Well I thought I would never get into Syria, because I was certain that the relationships between the governments is not the best. I never tried, because I had been told it costs 70 dollars to cross the border and you might wait for 4 hours to cross. However, I had a friend going up to visit some people so I asked if I could get a ride to the border and then he could go on. We got to the border and I went to apply for a visa. It only cost 16 dollars. Then after my friends left, it only took about 30 more min and I got a 15 day visa. That was great. I was just hoping for a 3 day visa or a 24 hour one. Since I hadn’t planned to have that much time, I didn’t know what to do with my self. I had been advised to see certain things and luckily I brought along a guidebook, “The Lonely Planet.” I headed off to Homs. Nothing is there but someone I knew so I stayed with them for 2 days. On the 2nd day we went out to their farm, and that I enjoyed so much. I asked if I could go walk in their field. They thought this was so strange but I went anyway. All of the children went with me. They basically all live next door to each other. As they get married, they move out and build their own home right next to the parents’ which is smart because it takes up less farm land. I got some dirt for my dad from the farm. The funny thing is: there are a lot of rocks in the soil the size of golf balls. You can’t avoid them. It makes me gratefull for the land I farm at home. My hosts knew some people in Lattikia (Lathaqia in Arabic) and called them to say I was coming. So the next day I went first to a castle. The Arabic name is Hosn after the town there. The other name is a French name I can’t remember. The French name means “the castle of the knights.” I thought it was amazing. It had a great view. It was beautiful. From there I went to Lattikia and met the other people. That evening we went to the beach and watched the sun set. It is the fourth time I have seen the Mediterranean and I still have not swam in it. We watched the sun set while drinking coffee. It was great. The next day I took the train to Aleppo (Halab in Arabic). At the train station I meat a man known to the guy in Lattakia. I had lunch with him and then got to explore the old city. There was a park very near the old city that I slept in for 30 min. I went to church that night in Aleppo and the next day I headed back to Homs. This time they took me to the down town area and made me eat everything we passed by. Some things where better in Syria. They are famous for their sweets but the sweet cheese (konafa) is better in Jordan. They put pistachios on it. After a day there I headed to Damascus and met some people I knew. They took me to a mountain over-looking Damascus. We had to pay 12 dollars to sit in the shade. We didn’t know until we were leaving that we had to pay for shade. It wasn’t like they where cramped for space. The place was empty. I was quite disappointed. I mean when you have to pay for “shade.” According to the proprietor who said he doesn’t get to keep this money, it goes to the government thanks to socialism. You could tell by the look on his face that he meant it or he just pulled the wool over our eyes. I was disappointed in the system another time when we had to sit for an hour and a half just to get some diesel. There is a shortage and yet the price is still 10 cents. Supply and demand means nothing here. Blarg. In that case we should just do away with money all together because it doesn’t really mean anything.
Syrians are so in love with their country. It is almost like it can do no wrong. They are a very proud people.
Back to the rest of my trip–after the expensive shade, we went to the old city and walked around. And then went to their favorite fruit juice stand. It was basically on the other side of the city but since Damascus is flat, we just walked to it and then went to their home. In the morning I left for home. Syria was nice. It is a good place to visit. Put it on your list.
1/1/07
Well what do you know. Today we went snowboarding. I have been waiting 3 years for this. We flew to Lebanon at night. It was great. They take American dollars from you–no need to exchange money. It took me an hour and a half to get to the airport and the same time to get to the ski lodge. It only took 40 minutes in the air so only about 4 hours of travel. That’s like going to Angel Fire, but just a bit more expensive. The first day I was doing alright and then we went all the way to the top. I took off, made it half way down and then biffed it hard–hard enough that I can still feel it. Even now my chest feels like I broke a rib but hopefully not. We had 2 newbies but they did well, though one of them just used their snowboard for a sled half the day. Now raise your hand if you have ever done that and be honest. Another bad thing was I also lost my cell phone on the slopes.
The “New Year” party consisted of about 20 young kids in the hotel getting drunk and setting off fire works. Trouble was they decided to do it in the sitting room right outside my door, but I slept well anyway.
1/2/07
Well today we went to a whole new part of the mountain to ski. It was nice. A bit too nice. We went on a run that was just powder and I could not stay on top of it and fell about 3 times. It didn’t hurt until I fell into a thorn bush which seems to be the only thing that grows up on the mountain. Not a single tree except the ones they planted. For lunch yesterday we had cocktail weiners. That didn’t go over so well. Today I packed beef ravioli and chips. It was great. I didn’t realize how hungry I was till we dug into the can. As we were going to the new part of the mountain, my board broke. The binding ripped off the bolt. But I was a good boy scout, and had brought along my tools that my brother had given me. I fixed it in 5 mins and off we went. It was nice. Before that I had put hot water in my camel pack, so 2 hours into boarding I drank hot chocolate. It was nice. My chest still hurts mainly when I jump which is sad because that’s what I wanted to try and do more of this trip. Maybe next time whenever that will be.
1/3/07
Today was just nice. The newbies gained more confidence and went down some harder slopes, some blues and they loved it. I hope tomorrow we can just fly up and down the mountain and I don’t have to stop so much. Stopping and waiting is okay, because I have a camp chair that I brought along and it works great. Oh and today I did try some jumps. I pulled a 180 but that really isn’t anything special. I have definitely gotten better at carving up the mountain. Even though I hurt, I am having a lot of fun. I did great except for the last run going home. It was terrible. There were rocks everywhere. I was tired and kept getting out of control. Luckily I didn’t hurt myself again.
1/4/07
The day was mixed. looking back at it I’m not sure if it was good or not. So for all intensive purposes we will say it was good. We will run through the day then you can make a decision whether it was a good day or not. I now know why we only did 3 days of snowboarding instead of 4. I made a lot of runs but man 3 would have been enough. If I would have been on my own snowboard I definitely would not have gone the last 2 days. There were so many rocks exposed but don’t worry. “It’s a rental.” (Quote from previous snowboarding trips) You can get cell phone reception on the mountain which is funny but annoying, even scary –to watch someone going down the mountain at full speed talking on their cell phone or trying to get off a lift. So about on the 3rd run I didn’t have my backpack and I was barely going. It was one of those wrecks where you just go about an inch every second and your center of gravity is over too far, so plop– down you go. Well to keep my beautiful face from hitting a rock I jerked up my head and hurt my neck. It wasn’t too bad but as the day progressed it got worse and worse. We went on a few more runs then we headed home because it was just way too rocky and the skiers were complaining. It was only rocky at the very top and bottom. In the middle you could go off the trail where the wind had blown all the loose snow. It was nice and fun, almost like you were the first to be there. So we went home and turned in our stuff. I showered at my place then hurried up to catch the free ride to the other’s hotel. We ordered pizza and played a game called Settlers and I won. It was the first time I had ever won a game so that was nice. But then I had to walk home. It was about a mile and half all up hill. It wasn’t too cold and the wind had died down. On top the mountain it had been blowing and was terrible. When we tried to ski, it would just push us into the rocks. So good or bad day?
Oh — before I forget– when locals here would approach me they spoke in French. Do I look French? I always thought of French people as slim and tall with dark hair and a small moustache with the rest clean shaven–I mean just a sharp looking guy. They would tell me something in French and I would speak in Arabic. They would look at me confused and respond in Arabic sometimes again and again while I try to understand wanting to practice my Arabic. Then they would try English, so I would act like I spoke Spanish. Just joking–I would use English. So good or bad day?
1/5/06
It snowed this morning, the day we are leaving. That is all I have to say.