Searching for Facts or Truths?

I will say first off that I am contemplative tonight.  I am writing the second chapter of my thesis in Maritime Archaeology at Syddansk Universitet, while I am packing down my apartment because I cannot afford my rent any longer.  Editing the first chapter will most likely take till I hand in my last chapter in August but this doesn’t trouble me.  What troubles me is where do I go from here?  I have been unable to find paying work here in Denmark and as Syddansk Universitet is not accredited with the federal student loan agencies back in the states which means that even if I wanted to do my Ph. D. here I simply cannot afford to.  I am leaving loved ones and friends here, which is also not sitting well.  I remind myself the words I told a colleague years ago, although to me it seems as if it were only yesterday; that I would flip hamburgers to continue to do this, and may have to.  

Why might you ask?  Why would a person subject themselves to a life of constant moving and a perpetual state of what many have called my “near homelessness”?  The answer lies with what I believe and what I study.  I as an archaeologist and social scientist study the historical human past.  I use selective groups of objects from that disembodied past to tell narratives to help me as a researcher and others the things that we not only take for granted, but the things which were lost that are now forgotten to history.  I am a detective on an endless hunt for as Indiana Jones said “Facts” although sometime my research could be characterized for the search for “Truths”.  This journey will never make me rich in monetary standards, but I hope to receive, and have received a wealth of knowledge through my travels.  Knowledge I hope to one day give back to the greater public.

Being out of money, I will make the best of what I have on my plate.  Hope for more, and continue to help my friends, though packing and writing my second chapter is going to take time away from them.  I am no recluse, I just enjoy the feeling of history.  As I have said it before, in our hardest moments we can look back on the not so distant past and know that someone else also struggled and overcame.  History is a blanket that you can wrap yourself up in, but moreover it is a tool which can bring joy and fulfillment to millions.  James Deetz once wrote in a fairly famous book that I hope I don’t have to mention that historical archaeology was an expensive way of discovering facts and truths about our past which we could presumably glean from other sources.  In this he challenged all historical archaeologists to better define what we do and how we contribute unique dialogues to the field of the humanities and social sciences. I contribute by engaging it and sharing it…even if it never put a piece of gold in my pocket or kept me physical warm at night.  I will be headed back to Virginia most likely in two months. I need to stop in Sweden to do some archive research before I go.  I will be writing and working on refining my thesis as I travel, and I will keep the great memories of my friends, loved ones, colleagues in Europe in my heart.  I have work to do in Virginia, as much as I would like to stay here in Europe I don’t have skills that are valued here when a resident of this country is present.  If I seem mournful over the coming days- it is only that I wish I could have stayed longer and seen more, but that is not a regret- for I have done all I could.  I will have to give all I can to Virginia when I return and hopefully one day I will be called back to Denmark.