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I went to the US emmbassy yesterday and today I had to get new pages in my passport. It was kindof disapointing. You go through 3 security checks and then they cram you into a small room to fill out paper work. That is it. They did at least have a water canister with cold water. The embassy is a big complex, but you only get to see about a 30 meter strip of a park, one building and 3 rooms. That’s it– that is after the first 2 security checks. Anyway I got my passport and am ready to fill the rest of the pages with new and exciting places. I would like to go and travel through the India region. I wish I could get there by traviling through to there and not flying.

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.