Summer Adventuring in the UK

HELLO WORLD

It's been quite a long time since I have used this blog, and honestly a ton of life has happened since my last post. The most pressing event though is my upcoming trip to the UK! I leave on June 6th, which is only 3 days away! I have been through quite the journey already just to make this trip happen and here are some important details in chronological order:

1. Childhood - I have pretty much always wanted to go to England. If you know me well, you probably know this already :)

2. Summer 2015 - I participated in the UC Berkeley Archaeological Field School in Nemea, Greece and experienced archaeology firsthand via a 3,000 Mycenaean cemetery site. It was here that I decided that I would truly love to pursue a career as an archaeologist (I mean, how cool would it be to earn the title of Dr. Graves? Just for the pun alone!)

3. October 2015 - While perusing the Oxford School of Archaeology website (how I spend my free time apparently) I found an amazing Roman Britain excavation site just south of Oxford in the small village of Dorchester-on-Thames which is managed by the University of Oxford. I emailed the Assistant Director and before long I was signed up to participate in the 2 week field school for summer 2016!

4. February 2016 - I applied to the Haas Scholars Program here at Berkeley. This program provides up to $12,000 in funding for upcoming seniors who wish to conduct independent research for their senior theses. The application process was strenuous: a 5 page research proposal, a budget proposal amounting to $5,000 (enough for 5 weeks in the UK), two letters of recommendation, etc. Only 20 students are selected, and in the middle of March I was notified that I had been chosen from the largest pool of applicants that the program has ever seen! You can read about my project on the Haas website HERE.

5. March - May 2016 - After securing funding from the Haas Scholars Program, I have been busy securing all of the details for my trip! It has been an incredibly empowering experience to have a $5,000 research budget at my disposal and to be responsible for organizing an entire 5 week trip to the UK by myself. I have booked everything from airfare to hostels to day trips, and I have created a research agenda from scratch. At 20 years old, I feel like I'm entering the final stages of my transition into full-fledged adulthood!

As you can see, this trip has only been made possible by nearly a year of planning and effort. I feel so blessed to have been given these opportunities to follow my dreams, and the support from faculty, staff, and my peers here at UC Berkeley has been beyond phenomenal.

SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE ARE MY TRIP DETAILS:

JUNE 7-11: Arrive in London; Spend 2 days sightseeing and being a super eager tourist in a city that I have always dreamed of exploring; Day Trip to Stonehenge and Bath; Depart for Oxford

JUNE 11-26: Research in Oxford; I will be staying with a couple in Headington (a suburb of Oxford) in their beautiful English townhouse, which is only about a mile away from C.S. Lewis' historic home The Kilns; While in Oxford I will be doing research in the Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum; I will also be meeting with Professor Helena Hamerow who is a leading Anglo-Saxon Archaeologist at Oxford and has been incredibly kind in helping me to guide my research via email communication for the past few months; I might also try to take a day trip up to Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - among hopefully many other adventures!

JUNE 26 - JULY 8: Excavation at Dorchester-on-Thames; This site is super awesome and relevant to by research because it contains elements from the Iron Age to Roman Britain to the Anglo-Saxon period (so cool); I'll be camping near the site with the other field school participants and we'll be eating all of our meals in a pub; Tea, coffee, and biscuits will also be provided on our morning and afternoon breaks during the day (aka the most charming British thing ever); I'm excited to finally meet the people that I have been communicating with since October!; I'm also eager to see if I love participating in archaeological work in Britain as much as I think that I will; NOTE: I will be there on Independence Day surrounded by Brits! haha :)

JULY 8-11: Depart for London; Spend another day or two sightseeing; Return journey back to Berkeley on the 11th.

And there you have it! I will be sharing updates and pictures throughout this expedition if you would like to keep up with my adventures. Thank you to everyone who has provided intellectual, emotional, and financial assistance during this past year that has allowed me to get to where I am today. I am so excited for everything that the future holds, and I thank God everyday for giving me the passions that I love pursuing :). Until next time,

Olivia