christmas in the air?

First of all, so much love for Jess. She left Damascus a week ago, and it's not the same. There have been so many laughs and great times with this girl... she is one of the sweetest and funniest people I've ever met. Beyond excited for London oh TEN!

Christmas is in the air in Damascus... ironically? Most of the streets that I walk down, at least in the Old City and the area around Sharia Baghdad, are filled with shops selling ornaments, wreaths, and Santa hats. There are mini Christmas trees next to posters of Al-Assad's face. It's a lot of Christmas cheer for a city with a 10% Christian minority.

Lately, I feel like I've been having more serious discussions with my friends, mostly veering towards cultural differences. I've had more talks of religious tensions, the treatment of women, how events are framed in both Western and Syrian news sources. The honeymoon period of living here ended a while ago, though I still love this city. I feel like whenever I'm in a group of women my age, we end up talking about our many similar harassment experiences. Everyone who I talk to seems to feel the same way... whether it's someone touching you on the street, following you in a car, or just the constant intense staring, the harassment has, understandably, worn a lot of girls down. After four months, I can sadly see that I am more constantly on edge. I know, from stories and much personal experience, that harassment in Damascus is much less prevalent than in most Middle Eastern cities, but it is still grating. I've started walking most places with my ipod just so I don't hear as many comments.

One month from today, I'll be back in the district! Instead of walking down the street eating falafel from a stand, next to a car blaring music with lyrics like “Habibiti, ya albi, ya amri”... I'll be eating Chinese food with my girls listening to some ridiculous rap song near the monuments. I could not be happier for this brief return to normalcy.