An Abrupt Return Home

Dear Friends,

The plan was to stay in Israel through October and participate in an underwater excavation. However, on the Sunday before my Galilee days, the government of Israel announced that the country was going to start its second lockdown. The lockdown would last three weeks, at which point it might begin to lift if the COVID cases had declined. This meant at the very least that the excavation would be delayed and possibly cancelled.

My final Robinson Crusoe Calendar —one row per week since school moved online at the beginning of the first lockdown.

Living through a second lockdown in the hopes of an excavation which might or might not actually happen was not something I was willing to do. So, in a whirlwind three days I packed up all my stuff, cleaned my apartment like crazy, visited the Galilee, said good-bye to classmates and friends, before catching a red-eye flight back to the states. The flight was packed because basically every Israeli with dual citizenship was leaving the country as well (at least that’s what it seemed like).

Some people leaving on an adventure as I return from mine. (I don’t know why Medium smooshed this picture and not the one above.)

Hopefully, I will be able to go back to Israel for an excavation next summer; but, if this year has taught me anything, it is that there is no seeing the future. Lest any of you worry, I did complete all the requirements for the degree and am just waiting for the diploma.

Home Sweet Home

Thank you all for your support and prayers! I know to the depths of my being that this adventure would not have been possible without the prayers and support of my friends.

God bless!

Debora Sebastian

One last sunset over the Mediterranean