On Monday I will be giving my final presentation and report at the IAA offices in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, and then Saving the Stones 2014 is finished. After that I have about a week before my plane leaves to return the US.

This week it was my job to do the finishing touches to the face of the wall of the apse that we had done coping on. Finishing involves adding mortar to the cracks and seams on the front of the wall to make it look smooth and neat. Over the course of the week I worked on another section of the wall inside the apse, adding mortar and stones to the cracks to fill in the wall. I am also working on my final report and presentation for STS. I am focusing on the coping and finishing work I did for the apse and southern wall of the synagogue.

Wednesday night a group of families from my synagogue back in Cleveland, Bnai Jeshurun Congregation, came to visit Bet She'an, and I joined them for the evening. We went to Yardena, a Kurdish village near Bet She'an that has been set up to display Kurdish Jewish culture to visitors. We baked special pita, watched a short film about Kurdish culture, saw some traditional dances, and ate a delicious dinner.

Yesterday (Thursday) I went with Ilan (the boss) and Octavian, one of the other workers, to the site of Horvat Omrit near Qiryat Shemonah in the Upper Galilee. A small group of students from Macalester College in Minnesota is conducting excavations there, and we are giving them a short introduction to stone conservation. We are working with them on the stairs of Herod's temple, the third temple he built, after the Temple in Jerusalem and the temple at Caesarea. Thursday we taught them the basics of adding mortar to cracks and seams in the limestone. They are working today on their own, and we will go back on Sunday to finish up the lesson. My job was mostly as the translator, since neither Ilan nor Octavian speaks English very well, and neither of the staff from Macalester speaks Hebrew. In my translations and explanations I was able to test my knowledge of what I've learned over the last five months about stone conservation. Direct translating from Hebrew to English was difficult, but because I know the process and methods I understood what needed to be said. Ilan told me later that I did better than just a normal translator exactly because of this, because this was the work that I was doing and I understood the methods.

Better Late than Never

Sorry guys about not posting earlier. The days are long and tiring, and combined with the World Cup I just can't seem to find the time or energy to write sometimes. Also I haven't been doing anything new, so posting about doing the exact same thing two or three times a week just wouldn't be interesting for you guys to read or for me to write. So here is a summary of everything I did since my last post.

The weekend after my last post I visited my aunt and uncle in Bet Shemesh. The other guys who I'm working with in Bet She'an had vacation days Sunday and Monday so I had some days off I could make into a trip and not worry about getting back to work on time. I had a nice relaxing few days with my family.

When we got back to work starting Tuesday we finished the reconstruction and conservation of the wall of the apse. Because of lime mortar limitations it took all three days of the week to finish, so there isn't really anything new there. Now that it is done the wall looks really nice. When you go to some archaeological site to visit and you see those flat, smooth wall tops, usually about a couple of feet high that look like nice cobblestone streets, that's what we did. In my opinion our work isn't nearly as good as some examples at really famous sites, but it gets the job done. Don't tell my boss I said that!

On Thursday evening the Taglit-Birthright group from Cleveland came to Bet She'an, and the people at the Partnership connected me with them so I could join them. I went with them to a local household for a wonderful Egyptian-style dinner, and then we went to the archaeological national park to see the sound and light show. It was similar to the light show at Masada. Since there is no famous 'story' for Bet She'an, the narrator talked about the history of the sight with accompanying cartoon images. After the ten-minute presentation the show continued with a tour of the site, with lights illuminating some of the more important 'attractions'. Walking through the bathhouse and the market in the semi-dark was cool. After the tour Lior, part of the staff of the Partnership, took me to a bar outside of Bet She'an to a meeting with some Israeli students who were starting a program to make young people in the region more involved in the city and with groups that visit from abroad, like Cleveland. We stayed there for a short time and had a drink, and then went home.

The rest of the weekend was pretty routine. Friday was American Independence Day, and I celebrated by sleeping in, eating and translating some documents from Hebrew into English for my final presentation. Saturday I had Shabbat lunch with the landlord, but otherwise it was the same. Nothing special.

That was my weekend. I promise I will post again later this week. I am starting some new work that I will be using to prepare my final presentation for the STS practicum, so I can talk about that in my next blog. Until next time!