Dec 1, 2009 - Thanksgive-a-birthday-eid-al-adha-kha

The holiday season has begun….. yes Alison, just like The O.C.s own Christma-Hana-Kwanza-kah. In my own Seth Cohen-ish way, I was a bit worried for my first Thanksgiving away from home, but my friends Demetri and Lexi threw a festive dinner and really made it work. Lexi went all out, cooking (of course) turkey, (but also) mashed potatoes, stuffing, and even managed to make cranberry sauce. The apple and pumpkin pies for dessert made me forget I was in Syria. Also, the 150 Lira ($3) bottles of wine were a big hit, though not in a good...

Nov 17, 2009 - 2 months

-After 2 months in Damascus, I am announcing a big change... ok really not that big of a deal but.... After studying Fusha with Dr. Alwani for two months, I am getting a new teacher. I decided its time to start studying colloquial Arabic (the spoken language) and I’ve already found a new teacher. Her name is Yosra, and she’s written her own book on teaching colloquial Arabic. Plus, she’s almost half the cost of my former teacher, so I’ll be meeting with her three times a week and it will still cost me less money. She says that in 6 months I...

Nov 15, 2009 - Damascus:Great Ommayad Mosque & Azem Palace

We set out this morning to explore the old city on foot. We stopped at the railway station were the train set out for Wadi Rum and south. After Lawrence blew it up a few times down there it pretty much closed down. We carried on to the Great Ommayad Mosque, one of the first great mosques of the Muslim world built in 718AD by the Caliph el-Walid. It was decorated with lovely glass mosaics still intact on large areas. We went inside just at pray time and were allowed to stay and watch the men and women (at the back) praying. We stopped By...

Nov 14, 2009 - Dead Sea, Bosra, Damascus

We left our beautiful hotel on the Dead Sea and headed north to Syria. After some confusion at the border and 1 1/2 hour wait they let us go minus our tour leader whose paperwork wasn't correct. Luckily our Syrian guide had joined us at the border and took us on from there. Our first stop was a wonderful free-standing Roman Amphitheatre. As usual various other building have been added over the years using the walls of the Amphitheatre. Including one of the oldest mosques and a church. There are even people living inside. The government is...

Nov 11, 2009 - Poetry Night

-I went to my first Damascene Poetry night a couple days ago. It took place in the smoke-filled basement of a hotel in Central Damascus. It was quite the interesting Scene. Muslim men and women drinking beer and “getting comfortable” with each other while a few of the braver men walked up to the microphone and performed their best poems. I really wish I could tell you about the poems, especially the one written exclusively about America, but I was only picking up bits and pieces of what they were saying. Maybe its better that way, as I...

Nov 5, 2009 - How I became an English Teacher

-Yesterday I taught my first English class….let me tell you how it went down. It all started a few weeks ago, when I “auditioned” to teach at the American Language Center. Though I didn’t get hired, I did get to meet Matt Loffman. On the third and final day, Matt approached me to tell me about his business idea. He was trying to start an English Institute in Jeramana (little Iraq) aimed at teaching youngsters. After telling me he thought I was one of the best potential teachers, he asked if I wanted to be involved. -Let’s fast forward to...

Oct 31, 2009 - Happy Halloween/ It's cold!

It's Halloween! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean much here. No kids dressed up as witches or goblins, no toilet paper in trees, no tricks, and definitely no treats. I did try to celebrate the other night though. I joined a few foreigners for a Halloween party. It was good times and even watched a movie from a projector…..Orphan, and I highly recommend it....scary movie with a crazy surprise ending... ask Racine she knows. Long story short, I’ll never trust Eastern European midgets again! -Fall has begun here in Damascus, and from the feel...

Oct 28, 2009 - Visa Extension

Damascus is surprisingly foreigner friendly. People really go out of their way to make me feel welcome here. It started with the soldiers at the airport who said “Welcome to my country” but continued with my friends who have had me over for dinner with their families. It hasn’t stopped, with students I’ve just met who walk me to find my destination to the falafel stand guys who….well they just make really good falafel sandwiches. (By the way, according to the unofficial tally I did in my head today, I’ve eaten over 40 Falafel sandwiches...

Oct 25, 2009 - Tony

Every morning, without fail, I’m awoken by Tony calling me from the upstairs patio, “Brown!” (I know it’s not my name but, really, what’s in a name. Would a rose by any other name...but I digress) “Sabaah hal kheer, Tony!” I respond. “Yallah, shurb al shey!” And every morning, without fail, I sit with Tony on the upstairs patio and drink tea with him. When I first got here, it was a bit awkward. It was just Tony and me. He knew only 15 words in English and my Arabic ....well, you get the picture. Its much better now, not just because I...

Oct 21, 2009 - I have a new friend named Ferez and $24.89

So, This week I made a new friend name Ferez (yes Racine, rhymine with Ferez rhymes with Perez, like Perez Hilton, you're favorite celebrity gossiper). He's a pretty cool guy, he lives close by and works at the local "belgium waffle," the tastiest waffles in town. His english is pretty poor which means I get to help him out while speaking to him mostly in arabic (good practice for me.) Also, he knows of a few english teaching institutes in town so we've been making the rounds together, resume in hand. I got hit on for the first time since...

Oct 16, 2009 - one month update

I've just surpassed the one month mark here in Syria, and wow, has it gone by quickly. Obviously I won't be able review my entire month in one post, but I figured I'd go over some of the key lessons I've learned so far. -Squat Toilets really aren't so bad. Really, I've gotten used to it, and it's supposed to be healthier, somehow. Having said that, there is nothing like their stench. -When you run out of clean shirts, a quick "sniff test" buys an extra two weeks from the dirty clothes in your hamper. Don't hate, I'm just going green. -...

Oct 12, 2009 - Still Jobless

I received the much-anticipated phone call from Steve of the American Language Center yesterday and, well, Steve said it best, "I'm sorry Brian, we won't be able to use you this term." So I am now 0-2 in my job hunt after nearly a month in the country. But ma leysh. Matt told me he will have something to tell me about teaching kids to younger kids by Saturday. I'm also planning to contact Berlitz, another english teaching organization tomorrow. I played my first soccer game since arriving in Syria the other day. It was a lot of fun, though...