Already??

But the universe is just an empty space
And all the stars can disappear without a trace
I’m so glad that this has taken so long
‘Cause it’s the journey that made me so strong

So a  long  while back, whilst I was still lounging away on the other side of the ocean, I said I’d miss Syria. And now I do. Miss Syria that is. Seriously… it’s been about 6 weeks and I expected it to take a little longer before I missed it, but in reality, about 3 weeks in I started feeling them. Those twinges. Worrying and easy to ignore at first, getting progressively more insistent. At first, I ignored them in hopes that they would go away, and let me live contentedly, but no such luck. They’re here. To stay.

So here’s my list:

1. The athan. But oddly enough, only one. The maghrib. For seven weeks now at maghrib time I’ve been glancing at the sky, watching it grow progressively darker and wondering why it hadn’t athanit yet.
2.  The noise. It used to drive me crazy in our apartment in Dumar, but living in the burbs, it’s too quiet at times. Other than the rattling dump truck, and car doors slamming every once in a while it’s silent. Pressingly oppressive silence.
3. Taxis!! The bumpy, hang-on-for-dear-life rides, filled with stories you’re only half-paying attention to because like I said, you’re trying not to lose your lunch.
4. The excitement! The utter unpredictability of Syria.  You go out to buy a some bread, and you get to partake in a mini-adventure!
5. Being able to go to Old Damascus any time I wanted.
6. How distances feel so short there!! Here it’s like traversing the globe when you want to make it from one area to the next. Crazy.
7. The city center. The d-town. The hustle and bustle, loool. The crush of bodies, the peddlers hawking goods, all the never-ending horns. The smell of freshly baked bread, gas emissions, sweat, sewage, cigarette smoke, and a billion other things assaulting your senses. Freaky? Yes. But also true.
8. Finding those hole in the wall places and falling in love.
9.  The Umayyed mosque and it’s cool courtyards.
10. Arabic coffee!
11.  That corn dish you can buy in the streets. Corn and cheese and a ton of spices.
12.  The lessons I used to attend. There’s no way I can replace that woman in my life.
13. Just being there =(
14. A few, select friends and cousins. I <3 you guys crazzy.
15. Complaining about Syria. Now that I don’t live there anymore, I feel like I’ve been stripped of my complaining privileges…

But, funny thing is, for every thing I listed, I thought of something I liked here, in Canada. So I’m good, lol. Just thought I’d get that outta my system!