Today was just not my day! It started with a total absence of hot water in the shower this morning. After night temperatures hovering around zero (and no heat in the buildings), a cold shower was a sure recipe for all-day crankiness. It also didn’t help with the cold I acquired from my generous roommate Jennifer. Next, my rather late-arriving breakfast chipatis hurt my stomach. On the way to the site, our land rover blew a tire AND a rear shock absorber, which resulted in a long wait by the side of the road and a very bumpy final 20 kilometres. We always get into the most trouble when the four Canadian women happen to be traveling in a separate car with no way to reach our Tanzanian collaborators. Fortunately our driver Philomenos is also a mechanic. After he changed the tire and we were back on the road, we realized we had lost a bolt that we had to turn back and look for. Do you think four archaeologists could find a small metal bolt on the side of the road? We did in fact find one, it just wasn't for our car. At the site, we were unable to start excavating because of some additional measurements that needed to be taken with our finicky total station. While taking measurements, we also happened upon some less-than-friendly bats and some strange insects that our driver calls “poisonous wasps.” At that point, I was happy to leave the field early to fix our broken car! Back at hotel (and after yet another cold shower), I accidentally deleted all the photos I took last weekend in Mikumi national park while trying to fix my camera. My first time seeing elephants and all I have left are my memories. Last but not least, my spaghetti at dinner was contaminated with the dreaded Isimila Hotel cooked spinach, a side dish that is as ubiquitous as it is unappetizing.
I’m feeling a little better after a soothing phone conversation with my dad. After all, my colleagues all have elephant photos from Mikumi that they are willing to share. We will also be driving through the park 3 more times while we’re in Tanzania, which will hopefully produce some more photo opportunities. It was ultimately good that I resolved the uploading issues with my SLR camera before we started excavating, even if it meant sacrificing my elephants. This way I can safeguard any irreplaceable photos I take for my thesis. Finally, we will start excavating tomorrow morning. After weeks of public relations and a few days of mapping, I am more than ready to get to the good stuff. And after today’s bad luck, I have a feeling anything we find will be rewarding.
Just to prove I am moving on from my run of bad luck, here are some of Jenn’s photos of our new African friends!
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