Beijing, China

We arrived in freezing Beijing on the night of December 27th and made our way to our hotel near the forbidden city. Our hotel, the Sha Tan, was incredibly posh for the money we paid, but unfortunately it was a considerable distance from the metro, which made for some bone-chilling walks each day. On Monday the 28th, I made my way to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), which holds the majority of China's most treasured fossils. I had previously met Dr. Liu Wu in South Africa while we were both studying in Johannesburg and Cape Town, which made working at IVPP considerably easier. One of the best things about working at IVPP was getting to eat lunch in the cafeteria, which served truly authentic Chinese food. I quickly learned that "lunch break" is a very loose concept in China, which meant that I really only had a few hours each day to get any work done. However, this did give me plenty of opportunity to visit the adjoining Paleozoological Museum, which is the only museum I've ever visted entirely devoted to fossils. While at IVPP had the opportunity to study a number of important fossil specimens such as Luijiang, Maba, and Lantian, as well as casts from Zhoukoudian (original fossils were lost during WWII), Jinniushan and Nanjing. Despite the freezing temperatures we also had the opportunity to visit some incredible sights such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the Great Wall! Making the experience even better was the opportunity to meet up with Lewisville, TX friends the Sloan's and Cooper's who were in Beijing teaching English with "Let's Start Talking."

Tokyo

I arrived at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Monday, December 21st to work at the National Museum of Nature and Science. After the 45 minute ride on the Keisei Skyliner from the airport, I arrived in the Ueno district and my hotel. My very first indication that Tokyo was going to be my kind of town was that everything was clearly built for people my size (5'5)...doors only 6 feet high, doorknobs at waist level, urinals at a convenient elevation...I was made for this place! After dropping of my things in my room (and spending a few minutes marveling at my fully electronic toilet) I made my way down stairs to the hotel's restaurant and ordered up a big plate of maguro (tuna) sashimi! Full and exhausted, I drug myself back to my room where I fell asleep in a bed that, in the words of Goldi Locks, fit "just right." The next morning I braved the Tokyo metro system (it wasn't the mad house I was expecting) and made my way to the museum in the Shinjuku-ku district. At the Museum I met Dr. Reiko Kono, who was immensely helpful in getting me oriented in the collections (mostly labeled in Japanese). While there I worked with crania from the Incipient/Initial Jomon Period (i.e. Terminal Pleistocene) including the ~13,000 year old Shosenzuka Shell-mound specimen.

Wednesday the 23rd turned out to be a national holiday (Emperor's Birthday) which meant I had the opportunity to do some sight-seeing while waiting for Tressa and my sister, Caroline, to arrive for their Christmas breaks. I first visited the National Museum of Nature and Science exhibits in Ueno (the exhibits are in Ueno the collections are in Shinjuku-ku) where they have a great exhibit of the early peopling of Japan. I then visited the enormous Tokyo National Museum complex where they exhibit some of Japan's most important archaeological artifacts and traditional artwork (personal highlights include the collections of Jomon pottery and lithics, Samurai swords and armor, Ainu cultural heritage, and Chinese oracle bones). I met Tressa and Caroline at the train station around 4 pm, and after getting them settled in the hotel, we went out and ate more raw fish. For Christmas, we all got up early to enjoy a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market before I left for work. Later that day, the Museum's Anthropology Department invited all of us to their end of the year party. We were expecting cake and punch...what we got was a 7 course Thai feast!

Over the weekend we visited countless attractions such as Ueno Park, the Meiji Shrine, and the Imperial Palace. But let's be clear, we're foodies, and our true highlights were the various eating establishments we patronized. We enjoyed sushi at classic conveyor-belt "Kaiten-zushi" restaurants, we experimented with skewered meat at yakitori bars, we ate the best Unagi (freshwater eel) on earth at the famous Unagi Kappo Izuei Honten restaurant (which has been grilling eel over the same fire for more than 260 years!), and we discovered some of Tokyo's lesser known delicacies, such as the most incredible Satsumaimo (sweet potato) desserts. We even managed to curb Tressa's last minute craving for Uni (Sea Urchin) at the airport while waiting for our flight to Beijing, China.

Tel Aviv & Jerusalem

My flight from Addis finally landed in Tel Aviv at 2:30AM (apparently they fly at night for security reasons) on December 9th. After an hour getting through passport control and then getting ripped-off by a cabbie who turned the meter off when I fell asleep in the back seat, I finally got to my hotel around 4 in the morning. Now, I know I should have gotten up and spent my one free day in Tel Aviv sight-seeing, but I just slept instead. The next day (Thursday), I took a cab to Tel Aviv University to study Qafzeh 9, Amud, and Ohallo 2. After work I took a scenic 30 mile cab ride to Jerusalem, where I was scheduled to work at the Rockefeller Museum the following Monday.

My hotel in Jerusalem was located in the Arab neighborhood right next to the Rockefeller and across from Herod's Gate. I spent the entire weekend wandering the winding streets of the Old City. I followed the path Christ carried the cross on the Via Dolorosa, ending at Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. I visited the pools of Bethesda, the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, and King David's Tomb. I said a prayer at the Western Wall, and strolled through the ruins of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. On Monday, I hauled my gear across centuries old cobblestone sidewalks to the Rockefeller Museum to study the Zuttiyeh and Skhul 4 fossils. My flight left late on Tuesday, so I spent the morning roaming the Temple Mount around the Dome of the Rock (it's closed Friday through Sunday). Around 4 pm, I passed through the bustle of the suq to exit through the Damascus Gate and headed to the airport. It was sad leaving Jerusalem, it was an unbelievable experience.