And so it begins!

Welcome!

 I've decided to document my dissertation data collection journey, and thus begins the blog of the Wandering Osteologist. You can in part thank (blame?) my friend Luca, who implied I tend to be somewhat lax as a correspondent (okay, okay, "terrible at keeping in contact"), and thus my aim is to update this blog semi-regularly so that a) my mom knows I'm still alive, b) my family and friends get a glimpse of what I'm doing (it still won't make any sense) while they play 'Where in the world is Emily today?', and c) I can share my fantastic travel adventures with anyone who cares to read about 'em! (Yep, I already know they're going to be fantastic. Boom.)

So, in T minus 30 hours, I'll be setting off for an eight month adventure spanning four continents. Needless to say, my current mood is something along the lines of "GAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This state of affairs actually has more to do with getting everything settled here in NYC before I leave than it does with the journey itself because, friends, if perchance you are unaware, this lady looooves to travel. I'm sad to leave my hubby (and kitties) behind but super excited to hit the road, collect some data, and bang out this dissertation at last!

Item numero uno on my itinerary is Peru. Back in 2005 I spent an awesome three months working as part of an archaeological team excavating the first colonial-era chapel in northern Peru and living in quarters at the Museo Nacional Sican (and developing an abiding love of pisco sours). Northern Peru is far less well-traveled than the touristy south, and I had the opportunity to visit little known but fabulous sites such as Tucume and Chan Chan. This time around I'm excited to hit some of the more traditional highlights such as Machu Picchu, which will be fairly easy for me because I will be working for a month in the nearby city of Cuzco. The first stop, however, is three weeks in the capital city of Lima, where I will be working at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP), the alma mater of my friend and colleague Alejandra (who deserves and has earned my unending gratitude for helping me navigate the complex governmental and professional requirements for studying human remains in Peru). Having not been super impressed with Lima in the past (hazy, overcast, grimy, etc), I was somewhat resigned to the prospect of spending several weeks there, but Alejandra (a native Limena) assures me it's now "much less crappy" than it was a decade ago, so I'm willing to give it a second chance and explore a bit on the weekends with the aid of my Frommer's Day by Day guidebook. First, though, I actually need to *get* there, so I'm going to sign off and get back to the pre-travel frenzy of laundry, organizing, and packing!

Buenos noches, amigos!