Syria-- farewell

Written on November 8, while waiting to board my flight out of Syria.
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Syria has been excellent. People here tend to be very warm and hospitable, I saw amazing places and things, and it was great to be with Rich. It was enlightening to witness a bit of the Arab/Moslem world first-hand. I'm unspeakably glad to have experienced this part of the world and the people that inhabit it for myself--by and large so misrepresented and poorly understood in the so-called West.

I can't say enough how indebted to Rich for the depth of this experience--nevermind the experience itself, since without his stay here I never would have come. Besides acting as my translator and guide throughout, Rich is a keen observer with an inquisitive mind, and in my brief time he brought me up to speed with the various nuances of culture and life that he had learned in the previous months.

That said, I finally came to appreciate towards the end of my visit just how little can really be grasped of a new place and, more significantly, culture in such a short time. Of course, visiting at all is a big step from hearing about it third hand from often dubious sources, but it isn't remotely enough time to begin to grasp the subtleties or inner logic or workings of the society, especially as someone who doesn't speak the language. I find myself constantly tempted to make generalizations from the experiences I have had, and indeed have done so plenty (including in my previous post). But at the same time I know I am bound to be mistaken in doing so having seen so little. Even in ten days I have seen exceptions to many of the characterizations I am tempted to make regarding Arabs, their culture, etc. On the hand, however, I feel that given the limited scope of our, or at least my, mental capacities, we can't avoid but thinking in general terms if we are to process anything (in other words, I imagine that beings with greater mental capacity than ours, or perhaps humans conditioned to more fully utilize their minds, might not have to do so).

I leave Syria with many wonderful memories of events, people, and places: looking out over the lights of Damascus from the mountain the evening of my arrival; frequent walks through the winding souk in Rich's neighborhood; wandering the Old City at dusk with Rich, Gabe, Theresa, and Jens, sitting on a stranger's lap in a packed "service" in the pre-Iftar rush; holding the hand of a lovely young boy who's family had invited us into their home; watching the old wooden water wheels of Hama; riding down from a hilltop crusader castle in the back of a big tractor; sitting quietly and watching children play in the central mosque of Damascus.

I head to India to today in high spirits. I am a bit short on sleep, but feeling mostly healthy and thrilled to be over my first bout of diarrhea. I expect some lows in the coming days, maybe weeks, but I expect to make it through them as well. I am excited to be going to India!

Josh