Finally in Syria

Wow, I can't believe I am finally here. It still seems so surreal although everything around me is so alive and very REAL. Let me back up and I will tell you about what I have been through since
I left the US just a few short days ago.

Friday at 5:45 our plane departed and everything went very smoothly. It was the longest flight I have ever taken, but I really enjoyed it. The view of Washington DC lights at night from the air was unlike anything I had ever seen. So beautiful. Seeing the sunrise from the airplane was also really cool. We landed in Vienna, and had about an hour layover. The next flight was only 4 hours from Vienna to Amman, Jordan. I slept almost the entire way. I did not even wake up when the food arrived and was placed in front of me, when the leader Janet shook me so I could eat, or when she called my name several times. By this time it was Saturday afternoon.

When we arrived in Jordan, the reality began to sink in a little. I could tell I was in another country, but still haven't wrapped my mind around the fact that I will live in these countries for 3 months. We got settled into our hotel, and explored the neighborhood a little. We didn't see much of Amman this time around, but we will return later in our travels and see much much more.

We left Amman early Sunday morning and headed to Syria. We sat at the Syrian border for almost two hours because the Syrian border police were being difficult, but eventually they let us continue on our way.A Syrian tour guide joined us then, and took us to Bosra. It is a city in Syria where there are ancient ruins dating back to the 2nd century. Almost everything was made with Basalt rock, I think is what they called it. Basalt is a very dark rock and very difficult to carve into. It creates very beautiful dark buildings and the Syrians were able to make beautiful intricate patterns into the rock. We got to look around the amphitheater, which is one of the most well preserved amphitheaters in the world. It was such a view. Everything in the ruins of Bosra was amazing. I can only imagine what this city looked like in its prime.


The top picture is a view of the amphitheater from the top. The second, a view from the bottom, and the third a picture of the ruins of the other parts of town.

We finally reached Damascus around 3 yesterday, we got settled into our rooms in the monastery dormitories. These rooms are way nicer than I expected. We have a private bath and shower, a television with Arabic cable channels, and a door to an outside patio. We ate dinner last night around 8 since that is the common time for Syrians to eat, if not earlier than normal. I am going to have to get used to having hard boiled eggs, goat cheese, olives, and pita alot. Since we had that for supper last night and for breakfast this morning.

At 8 this morning we set off towards Bab Sharqi (Bob Sharkey) one of the gates to the Old City of Damascus to catch the bus. It is about a ten minute walk to the Old City. The bus took us to where we will be taking language classes, called Berlitz. Their methodology for teaching is Immersion. They toss us into a classroom with our teacher and they only allow Arabic to be spoken in the room. They teach us by repetition and pointing. It is quite interesting. I can repeat things fairly well, but I probably only remember half of what we learned today. It is a very difficult language to learn. I can introduce myself "Es mi Allison" -- my name is Allison. I also remember the colors red and blue. "ahh-mar" and "ezrah". Not sure what I can do with this information. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive.

We got to wander around the Old City after we were finished with our language class. It is quite a magnificent place, and I can't wait to see more of it.

I love you. I miss you.