April 2013
1 post
Don't Forget...
…to follow along with my new ADVENTURES!
aucian-proud.tumblr.com
:)
September 2012
3 posts
4 tags
4 tags
New Blog...
If you haven’t noticed, I created a new blog for my current trip to Cairo. Check it out!
aucian-proud.tumblr.com
Cheers!
May 2012
1 post
March 2011
1 post
Jet Lag...
So I arrived safe and sound on Sunday night! The flights were long, but it’s great being back home. I head down to Santa Barbara today to unload my luggage, see friends, and start writing my 15 page paper that’s due in two weeks :(. Even though I’m glad to be back, I can’t STAND the jet-lag. This morning I was wide awake at 5 am, and couldn’t fall back asleep. So...
February 2011
23 posts
Last Day in London :(
So for my last day in London, I’ve decided to go and see another West End show. It’s a 2:30 matinee of “The Children’s Hour”. Look at the picture below to see who’s starring in it :).
It’s been a great journey, and I feel that I’ve grown up quite a bit in the past few months. It’s the farthest that I’ve even been away from home; and...
Second to Last Day in England
The moment that I’ve been dreading is slowly drawing closer and closer; I leave for home in two days time. Although it will be great to get home to see friends and family (and to give my “Mum” a big hug!) I still want to stay here in England. It has been such a great trip, and such a lucky opportunity for me. Who would of guessed that I would of essentially taken a quarter off of school to travel...
Anonymous asked: Antiquities? No! Don't support looting!
Jason
Jason
A Foggy Day (In London Town)
Hello all! The weather over here in England has been a bit miserable; lots of overcast clouds and RAIN :( (not particularly my favorite). My trips to London on the train have been jam packed and full of many adventures. One of my favorite things that I’ve done this week: antiquities hunting! My parents for my 21st birthday have decided that I can buy my own Egyptian Antiquity if I find one....
Update from London, England.
Hello dear reader. My long and extended stay in Europe is finally coming to a close this week. After having spent nearly two months away from California and my family and friends I’m starting to feel a bit homesick, but just a tad. I’ve been having a ball in England, having already gone down to the seaside resort of Brighton and going to London yesterday to go and see a matinee of the musical...
Dorking, England with Aunt Audrey
So after a long and stressful morning, I have finally arrived in Dorking, England to visit with my Aunt Audrey. Where else can I begin but the begining? I missed my first train from Paris to London, because I thought for some reason I’d be able to get my ticket and go through customs within 30 minutes. Foolish, I know. This all happened of course after having had only four hours of sleep the...
Valentines Day Surprise & My Last Day in Paris
Bonsoir mes amis! (Good evening my friends!) All has been going well here in Paris the past couple of days. We have been doing a lot of fun and interesting things, causing our days to be packed full of places to go and people to see. Yesterday we went to visit the Musee de Louvre, which was incredible. By far the largest museum I have ever been to; so big in fact that by the end I was feeling a...
First Day in Paris
Bonjour from Paris! After a lengthy (and rather horrible) trip from our hostel in Berlin to the airport we finally landed and set foot on French soil. Though our morning consisted of -1 degree Celsius temperatures and having to wait on outdoor platforms for 30+ minutes for our trains to come, we are relieved and excited to be in the city of lights and love! Our friend from the field school, Becka,...
Berlin Today, Paris Tomorrow!
So yesterday our group had to check into a different hostel in Berlin since we were unable to book more nights at our first place. Brian, Shai and I ended up at the “Green Eggs and Ham” hostel, while Sue went back home to Geniva, Switzerland.
Our visits of Berlin yesterday included the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island, where we got to see such treasures like: The Pergamon Altar, the...
First day in Berlin
After a quick flight from Amsterdam to Berlin last night, we arrived safely to our new home here in Berlin. We had met up with our good friend Sue, from the Field School, who had come a few days before to get settled in Berlin and find us a place to live for a few days. After a homemade meal of Veggie-Pesto-Pasta and catching up with Sue the four of us went to bed to rest up for our eventful day...
Last Day in Amsterdam.
Tomorrow we’re heading to Berlin! So excited to go, but sad to leave this little treasure of a city! I’ve decided to tell you all some fun facts that I learned about Amsterdam today on our Canal Cruise and from our visit to the Amsterdams Historisch Museum.
*On average a total of 3 vehicles a day will drive themselves into a canal
*But if that wasn’t enough, 1 person a day...
Anne Frank Huis and Vincent Van Gogh Museum
This morning Shai and I went to visit the Anne Frank Huis (House) museum and memorial here in Amsterdam; Brian has already been so he opted to stay in and sleep. As Shai and I walked 25 minutes to the museum I couldn’t help but imagine Anne walking the same street, seeing the same things that I was seeing, and being all bundled up in layers of clothes which she had to take with her into...
First Day in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
We’ve finally arrived in Amsterdam; it was sad to say goodbye to Barcelona, but it’s exciting to be in a new place with good friends. The city is wonderful, I was telling Brian and Shai that I felt like Amsterdam was a big city with a small town feel. The rows of houses set up alongside the canals along with the small alley ways and fun little cafe’s remind me of what European...
Barcelona Sights and European Plans
Today was a fantastic day for me and my few remaining friends here in Barcelona, Spain. Things with our travel arrangements were getting a little out of hand, but we have all finally made our plans for our extended stay in Europe. I’ll be leaving this wonderful city on Sunday to head straight to Amsterdam, where I’ll get to see such sights as the Anne Frank House and the Vincent Van...
Our Story... →
Check out this article about our evacuation from Egypt by the UCLA school newspaper!
Barcelona Food and Photos!
I LOVE it here in Barcelona, UCLA has been very good to us and has put us up in a four star hotel for the week as we arrange our travel back to the states. The city is so “Euro-Chic” and has a lot of interesting things to do. I’ve mostly just spent my time walking around the streets, avoiding getting run over by one of the many moped riders, and looking in shops. My favorite...
Much needed photos!
Me and Professor Barry Kemp (Director of the Amarna Excavation)
Me sitting at the EXACT location where the Nefertiti bust was discovered (look carefully and you’ll see a corner of a mud-brick wall)
Last sunrise at Tell el-Amarna
One of the many tanks we saw coming into Cairo
Chaotic evacuation terminal at Cairo
My four star hotel room in Barcelona (paid for by UCLA :D)
Extraction to Barcelona, Spain!
Hey Everyone!
I’m safe and sound in Barcelona, Spain. Check out the past five blogs to get an update on what was going on while I was in Egypt. I have decided to travel around Europe for three weeks before heading home to the states. I’ll start here, head to Berlin, Amsterdam, and London before coming home to Santa Barbara/Lompoc :)
Last Night in Egypt (?)- Jan 31st, 2011
Tonight we are staying in the El Marwa Hotel in Beni Suef just outside of Cairo. We were stopped here earlier today because of the curfew in Cairo; we left Amarna later than we were planning and we were too late to make it into the city on time. We will leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 6am and hopefully will head straight to Cairo International Airport to leave to our evacuation destination...
Evacuation from Tell el-Amarna- January 30th, 2011
So within the past few days things have been developing here in Egypt. Some of the days it seems to be getting worse but then other days look like they are getting better. Overall it has turned into a stressful situation for all of us working here at Amarna. Today when we were working out in the field I found that even the most quiet noises that were unfamiliar to our surroundings were making me...
Living in a Revolt- Jan 29th, 2011
So by now I’m sure many of you have heard on the news about all the demonstrations that have been taking place over here in Egypt. Some days it seems like things are getting better while other days they seem worse; but regardless of the situation in Cairo and throughout Egypt, my group is still safe and sound in Tell el-Amarna and there has not been any threat of any kind to us while we’ve been...
My Egyptian Name- Jan 27th, 2011
Things are starting to heat up here at Tell el-Amarna, literally. Though the mornings and night are still freezing, by noon the sun is at its hottest and all of us are unable to bare the heat as we pull and carry heavy machines across the desert. With the heat however, we were able to break our own personal record last week and with the Magnetometry machine we covered sixty 20x20 meter grids at a...
January 2011
15 posts
Egyptian Food
I have been asked lately by several people what the food is like over here at Amarna. I can honestly say that even though the Egyptians are a hospitable people, they cannot cook worth a dime.
Our team has it’s own chef to prepare our meals for us while we’re out in the field and for when we get back. He cooks for us three times a day and we eat breakfast in the morning on our own; usually cereal...
Five Days Later...
Finally I am able to write again! After a crazy second week at el-Amarna I have a lot to tell!
Monday was a pretty terrible day. I was sick with the flu on top of having the “Tourist Sickness” AND it was raining… again. After having trekked out in the morning fog and wind to the field site and working for three hours, the team called it quits and headed inside (just barely...
Work
The past couple of working days have been great. I’m making sure to get my picture taken with each instrument I use so I can show everybody what I was working with when I get home. It’s very cold when I wake up at 6 to get ready for work each morning. But by noon it’s pretty hot and I am down to my pants and a tee-shirt out in the field. However, I am jealous of all my friends in...
Pictures! (Finally...)
On our way to Mallawe in the back of a truck! (Me, Shy, Brian & Sue)
Beautiful Farms & Desert Cliffs
Me using the Magnetometry Radar machine.
More to come! I have to get back to the field now (don’t I sound so professional?).
Sheesha, Thongs & Rain
Glad to say that I finally have internet access once again! This time, thanks to Gwill, our aerial photographer who brought along some piece that allows MAC’s to have internet. So, even though my computer is unable to load the Geophysical Survey Data software like the PC’s, I at least will have Internet each day for the next two weeks!
Our trip to Mallawe was fun, the city where I...
First Week at Amarna!
So sorry to have not posted anything for the last week. Our dig house has not had internet like we were all planning on, so I unfortunately will only be able to post once a week at this point (when, on our day off, we head into town and go to the Internet Cafe!)
The Dig House is wonderful, we are located literally on the foundations of an ancient mudbrick house from the Amarna period. So our...
First Day in Cairo & the Giza Plateau
So after waking up at 6am my time, and being unable to fall back asleep, I got ready for my first day in the land of the Pharaohs. I went for a quick walk around the block and had breakfast, consisting of toast, where I met my teammates.
Our British Professor, Barry Kemp, took us after breakfast to the government offices where we were to renew our visas for a longer stay. Part of the process was...
I Have Arrived!
So after a VERY long and tiring journey, consisting of 20+ hours of traveling on planes and layovers in foreign countries, I’m finally here! My plane in Toronto was delayed an hour and a half thanks to the snow; just my luck since my layover in Frankfurt (our Toronto plane destination) was an hour and twenty minutes. Yes, that’s right, I missed my flight and had to schedule a new one....
Toronto International Airport
So I’ve made it one step of my journey, I’m sitting at my terminal in Toronto and have a few minutes to write to all of you.
I’ve been really worried about my connections and layover times in-between flights this trip (the longest one is now, an hour and a half!) so it was a little crazy getting off of my first flight. Thankfully there were no lines and it wasn’t necessary...
Flying out today!
I can’t believe it, the day has finally arrived! I’m leaving on Air Canada for Egypt at 12:45 this afternoon. The next time you guys hear from me I’ll be half way around the world!
Do I look ready to go?
I leave tomorrow!
So, I am currently waiting for a friend of mine to pick me up and take me to the train station. I’ll be in LA for the night hanging out with my sister; we’re going to go to Disneyland for the day! My flight leaves LAX at 12:55 pm (afternoon in case you’re confused).
A picture of the Sphinx back in the day. Notice that it’s buried pretty deep in the sand. Just goes...
Two days, and counting!
I’m getting very excited to go! I wonder if they’ll make an exception for me and let me climb to the top of Khufus pyramid like in the old days! :)
Three days till Egypt
A photo of Abu Simble (a temple in Nubia built by Ramses II) when it was still buried beneath the sands…
Egypt in four days.
An Antique Photo of the Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae
Location, Location, LOCATION!
So, here’s a map of Egypt. I’ve marked out the four principle sites that I’ll be at during my adventure this upcoming Winter. I start in Tell el-Amarna, then head down to Aswan where I’ll begin to head back up to Cairo, stopping in Luxor along the way.
December 2010
5 posts
The Opening of King Tutankhamun's Tomb
November 26th, 1922
“For the moment- an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by- I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, ‘Can you see anything?’ it was all I could do to get out the words, ‘Yes, wonderful things.’ Then, widening the hole a little further, so that we both...
Intro to Akhenaton, founder of Tell el-Amarna
This excerpt comes from The Life and Times of Akhnaton: Pharaoh of Egypt written by Arthur Weigall in 1922. A bit lengthy,but worth the read!
“The reign of Akhnaton, for seventeen years Pharaoh of Egypt (from B.C. 1375 to 1358), stands out as the most interesting epoch in the long sequence of Egyptian history. We have watched the endless line of dim Pharaohs go by, each lit momentarily...
Tel el-Amarna, the city.
So I’d come to realize that I hadn’t really yet explained to anyone where exactly I was going in Egypt. I pulled this description from the Egypt Exploration Society’s official website on the site (www.amarnaproject.com); it doesn’t give the history or importance of the site enough justice but it gets the job done. Check out the website to learn more!
“The ancient...
Fragment of a Queen
This is my favorite piece of sculpture from the Amarna Period. At this point in Egyptian history, the artists had broken away from the standard rules of Egyptian art and were open to creativity under the pharaoh Akhenaton.
Pay attention to the polishing of the stone, especially on the lips. Then look down toward the neck, and you’ll see lines that depict the folds of skin from the pose...
November 2010
2 posts
The Getty Villa
What began as a class field trip to the Getty Villa became another opportunity to get me excited for my upcoming trip to Egypt in January! We were given a personal tour of the museum by our professor Bryce, who is teaching a class on Greek Sanctuaries and Religion. We spent two and a half hours of being shuffled about the place looking at several pots and pottery pieces that were “of the upmost...
