From the research that brought you Being
An Archeologist Isn’t Always Glamorous… comes the thrilling sequel Being An Archaeologist Isn’t Always
Glamorous: Part Deux! The location, Mainz. The cast, tripled! The weather,
unpredictable. The commute, longer. The research, even less thrilling!
I have not written in much detail about what I am doing in
Mainz for a month because there is really not much to tell. I arrived on *March February 25th and settled into the museum owned guesthouse that is offered to
visiting scholars for free if there is available room. I stayed there for a
week, then switched to a friend’s (my friend from Vix 2011 that I referred to
as The German) apartment for a week,
and then back to the guesthouse.
When I have not been moving my stuff from one side of town
to the other, I have been spending my days in a gigantic library. Why come all
the way to Mainz for a library? Well, this library contains over 120,000 books
on archaeology and history alone! Most of the publications are in various
European languages (mostly German), and the focus of most of the literature is
the archaeology of Europe. While we have many great libraries in the States, most
of these publications are very old or difficult to come by across the pond. In
short, it is a fantastic place for me to get some research done as many of the
materials I need are available on site. Sometimes the reading is really great
and I think, “This is just the thing I was looking for!” and other days, like
today, I was almost bored to tears by a book I needed to finish and could do
nothing after but watch a crappy zombie movie. Here is a highlight from Cockneys vs. Zombies:
So, on average, I am spending about eight hours a day in a
library reading French. I have rather limited brain power for anything else
after that. Luckily, after I arrived I realized I know several people in the
city and have made new friends as well during my stay. I have been watching
movies and TV shows as I do at home, and eating…a lot. I have rarely had a meal
alone which is a nice change from my normal research schedule! The German has been a great host too and
I have been comparing him to a Midwestern mother because he keeps making me
eat! I fear I will be fat before I leave Mainz.
I have also shared some of my culinary masterpieces with The German and The Hobbit (another blogged about friend from Vix who came to town
last week to visit!). As the former is an avid carnivore and the latter is a vegetarian,
I tried to engineer some meals that would work for the three of our diverse
food tastes. Baked gnocchi, stuffed peppers, and American-style pancakes were
all successfully transferred recipes! Have not been drinking too much, though I was introduced to Schlappeseppel beer! Not only is it a delicious beer, it is a great word to say while toasting your beer (apparently the first time I tried to say it, it sounded like I already drank about five of them according to my wonderful friends)! I am trying to find a distributor in the States -- keep your eyes open!
To summarize, my time in Mainz has been spent walking from one side of town to the other, sitting in a library for eight hours a day reading French (because I cannot read German yet), visiting friends, and eating too much. All-in-all, it sounds rather boring, but each day has its highlights.
*Thanks Ami, for the correction! I am not that magical yet!
1 comment:
I think you mean February 25th dear. Unless you can travel that far in time whilst in France.
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