So far, this beginning-of-fall-term has been notably more relaxed and low-key than last year's. Last year everything was new and exciting; this year everything is familiar and comfortable. None of the sophomores feel the need to run around doing everything anymore; we for the most part know who our friends are and what we like to do, which has made for a very easy, pleasant start to the year. I'm still living with most of my close friends from last year's floor, and last night we had a sort of reunion, which involved eating chocolate and reading aloud from a bewildering, pornographic medieval French poem I was assigned for my French literature course.

It's still late summer, though the leaves are starting to fall; most days it's been about 80 degrees out (this has been the Weinberg Weather Report, in keeping with last year's blogging tradition).

This year's summer was very historical. I started off by going on the archaeological dig at Tel Kabri in Israel, working in the middle of an avocado grove to excavate the ruins of a Middle Bronze Age palace. Tel Kabri is remarkable because of its Aegean-style floor and wall frescos, which are very rarely found in the surrounding area, so a lot of the work on the site went into determining the connection between Aegean culture and the Canaanite culture of the residents of the palace. Or, at least, that's where the intellectual energy went – the actual work entailed getting up at 4 AM to beat the crushing Israeli heat and pickaxing, hoeing and removing a seemingly infinite amount of dirt. In the end, we made a lot of progress – we found several new walls, a plaster floor, and a whole lot of pottery.

We got weekends off to travel, and along with a couple other volunteers, I visited Akko, Haifa and Jerusalem. One of my favorite things that happened on the whole trip was when we stumbled at random into the Arab section of Akko and, after following the sound of drums and singing, came upon a wedding party in the streets. Our brand of tourism involved a lot of "stumbling upon" – on our first night in Jerusalem, we wondered why we were going through a security checkpoint until we came out the other side and found ourselves at the Western Wall, completely by accident.

When I got home, the terrible economy kept me from finding a job, so I volunteered at my town's historical society, photographing artifacts for the archival records. It turns out that the society has a lot more in the archives than they let on, and a lot of it is extremely moving and intense. I ended up photographing mostly military artifacts – things like WWI gas masks, barbed wire, pieces of shrapnel, and one small, slightly lopsided basket with a label in French informing me that it was woven at the Insitute for the Reeducation of Mutilated Soldiers of Bordeaux. This was honestly one of the most interesting things I've ever done, and I think I might go back over winter break even if I find a paying job.

Now for the present day: My classes so far look really excellent, probably the best of any term so far. They are:

• French 240: Sexuality and Sagacity (the class responsible for the medieval porn poem)
• Before Europe: the Early Medieval World (with Bill North, who is one of the funniest and most engaging lecturers I've ever had)
• The American Social Welfare System, which is incredible in the sense that its subject matter is so urgently infuriating

Of course, this courseload means I have upwards of 100 pages of reading a night, but the material is so interesting I don't think I'll mind (I hope).

I'm also in Social Dance I, where for the past two classes we've been learning about things like "keeping a firm frame" and a move called "the infinite twinkle". Good stuff.

Coming up: the progress of The Screenplay (remember that?), plus anything else that happens to happen!