We've all developed an interesting sense of humor here, deriving from our work with bones, other random jokes and archaeological quirks. For instance, today this girl, Kamila, was talking about how she dyed her hair, but it was growing out, and she said “Yeah, it’s still black… On the distal end”. We all burst out laughing. We’ve been analyzing bones for waaaay too long. There's more, like “I never met a carpal I didn’t like!” or "Tibia, or not tibia", hahahahahahaha.

Anyway.

Today was so windy and dirty. Because the site we're working on now is in a somewhat closed area, the wind just comes from all directions at once. It catches the dirt from the screening and the picking and just whips it around, stinging our skin and getting into our eyes. I felt like I was trowling with my eyes closed for most the day. I even wore my sunglasses, and it didn’t help at all. When I blew my nose… It was black. Disgusting. I walked home early today with Cameron because he was feeling sick (he’s been sick the last two days and stayed home; he should have today too). In the shower, I scrubbed vigorously everywhere, and yet my towel still came away super dirty when I dried off. Then I used a face wipe, and it still came away brown. I miss being totally clean.

I have been working my butt off this week, and I am so tired. I got like 3 or 4 hours of sleep most nights this week (random insomnia), then I screened for two days, and then I picked and hoed (we make so many jokes about the hoes, and they’re still funny, even after four weeks) and carried ghufas (the baskets we carry dirt in) and just made sure I was never idle. I had a lot of energy this week, despite the little amounts of sleep I got, and I wanted to work hard and have an upbeat attitude, since it’s our last week of digging. There’s a few people who just kind of sit around or flat out refuse to help, and I just have to make an effort to not get irritated at them. Other people were being snappy, and I felt like it wouldn’t be long before someone bit someone else’s nose off. But I feel like it was a very satisfactory week for me. And I’m very very very glad it’s the weekend.

We have 10 days left. Al-Humdulillah!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then the REAL fun begins!

Last night I was sitting up on the roof, looking up at the beautiful starry sky with the cool night breeze softly blowing around me, and I started thinking about how extremely lucky and privleged I am. That’s probably the thought that’s struck me the most while I’m here, is how blessed I am by the Lord. I started making a list in my journal. There were some things that I never really thought about until I was here, like how grateful I am for fresh fruit. And lotion. And the fact that I'm able get cookies in town. And cool breezes on hot days, sore muscles from working hard, American toilets and our amazing sanitation system, being able to shower every day, hot water, modern transportation, laughing with friends, the amazing beauty of nature that I see every day, having a healthy body that can handle rigorous work, and yummy falafel with pita and hummus spread for dinner. I could have kept going, but I stopped after two pages =] It is truly amazing how much counting my blessings gives me a positive attitude and helps me recognize the love of God in my life. And right now, especially with tensions running high these last couple weeks, it’s essential to have that cheerful outlook and love for those around me.