Monday May 26th, 2008

There have been a few questions that some people have asked of me that I figured I would address. I could not figure out how on earth to simply reply to a single person on blogspot (blogger) so I thought I’d just add another entry answering some of them and some other random information for your reading pleasure.

I have not started classes yet. I begin them this Wednesday (28th) and to be quite honest, I am a little nervous. I’ve heard from most of the people who have been here for a while that the classes are very intensive and require quite a bit of homework to keep up. The classes are supposedly taught completely in Arabic, and I’ve even heard from a roommate that lengthy papers (in Arabic of course) are a part of the homework as well. So hopefully I will learn a lot without too much frustration.

The demographic of students studying Arabic at the university varies quite a bit. I’ve met many Italian, British, Swiss, Australian, German, French, Asian, and yes, American students. I honestly didn’t expect to meet as many Americans as I have, but I guess my expectations were wrong. It’s nice to be able to converse with an American every once in a while and to not feel somewhat strange or uneducated. I say this because it always seems to intimidate me when I talk to people from Europe, because I feel as though Americans appear uninformed and even mal-educated at times. This may or may not be the case, but I sure feel that way sometimes.

The food here is just what I anticipated it would be, delicious. I was pleasantly surprised when I quickly realized that the Syrian Cuisine is very similar to that of its Lebanese neighbor. One very surprising food item that Syrians consume regularly at home and at many restaurants is the famous Lebanese dish, Kibbeh Nayeh (raw lamb). I was under the impression that most non-Lebanese Arabs thought it strange and even horrific that the Lebanese could eat such a thing. Well needless to say, I am very happy this is not the case in Syria. I will tell you a funny eating experience that I had a couple nights ago. A couple new friends of mine and myself went out to eat and upon looking at the menu we saw the dish “Grilled Birds.” It was very cheap so we thought to ourselves, “It can’t hurt to try.” We were imagining some sort of white meat bird, whether it be chicken, turkey, pheasant, etc; We were very wrong, and out comes this plate with three “birds” about the size of your thumb, grilled to a very dark brown color. There was less than a bite-full of meat and it had a strange fishy taste to it. It was not a pleasant experience to say the least, but I guess a funny story came out of it.

God has truly been a constant companion with me on this trip so far. He has exceeded all my expectations and blessed me tremendously. I am very thankful for all the people He has brought in my path and all the opportunities He’s presented me with. It is both a shame and a blessing that I feel closer to him when I travel. It is a shame because I wish I knew the kind of dependence on Him back home that I know I need here. And it’s a blessing because I cherish the moments I sense His presence, and it has been near throughout my time here so far. I’m praying that I will learn many things about His Kingdom and grow closer to Him as a result. I would also like to be used by Him in whatever ways He chooses.

I really enjoy reading your comments so keep them coming and also feel free to ask me any questions that you have. However, if you have specific questions it might be faster to email me so I can respond quickly. In case some of you don’t have it, here it is:

jonathon.tgf@gmail.com

In Christ,
Jon