Pictures!

Hey, I know a lot of posting, but I was exhausted yesterday and the power was out this morning. And you will all laugh but I just figured out how to post pictures lol.

This is my room, my roomie is a Kiwi, she has been traveling for a few months to different digs around Europe and she is very nice.

Yes there is a toilet! There is a turkish toilet as well in the other bathroom (and yes that means a fancy hole in the ground with a rinser thing) but I will only be using this one.

This is the outside of our bungalow as they call them, there are 4 bedrooms and the two bathrooms along with a big screen tv in a tiny living room.

This is the view of the site from the camp, I will have more pictures of the site this afternoon. The area here is so rocky and mountainous. The Vardar river valley which we are in is very wide here so the mountains are a little far but driving here we were just zig-zagging between them they were huge.

Also as a side note, they have red, peeling trees and giant pigeons that are chicken sized and sound like a cross between a chicken and a pigeon cooing. Also there are 6 armed guards on the site to protect the archaeology and us, and of course there is a pregnant guard dog at the camp site.

I love you all and will post again tonight if I have a chance and the power is on lol.

-Lauren

Macedonia Finally!

So the trip from Frankfurt to Thessaloniki was terrible! I ended up stuck between two men in an emergency exit aisle with a splitting headache. So the flight and landing and subsequent drive to the site where a complete blur.

So when I arrived I went immediately to bed and slept for 12 hours.

This morning was great! Had a great breakfast, there are a ton of Canadians here from Saskatoon.

I have pictures which I will post now before we have to go back to lectures. The people are awesome I was really nervous but waking up this morning was great.

I really miss everyone back home and I can't wait to come home but I will get used to being here.

Welcome to Macedonia!

Arrival in Frankfurt, Germany

The start of the trip was quite hectic, a last minute phone call from the airline had me on a different flight, transferring through a different city and delaying my arrival time by an hour. But on the plus side the new flight had fewer transfers and was more expensive but I got it at my cheap flight cost. The flight was ok, it was complete with tons of turbulence, a screaming toddler 3 rows up who cried almost non-stop, and a scared German girl in the seat next to me who was afraid of flying.

Now I am sitting in the airport lounge of Frankfurt; the Germans are as expected, organized and brief in their addresses. The airport here though is enormous! There are 50 gates in one terminal alone and there are four terminals in total; and they are expanding! I got here at 9:30 in the morning and it took me over an hour just to get to my next gate. Thank god I had 4 hours to do it. I had a lovely German sandwich while waiting and it was as expected; harsh, course bread with margarine and salami and it was 5 euro lol. It seems that this airport is the transfer station for not only Europe but also the Middle East. Most of the people on my plane were headed for India or Tel Aviv, least to say I don’t understand anything that anyone is saying around me. This airport also has very few power outlets and no wi-fi which means I have a long wait. The good thing about the foreign environment is that I don’t feel sad or nervous about being alone anymore, my tired brain has gone into survivor mode! Sitting alone in the Ottawa airport was so sad and lonely, travelling alone is definitely more stressful and just less fun then having family or friends around, but I am glad that I am still glad that I am doing this, it is great experience, looks great on my academic record and you guys all get to see pictures of inside Macedonia! I know, try to contain your excitement.

Only two more hours until my flight, then I will be in Greece. I will update you guys then!