Hash and Hare

So last week I wrote about how I'd gone out on a "hash" with Jakoba and Celine, but it had been canceled due to the rain. We rescheduled, and left again this Friday at 6:30AM to set up the site. I was still pretty much in the dark as to what this was, but this time I brought the muffins. We got to the site about 8AM, and had our tea and muffins before setting out. Armed with bottles of blue water paint we set out to mark trails. Basically, a "hash" is a synthesized hunt. We, the "hares," set a trail in blue paint for the "ferrets" to follow, with multiple "on-backs" aka dead ends, and "searches" which are sites marked with an x that indicate they should look around. In these spots, the searchers, mostly the children, were rewarded with finding hidden tangerines. The idea is to track the hares by the blue paint dots and eventually find the end of the trail, where we celebrated a good hike with beers and a bit of food. In the course of events, you also get a somewhat organized tour of a beautiful site, in this case an ancient ruined city.

This also meant that the hares, had a long day, as we walked the site at least two times, making the dots then walking with the ferrets. At the end site, near the remains of a beautiful church with marble pillars still standing, I was informed that there was tradition to be followed, and the hares were required to chug a beer in the center of a circle, with the catch being that if you don't finish the beer in one go, the rest you have to pour over your head. Now this wasn't made very clear to me, so I drank about half of my Heineken then paused for a breath, and ended up with half a good beer in my hair. Then, as it was also my first time at a hash, this ritual was to be repeated along with another newcomer. However, now that I knew the rules, I took advantage of my time bartending, and finished the cold beer in one go, to the delight of the crowd. I was doubly unusual for the group, volunteering as a hare my first time out, and successfully chugging a beer at the end.

On our way back to town, we stopped again at the same market as last time, and each bought a few bags of fresh fruit. While waiting for my bags to be weighed, a Syrian man my age told me in very good English that he wanted to ask me a question. He said "Do you like Bush or Obama?" I laughed, I've been asked questions like this throughout my trip. I told him "Obama, of course." And he said he just asked because "Bush killed so many people in Iraq." Many Iraqi refugees have fled to Syria, causing tensions in Syria due to the rapid increase in population. I retrieved my bags of fruit, told him Obama would be better, and we returned to Aleppo. His statements and the way he'd spoken stuck with me, however.

After the hash, there was also a dinner, like my first weekend here, where a group of the international staff gather. Tonight's special was cherry kebabs, beef grilled on a bbq then soaked in cherry sauce, lentil soup, and deep fried lentil cakes. Wonderful, as always, and after the meal I found myself in conversation with an Australian researcher here in charge of studying and maintaining the genetic varieties of each plant. We talked about my trip to Syria and ICARDA, about graduate school possibilities, and about his friend who can diagnose someone by their pulse alone and treats them with herbal remedies from around the world. Later, I was discussing Montana politics with a man who'd grown up in Billings, but now ran the school for ICARDA. His glowing recommendation for John Bollinger made me glad I'd voted for our incumbent governor and his lieutenant. Small world though, when I travel half way around the world to discuss hometown politics over a glass of Syrian wine.

On the ride home, Jakoba invited me to dinner at her house again, and even suggested I house sit for her while she and her husband are away during the upcoming holidays. We'll talk more about it tonight. Now, I have to go about finding something to take to dinner. :)