This blog has been so much fun to write, and I appreciate all the attention, comments and support more than I can say. As I close out my last day here, I thought I would put up a few more things, some last observations and a few short stories. I also kept a daily journal, of which this blog is the condensed version, so if you want more details, let me know. Since the trip home has potential for great weirdness, I might have one final addition…stay tuned.
First, some final observations:
1. In Syria, the pedestrian is never right. Whether you are confronted by a bike, motorbike, car, horse and buggy, donkey or kid with a trolley, you can’t win.
2. Teenagers are obnoxious all over the world.
3. When in doubt, point, smile and look helpless. This is more effective when female, but gets results because the recipient of your helplessness wants you to go away or buy something, so they will help you.
4. Beware the tea. It is wonderful, strong and has enough caffeine to choke a dog.
5. Come here in the winter, stay for some of the spring and leave. The tourists and cockroachescome out starting in mid-March, both of whom seem to swarm in similar ways.
6. One can never go wrong with ice cream.
Okay, a few short stories:
On Friday, I met a friend from class for tea and we managed to finally hear the famous storyteller. The storyteller is a tradition here – as it is in many countries, including the US – and there is a famous one, from a family of storytellers (the Arabic word for storyteller is “hakawati”) who holds court at the al-Nawfara cafe next to the Omayyad Mosque on the weekends. During Ramadan, he is there every day, and he is amazing! They have a little throne for him, in front of which is his tea, ashtray and constantly smouldering cigarette. He holds the book in one hand, sword in the other, and smashes the sword onto a table next to him (metal, so makes a terrific crashing sound) for emphasis. He reads in the dialect, and I heard that the locals don’t necessarily understand him either. We understood every 10th word or so, but he is such a great actor, we didn’t care.
He tells stories of great heroes, battles and the like, so there is a lot of action to narrate. The audience is required to remain quiet (we were rebuked gently for chatting quietly while he was reading and waving the sword) though audience participation is encouraged. It was a real treat to hear him!
The next adventure was hearing mass at the St. Ananias house, which is where Saul was converted to Christianity and turned into St. Paul. The mass was in Arabic, but followed the basic mass pattern I have come to recognize. The house is underground, terribly old, and I went withmy young Korean friend from the house. We both agreed it was a great way to hear Arabic, if a bit tough to follow (we watched everyone for the satnding, sitting, etc.) and left before communion took place. I have pictures of the outside, but not the interior…sorry! Couldn’t bring myself to take a photo during mass. Seemed sort of barbaric.
So, today I am packing, saying goodbye to friends and walking around my favorite spots. I leave really early in the morning, (yay), so will being further joy to the city by dragging my suitcase through the streets at 4am to get to a place where I can find a taxi. The fun never stops!
It has been a wonderful experience, and I feel that I have learned a great deal. The people here are kind, generous, intelligent observers of the world and able to distinguish between a person and the actions of their country. I can’t wait to come back someday, and encourage people to come here, even for a short visit. The food is amazing (I am in love with the ice cream and the hard yoghurt, called “labneh”), the tea and coffee good, and the history is breathtaking.
Thank you all for sharing this experience with me!