digging and chaining

guys! i cannot believe how much fun i am having! today was the first day of digging. ariel and i had found out the day before that we are actually not going to be working on the site with people. mucho sad. it's funny, because i have become such a social butterfly on this trip. i love being around people. i was even called "really social" hah! can you believe that? anywho, back to the point. since we found out we weren't going to be on the site or see the others a ton, we decided to get up at 4:00 in the morning with the rest of the crew to go out to the site just to see it. we ended up working with the crew for four hours! i filled dirt bags to mark out the squares for a long time and then i was part of bucket chains and that was SO SUPER FUN!!! i rock at bucket chaining, let me tell you. we hauled so much dirt and rocks. i was filthy, utterly filthy, and was sweating like a man. but I LOVED IT! it was so much fun. i can't even explain. the camaraderie we all have built in just five short days is so amazing. for a long time i had martin on one side of me cracking me up all morning and annalee on the other, who is equally as funny. at water and lunch breaks i would joke around with harald and ross. these people here are amazing and we have an awesome group. i was laughing, goofing off (in a safe manner of course), smiling, sweating, working so hard, and it was amazing. i wish i could go back. i wish i could be with these people all the time. i am going to miss them when we are not together. i am meeting so many new people as well and am just loving it!!! and you know something amazing? people here remember my name. they think i'm funny. they like to hang out with me. they will seek me out.

so in spite of all my excitement, there is sadness. i'm sad that i don't get to see these people all the time, and i'm sad because of some recent events that just give me a little twinge of pain. but. i guess i can't think about that, now can i?

some amazing sites i have seen in the past few days. pictures will (may?) be coming soon.

so i am staying in a hostel. it's kind of crummy. the bed is not that great. there are some bugs that get in our room, like the monster cricket tonight that martin had to come and get as well as kill a spider. our air conditioner doesn't work. we eat the same food all the time. the shower is . . . interesting. but i don't care. my motto this trip has become "suck it up and just do it. roll with it" and i am. i am rolling with it big time. and i am doing more than just rolling. i'm enjoying it while i'm rolling with it.

i wish i could share all the information that i am learning. all these things that are so enlightening to the Bible and how God was so deliberate in the things that he would do. it is amazing to hear. i can't even describe it.

i got asked if i was asian again today. someone also assumed i was an israeli. who knew my look could be so versatile?! hah!

today i touched pottery that is super old. kinda cool if you think about it.

i love it here. one of the best decisions i ever made.