Hey guys! Hello!

Hello?

… Anyone still there?

I never intended to take such a long break from blogging, but I guess that’s what happens when you work sunrise-to-sunset as a field assistant for three weeks, then your mom falls in love with Paris and decides she’s going to move in with you forever but just in case she can’t convince her job to let her retire early she’d better see everything she can in ten days, and then your husband mentions he has a conference in Israel and you jump at the chance to go with him on your first trip to Asia, and then you finally come home but decide to prioritize hanging out with your husband for the last few days before he returns to his full-time desk job. But now Colin’s back at the office, my stint as a field researcher is over, my mom’s reluctantly returned stateside, and I have no more excuses: time to get back to writing.

Where to even start?

Perhaps with some numbers, because you know I love data!

To sum up the months of May and June:

• 3 countries: France, Greece, and Israel
• 2 continents, which brings my grand total up to 5 of 7—not bad for 30 years old! Not sure when I’m going to get to Australia or Antarctica.
• 10 trips to and from Charles de Gaulle airport
• 0 new passport stamps, because Greece doesn’t believe in making travelers go through customs and Israel doesn’t stamp passports to avoid travelers being denied entry to certain Arab countries
• 0 checked bags, because the easiest way to make traveling more bearable/affordable is to take only what you can fit in a backpack
• 3 alphabets, only one of which I can read
• 4 languages, only one of which I understand (English is pretty common in Greece and Israel, thankfully)
• 8 islands, including Colin’s five study islands, Naxos, Paros, and Aspronissi, the island where we got engaged three summers ago
• 3 cups of coffee, my first ever. Fieldwork is tough going, guys. However, I’ve since discovered that coffee makes me feel sick so I hopped off that bandwagon just as quickly as I could.
• Approximately 15 pita gyros, which is one for every day I was on Naxos. I wish it were many, many more.
• 1,160 photos. Oh my. Does anyone want a side job as photo editor and organizer?

So there you have it; it’s been a whirlwind two months, and if you don’t hear any more from me, it’s because I’m buried under 1,160 photos. If you send sustenance, would you mind sending a pita gyro from Pikantiko on Naxos? Thanks.

A glimpse inside Sacré Coeur

The Acropolis in Athens

The waterlily pond at Monet’s gardens in Giverny

The Western Negev desert outside Tel Aviv