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!