Hey happy shiny people,
This week marks my last week here in uharte, and digging here at zamartze.  The past three weeks went by quick but it almost feels like I've been here a month.  A lot of time has passed since the beginning of this trip and it really feels like it.

This weekend we went to Victoria gasteiz, which basically means victory in gasteiz.  Along with seeing the cathedral of Victoria (which apparently is the same cathedral that influenced ken follets the pillars of the earth) we got to wander the city a bit.   The city wasn't as great as some of the other places I've seen, but it was great to see somewhere most tourists don't tend to go to.  There is a statue in the middle of Victoria commemorating the Spanish victory here.  All over the statue there is graffiti of little foot prints.  Of course victoria is in the middle of Basque territory, so hopefully I won't have to spell out the meaning of the footprints.  It almost feels like go into the middle of an Indian reservation and putting a statue of George washington.  It felt a little awkward, I'm sure if I were with either of the basque archaeologists  they probably would have made some remarks about the "fucking fascists".  The tension really is palpable when you are around it for a while. (Whenever we screw up something the running joke is to say fucking Anglo Saxon)

Speaking of palpable tensions all this week there have been protests all over the place.  Last night we watches the riots in Madrid live,beatings, blood, and all.  With unemployment for young people hovering around 60%, I'd be protesting also.  The basques were also protesting in Pamplona today about jobs to the basque government.  Throughout he day we have been getting updates from oihan who is at the protest.  Apparently there are lots of armed ,militia with ,machine guns.  Its pretty ridiculous stuff.  Things seem bad in the us but things are definitely Much worse over here.

The dig is progressing nicely.  The site me, oihan, and Fran are excavating has been figured to be a site of destruction.  Meaning that the place was burnt to the ground through violence.  We have found spears and belt buckles all over the place no human remains though ( yet).  Today because of the strike, in the cemetary I got to excavate human remains somewhat.  The work is a little more finicky but I can't imagine too many people can say they have excavated human remains.
On top of excavating we have to draw the pit lines of the graves which I also had to help with.  Maybe one of the most tedious things I've done so far but surely it needed to be done.

As I approach my final days here I have learned a thing or two.  Archaeology is hard work, don't let anyone tell you anything else.  The work is rewarding in the sense that you get to walk in places or touch things that having been touched for up to thousands of years.  Just yesterday I was walking on an ancient medieval floor that I excavated.  There is something really awesome about that but I can't put my finger on it.  As far as Spanish life is concerned, there is always a real brusque attitude towards everything but always in the most polite way.  In other words people will always be very frank with you but its always in a way where you don't want to punch them in the fave after something rude is said.  There is No skirting around any issue and coming from such an over sensitized place it really is a breath of fresh air.
I miss home (and good beer) but this is something I'm very glad that I got to be a part of.  Being able to live in a small village in northern Spain and being able to immerse yourself into something completely different is fun. It seems I'm going to be heading to a place where it rains a lot so I'm sure I'll feel right at home.  Probably until Santiago de compestela, I'll be coming at you with some more
Cheers

Egunan! (Basque for good morning! I've tried good afternoon and its too difficult)

After a weekend in Pamplona and San sebatian , we got back to digging.  My knees hurt but the work feels worth it.  In Pamplona we went up the street anx saw where running of the bulls takes place (also ate and drank where Hemingway drank no biggie). Later that night me and some people went up to San Sebastian to sit around the beach and watch old people get topless.  Not really, but its pretty city.  My basque friend described it as a San Francisco of Spain (or Navarre...).  Description pretty much spot on.

Before I get to the food and the archaeology I figured I might describe this strange group I'm in cahoots with.  First I'll describe the old guys.  First there's Tim who was a nice guy (rip).  Then there a nico, the most stereotypical new York Jew I've ever met.  Then of course there's charlie the racist southerner, its sort of fun to here's his stories about all the wetbacks and black that inhabit his hometown.
The four girls all are pretty nice.  There's solange from UCLA, Marian who's Greek, Brooke who likes cats..., and Ruth from Ireland.
Then heads of the dig are a little strange though.  First theres the crazy British guy, Rob (pretty sure he is somewhat legitimately insane). After there's oihan (oy-yan) who is the basque native I work with mostly doing archaeology.  We pretty much just talk about terrible Spanish basketball players (cough Victor Claver).  After you got Emma the associate director who is only 25 and actually very attractive (for some reason from her emails I imagined a 40 year old hag).  And finally you have the director Fran who might have the most hilarious accent when speaking english.  Everything that guy says is pretty ,much gold.

The basque cooking is incredible.  Since basques are matriarchal all the men cook and act like housewives for the most part.  Fran has told us stories about how when women come in the kitchen they just stand there and boss the men around.  Apparently there is a gentlemens club where the men go to cook away from the women, you know, instead of gambling and buying hookers. So the cooking is great.  Every night we have different basque dishes such as chistoro, chorizo, soup, and lots of bread.  Last night we had squash soup that was really good, along with some chistoro.

As far as the digging is concerned, on the pit we have mostly found roman coins saying back to the 1sfirst century ( today we even found a gold coin, which was very much intact).  It seems that the building that we are uncovering was burnt to the ground and we are pretty Mich excavating the remains from it.  Lots of wall remnants and burnt bricks that are being uncovered.  As of right now the site does not make very much sense but it seems to be making more as we dig further.  Apparently according to oihan this happens a lot with sites and they just need to be interpreted as is.

Overall though things are going great.  No further incidences and things have been going smoothly.  My knees are a bit achy from all the bending over but I seems to be getting a workout in during the day.  By the end of the day I'm pretty tired fornthr most part so sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I miss everybody at home.  Really miss understanding people and speaking English but surely I'll be back home soon enough.  I hope everybody is doing great I'll I'll talk to you soon.

Cheers

Hey everybody.
Im going to make this short because honestly I'm not in the mood to talk about it too much.  I come with a bit of morbid news here in uharte arakil.

As of this morning, my digging partner Tim straub passed away from a heart attack.  He was 72 born November 16 1940.  I was right next too him when he died, fuck I even heard his last words.  He had been complaining of angina for the past week and I guess as of now it was pretty serious.  I don't have too many words here but judging from his life story he would go on about everyday, I would say he was a great guy with a lot of enthusiasm for life (kind of cliche I know).  I enjoyed all the political conversations and stories we would discuss there in the trenches.  Even when he would annoyingly discuss his endless love for south dakota (maybe I'll make it out there someday, he sure did talk it up)

I helped as best I could but after watching the paramedics for what seemed hours, it seemed his fate was sealed.  This has been somewhat of a traumatic day for everyone but my thoughts and prayers go to his family.  I cannot even bear to imagine getting that call at five in the morning.

I wished this hadn't happened but it did.  Occasionally he would try to give me little life lessons here and there, since apparently being ancient gives you lots of wisdom.  Each day though I would listen to what he would have to say, the one I will remember the most might be
"You know? Just say what's on you're mind.  If you got something to say you better say sooner rather than later.".

 Please do not ask if I'm OK, I'm fine.  I honestly barely knew the guy. I will keep moving along with the world as long as it goes. The only thing I can say from here is this is a day I wont forget anytime soon.

Cheers

Part 1
Greetings from the train to Pamplona.
So I reread that last post and realized what a wordgasm that was.  So much to say yet my attention was divided between what was happening in the hostel common and that blog.

It is easier now to organize my thoughts now I've had a couple days to adjust to Spanish life ( Barcelona primarily).  My Spanish is getting better but I struggle at times where I need to be quick.  I'm starting to maybe think instead of saying ¡hola! I should just say hello as american as possible. Either way this ,might be the best ,my Spanish has ever been.

After getting a taste for the night life and beach life (which apparently didn't exist before 1990 because of the Olympics and used to be a fishing port) I spent the next day taking in the culture and checking out the amazing architecture. I didn't take any of the gaudi (the architect) tours when maybe I should have just walking around though you still get a sense of how old and intricate everything is.  Everything very interesting into
I made my last stop of the day at sagrada familia.  I don't think I've ever had any building take  my breath away and give me chills like la sagrada familia.  Its kind of In a strange spot for how massive and tall it is. Its kind of nestled in between buildings so youre walking all these narrow streets and bam, you see a 500 foot tall cathedral.  It really was something to behold.  As you walk  the steps you start to notice all the intricate and vast designs and begin to understand why its taken them over 100 years to build and why theyre still
Building.

Once you're inside you see these vast caverns up above with each spire having its own design.  As you walk around you tend to nearly run into people who are also staring up at the ceiling.

If you ever get a chance to go to Barcelona (which alone is a great city) go to sagrada familia. You won't regret it.

By tonight I should be at the zamartze archaeological site and be set up for the rest of the month.  Happy post labor to all of you back home. Overall
If you can get past the touristy side of Barcelona you will have a great time can't wait to get back in a month and see how I feel about it then.

Cheers

Part 2

Hey so not cheers actually because I decided to make this a two partner since I haven't gotten WiFi yet. All in all though I've arrived in my final destination (for a while) in uharte- arakil!

The group I'm with is a little strange but I guess I'll cope.  First there are about 4 girls my age from all over the place and of course three guys who are at least all above the age of 60. So I'm the only guy here under the age of 25. There is one other basque archaeologist who is about my age who wants to play some basketball, so i might survive.

The village reminds me of a postcard, it is a really cool old place in the ,middle of basque country (which I'm just beginning to learn about).

The basques are a group of people who govern themselves from the south of France to the north of Spain in the state of Navarre. Also maybe the most blunt straight forward people I've ever met. They even have there own language and very much hate the Spanish.  The history of the basques dates all the way back to the ancient roman times and claim to have the oldest language I'm all of Europe!  The more interesting aspect of this entire history is that they were never actually conquered by the romans but instead were allied with them.  Along with never really being 'conquered' they have a long fascinating history with many opposing parties along with the Visigoths, Charlemagne, and of course the Spanish.  Along with being matriarchal they seem to have a knack for getting and staying put of trouble. Its not Barcelona but it is by far more interesting then Barcelona. I'm looking forward to getting to understand the culture.

That brings Us to the actually dig which I will post pictures of later.  I am not allowed to show picture of the site but I will take pictures of the Church.

The church was originally the original plan e of worship and was a vital trading point through the kingdom of Navarre.

This entire region is very fascinating with some striking landmarks.  The old guys are a little annoying with all of there stories about all the archaeology they've done but the site is interesting enough and the directors have lots of interesting things to say so I believe it will be worthwhile.

After my first day of digging I can say that I'm a little tired but in a good way.  Even found a tooth.  After a long day of lectures and my first time digging, the only thing to do now is find the closest pub with WiFi (along with getting over the annoying of flies) and I think ill be OK. Cheers.

PS I'll post some pictures later

Greetings from Barcelona!
What's happenin everybody? first of all is like to say while being touristy' Barcelona is amazing! Even yesterday when I was getting off the plane being still nine hours behind I still felt it. The thing that struck me most was the strange blend of very old and very rich. Its a little Strange but I'm getting ahead of myself.

First 12 hours on anything is too long, especially a plane. While my first flight to Atlanta wasn't bad I got stuck next to two siblings who fought the entirety of the trip. Three hours of that though tolerable. I dealt with it, figured it was karma for all the times I fought with my little sister annoying everyone around me. The next nine hours of plane though I don't think I'd ever been more antsy/tired/exhausted in my life! I might have gotten more sleep if I could breath through my nose somewhat, but whatever I lived.

So immediately getting off the plane I began to realize how rusty my Spanish was. As soon as I told the taxi driver where my hostel was he had no idea what I was talking about so I told him LA rambla being the only spot I knew of close to the hostel (which later of course I figured out was a 10 minute walk from there). Finally after about 20 minutes of walking wit my enormous back pack and being extremely hey lagged with the use of illegal
 WiFi tapping I found the place.  Finally being able to check in... only to be told that I would need to wait until one to get in to the room. So I locked my back pack up in there closet they had there and just wandered till I got close to he docks and just hung out there checking out the (enormous) yachts. That was the only down point so far.

So as of today I'm wide eyed and bushy tailed.  So far I've just ate read, drank wine, and sat on the beach... nbd. Navigation is fairly easy as well. Unless you have a car walking is fairly easy.  While basically having no street signs you go by landmarks which is easy since there are so many.  Honestly not too sure what to see first. While the statue of Christopher Columbus boggled but figured since its Europe he's more of an icon. everything about it is pretty amazing there's almost too much to talk about. I haven't even touched hostel life but I figured id just ,mention the cool shit and leave the boring stuff for later. (Not to mention the mostly topless beaches).  I honestly could stay here forever, hard to believe this is only just a stop before I depart to other places. Well that's enough of that, until my next post salud!/cheers.