Sunday, April 13, 2008

...Que?

So, it's a few days back.
I have to write this damnedable archaeology paper.
Which discusses pieces of ceramic that were found under the ground in southern Labrador.
This is very exciting to some people.
We were given a bunch of items to look at in class.
Four or five classes, actually.
And I knew nothing about how to analyze this stuff at the time.
I'd show up and write down random notes about how this one looked 'kinda orange' or that one 'looks like it may have been a mug. Or a bowl.'
I had no idea what I was doing.
I was just thrilled to be able to listen to music in class.
I must've bobbed around a lot during one of the additional sessions because one of my female classpals said, "That music you're listening to must be really good."
"Oh, yeah. Radiohead. It's wicked. But you've gotta wait your turn."

So, I'm trying to find some magical website that has a picture of every type of ceramic that has come out of a kiln since the 16th century.
I look for sources in the centre for Newfoundland studies.
And there's this book that they recommend for me.
Written in Spanish.
And the woman says, "It's in Spanish, but sometimes there are English essays in there."
There weren't.
But, I skim through it here and there, and I get to the back of this thing, and I realize that it's a report written on the exact same place that we're studying.
There are pictures of sherds that I actually may have been holding a few weeks prior.
I've found my Holy Grail for the week (cause each week it changes).
It's in front of me.
In Spanish.
So, I start trying to figure it out.
I'm reminded that instead of using "quotation marks" they use <>.
Which proves to be fatuitous.
I look for every word surrounded by the little 'less than' and 'greater than' signs, and write it down.
I write down every year that I come across.
I try to deduce what other things may mean.
Translating a language that I know nothing about.
"Now, does "y" mean 'and'? Or 'or'...?"

I've since received the paper.
I didn't do excellently on it.

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