My first surfer

I had my first Couchsurfing experience this week.
A Greek guy came to stay with me for a few days on his way to study in Israel. I was perhaps a bit too eager but Pantelis was an amazing guest; polite, tidy (much more than me), and really interesting.
I feel like I may have been a bit spoiled with my first surfer, but the experience has made me even more enthusiastic about hosting people.

Jet Set

Oh how I love random experiences. In Damascus, in a really dark club, like something out of Miami Vice, at a stranger's birthday party, drinking beer with an Iraqi Muslim and a Syrian Christian at 7pm on a Wednesday night. Ahlan wa Sahlan!

Jorno's

I'm staying with a friend of mine in the most conservative area of the city, which makes walking down the street an interesting experience. No matter what I wear, I am a freak! Blonde, white woman by herself. Shock horror.
It was a relief to find the Journalists' Club as an island sanctuary in the middle of all this.
The club is a big, open, licensed restaurant with a troop of smiling Kurds serving the beer. You do still get stared at, but at least you can have a beer along with it here.