2009 season survey pics
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
2007 and no blog
As my new team and I prepare for the 2007 season, I have decided to not continue the blog. Unfortunately it is not possible to link to the blog from my presence on the ROM web-site, and so the only people that know about the blog are the friends and relatives of the team, who we can more easily communicate with directly when we get to an internet cafe! So although it was an interesting and useful experiment during the 2006 season, we won't do it again - at least not for a while!
Robert Mason
Robert Mason
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Broken?
I managed to get the x-rays of my foot! This is what it looked like two weeks before leaving for Syria, just after the cast came off! The break of the 5th metatarsal looks pretty evident here. Thanks to Dr. M. Wood and everyone else at St. Joseph's hospital!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Syria
The field aside, let's talk about how wonderful the people of this country are!
We've been back for a week now, and I can't stop thinking of this place. I am so grateful for my experiences and memories of mar musa and of Syria. I am so thankful to Rob for having taken our team out to contribute and to experience this unforgettable place. Really such a truly unique and genuine place to be. I think that Mar Musa really gave me the perspective that I needed in terms of what matters in life.
It's strange. I’ve been in many rugged field experiences many times before. I’ve got to say, in comparison to previous experiences, this one was quite cushy. Just look at the pics to see how picturesque it was... and just look at Deir Mar Musa's mandate and understand that the people living here truly adhere to their commitment to hospitality. I am tearful thinking about how wonderful they are. I will never forget the time that I’ve spent here and I hope that the work that I managed to do will contribute to something good, to the goals and dreams of its residents and that I can contribute again, somehow, one day.
Research and museums aside, being home and safe and healthy now, I need to admit that my time abroad was one of the most difficult times I’ve ever experienced.. This due to health issues and not because of the people or of their surroundings or of the work (all of that was amazing), unfortunately, I really had never been sicker in my life. A chest infection gone horribly wrong can be a very scary thing to face in foreign lands- especially when one does not speak the language!
But this challenge, I think, is what really helped me understand how wonderful this country really is. I will forever remember the true kindness and true caring of strangers (and of Rob, Francesca, Jovanna and Tiago too) that I would have never experienced in Canada under the same circumstances. Never in Canada would I expect a stranger to race me around a city to find the best/quickest health care, to offer to pay for my medication (despite the steep price), for a woman who speaks no English or French to take me in, feed me, care for me, and to put my mind at ease while I try to recover. Never would I expect hoteliers in Canada to give me a room for free to rest, because it was obvious that I was completely exhausted. I have never felt more safe, secure and looked after in a time of need (okay okay, I did wish my mum was around a little, but that's cause she's my mum).
I think that I will spend the rest of my life trying to abide by these notions of hospitality and caring- I will forever remember the kindness.
feelin' the lovin'
and so very very grateful!
shukran,
Joelle.
We've been back for a week now, and I can't stop thinking of this place. I am so grateful for my experiences and memories of mar musa and of Syria. I am so thankful to Rob for having taken our team out to contribute and to experience this unforgettable place. Really such a truly unique and genuine place to be. I think that Mar Musa really gave me the perspective that I needed in terms of what matters in life.
It's strange. I’ve been in many rugged field experiences many times before. I’ve got to say, in comparison to previous experiences, this one was quite cushy. Just look at the pics to see how picturesque it was... and just look at Deir Mar Musa's mandate and understand that the people living here truly adhere to their commitment to hospitality. I am tearful thinking about how wonderful they are. I will never forget the time that I’ve spent here and I hope that the work that I managed to do will contribute to something good, to the goals and dreams of its residents and that I can contribute again, somehow, one day.
Research and museums aside, being home and safe and healthy now, I need to admit that my time abroad was one of the most difficult times I’ve ever experienced.. This due to health issues and not because of the people or of their surroundings or of the work (all of that was amazing), unfortunately, I really had never been sicker in my life. A chest infection gone horribly wrong can be a very scary thing to face in foreign lands- especially when one does not speak the language!
But this challenge, I think, is what really helped me understand how wonderful this country really is. I will forever remember the true kindness and true caring of strangers (and of Rob, Francesca, Jovanna and Tiago too) that I would have never experienced in Canada under the same circumstances. Never in Canada would I expect a stranger to race me around a city to find the best/quickest health care, to offer to pay for my medication (despite the steep price), for a woman who speaks no English or French to take me in, feed me, care for me, and to put my mind at ease while I try to recover. Never would I expect hoteliers in Canada to give me a room for free to rest, because it was obvious that I was completely exhausted. I have never felt more safe, secure and looked after in a time of need (okay okay, I did wish my mum was around a little, but that's cause she's my mum).
I think that I will spend the rest of my life trying to abide by these notions of hospitality and caring- I will forever remember the kindness.
feelin' the lovin'
and so very very grateful!
shukran,
Joelle.
Monday, August 28, 2006
The Real Story
We have now returned to Toronto!
So! A number of the team have experience of being away from home - I've been going to the field for many years, as has Joelle, and Francesca had her year-long stint in South Africa. One thing we all agreed about was communications from the field to our loved ones: short, to the point, and always positive. Since e-mail communication has been very difficult, this has been easy to maintain, except perhaps for when we hit the internet cafe in Aleppo! But they always remained positive. It seems that the team philosophy, as is that of any experienced field person to my knowledge, is that the objective is not to make your loved ones worry. If you are sick, or having deep thoughts about a relationship (including those with parents!), you keep it to yourself. The philosophy is just to come home to them, and sort it out from there. If they get upset that they were never told about the race to the hospital, you just shrug, and ask them why they thought it would help the situation if you were knowing they were immersed in futile worrying while you were struggling with, say, a chest infection. We also didn't tell people about our travels much, or, more specifically, how close those travels brought us to the Lebanese border. It had been my intention not to take the team to places like Saidnaya (within sight of Ba'albek), or Qal'at al-Husn (Crac de Chevalier - this would mean traveling along the strategic Homs pass about 10 km from northern Lebanon). However, after we arrived in Syria, and the team felt so incredibly comfortable with the welcome afforded by the Syrian people, and the security they felt not just in the monastery but anywhere in Syria, it was agreed that we would go to these places. But our loved ones did not feel that security like we did, so they would have only worried if they knew.
My problem was my foot. The occasional picture you may have seen of me with a walking staff was not because I thought that my leadership image might be helped by it (whether trying to seem more like Moses or Gandalf being a mute point). The fact is that I had broken my foot (nasty break of the 4th metatarsal) and had seriously twisted my ankle a couple of months before leaving, and the cast had only come off two weeks before leaving for Syria, after being in it for over 6 weeks. Needless to say the bone physician at the hospital thought the idea of mountain climbing in Syria with a broken foot to be fundamentally absurd, which is really not the sort of thing to say to me if you don't want me to do something. "Absurd" is the sort of term that gains my positive attention as quickly as terms like "chocolate" or "Australian Shiraz". The foot actually created quite a few problems. It was particularly cranky in the morning, which made the 5:30 am starts I had planned an impossibility (much to everyone's deep regret, I'm sure); and made all the climbing a lot more worrying and dangerous. The tale of the walk by moonlight may have been given a little extra zest if I had recounted how many times my walking staff, or my massive hiking boots, had saved my life that night, but I really didn't want anyone to worry! Towards the end, though, I started taking more risks - hence the "Over the Top" posting!!
But in the end we all survived, got a lot done, and then returned in one piece to the loved ones that we had said we would return to.
Robert
So! A number of the team have experience of being away from home - I've been going to the field for many years, as has Joelle, and Francesca had her year-long stint in South Africa. One thing we all agreed about was communications from the field to our loved ones: short, to the point, and always positive. Since e-mail communication has been very difficult, this has been easy to maintain, except perhaps for when we hit the internet cafe in Aleppo! But they always remained positive. It seems that the team philosophy, as is that of any experienced field person to my knowledge, is that the objective is not to make your loved ones worry. If you are sick, or having deep thoughts about a relationship (including those with parents!), you keep it to yourself. The philosophy is just to come home to them, and sort it out from there. If they get upset that they were never told about the race to the hospital, you just shrug, and ask them why they thought it would help the situation if you were knowing they were immersed in futile worrying while you were struggling with, say, a chest infection. We also didn't tell people about our travels much, or, more specifically, how close those travels brought us to the Lebanese border. It had been my intention not to take the team to places like Saidnaya (within sight of Ba'albek), or Qal'at al-Husn (Crac de Chevalier - this would mean traveling along the strategic Homs pass about 10 km from northern Lebanon). However, after we arrived in Syria, and the team felt so incredibly comfortable with the welcome afforded by the Syrian people, and the security they felt not just in the monastery but anywhere in Syria, it was agreed that we would go to these places. But our loved ones did not feel that security like we did, so they would have only worried if they knew.
My problem was my foot. The occasional picture you may have seen of me with a walking staff was not because I thought that my leadership image might be helped by it (whether trying to seem more like Moses or Gandalf being a mute point). The fact is that I had broken my foot (nasty break of the 4th metatarsal) and had seriously twisted my ankle a couple of months before leaving, and the cast had only come off two weeks before leaving for Syria, after being in it for over 6 weeks. Needless to say the bone physician at the hospital thought the idea of mountain climbing in Syria with a broken foot to be fundamentally absurd, which is really not the sort of thing to say to me if you don't want me to do something. "Absurd" is the sort of term that gains my positive attention as quickly as terms like "chocolate" or "Australian Shiraz". The foot actually created quite a few problems. It was particularly cranky in the morning, which made the 5:30 am starts I had planned an impossibility (much to everyone's deep regret, I'm sure); and made all the climbing a lot more worrying and dangerous. The tale of the walk by moonlight may have been given a little extra zest if I had recounted how many times my walking staff, or my massive hiking boots, had saved my life that night, but I really didn't want anyone to worry! Towards the end, though, I started taking more risks - hence the "Over the Top" posting!!
But in the end we all survived, got a lot done, and then returned in one piece to the loved ones that we had said we would return to.
Robert
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Clouds
This is a nice picture. I can't remember seeing so many clouds at Deir Mar Musa before. Joelle and I were out recording caves, and sat down to discuss the archaeological project strategy in the future seasons as the Sun went down (this was 2 minutes walk from the monastery, not 2 hours away as Francesca and I were with Jens on the night of the moonlight walk!). Judging by the following picture of Joelle, I wonder if she thought that we were about to be rained upon? We weren't, but it was very pretty.
Robert
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Caving
You see, here's the thing. I like rocks. Like to study them, stand on them, break them into smaller bits, work them into things, put them on top of each other to build walls - and I love the things other people have done with rocks. I just don't like going IN to them. Of course nice big open caves is fine, but squeezing into little squiggly holes, is not my thing. Probably has something to do with that tunnel I dug when I was a kid, which collapsed on me, dumping not only a lot of earth but what seemed to be an entire nest of earwigs on my head. So after Tiago and Francesca had explored this cave that had been turned into a cistern, and then Francesca wanted to take Jovanna down it too, I gave them a tape measure and told them to record it! Since it was a cistern I'd like to know its capacity. I may go down it one day, but then, I may not. Unlikely, probably.
Robert
Over the Side
 |
| Did I mention that I'm not keen on heights? |
One of the problems with the archaeological finds at the monastery is that I have always suspected that most of the things the previous residents didn't want was thrown over the patio into the deep ravine below, where it would have all been washed away in the seasonal floods. However, peering over from the t op, it looked to me as though there was *dirt* on the ledges below the monastery. This may contain some of the archaeological remains I was looking for.
The climbers having verified that there was a lot of dirt on the rock face below the monastery, I thought I'd better take a look. And there was dirt! I'll have to come back and dig it up another day, though!
 |
| Again with my "I am completely at ease" pose. Here I am at the bottom of the monastery building and Tiago is standing on one of the debris-strewn ledges. |
 |
| A bit further down, and still appreciating the ledges. Still a long way to go, though! An added bonus was near the bottom we discovered another hermit's cave, not high up but hidden from below. |
Robert
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