traffic in damascus

So another week has come and gone in Damascus. Class is going well for the most part. The grammar is really easy, but the vocab is all new and I'm getting a lot of practice speaking and listening to others. I had my midterm today, and it was actually fairly easy. My host family helps me out a lot too, which is really nice. I asked Am Anas if I could live with them longer, so I'll just be staying with them the whole time now (until mid-May).

I think I've already written about the traffic in Damascus, but I suppose just to reiterate: the traffic here is ridiculous. I would not want to drive in Damascus. I take a service bus whenever I want to go somewhere (the city is also nice for walking). The service buses only cost 10 Syrian lira, or about 20 cents. They pick you up wherever, and drop you off when you say "ala al-yameen, lo samhat" or "on the right, please." Like the roads, they can get pretty crowded sometimes, and which point it's nice to be a girl - most men will give up their seat for you. I asked one of my friends if people in Syria were better drivers than in the states, because cars weave in and out as they please. He said drivers just relay on communicating with each other here. Whereas in the states, everyone assumes that the other drivers will obey traffic laws, here everyone keeps an eye on everyone else, honking frequently to announce their presence. At all times of the day (and night) the streets are loud with the cacophony of traffic.