Paul...you are the pimp of my dreams. Which, to be honest, is a sad thing. If you need a laugh, think of Todd.

...Todd in Syria that is.

We really miss you around here and look forward to having you back at USC... That will finally answer the question all the new people have been asking - "who's Paul?" Be safe... Peace!

I'm so glad you'll be home soon, Paul!!! South Carolina is far better off when you're here. Here's something that's guaranteed to make you laugh: What did the fish say when it swam into a wall? Dam!!! You know you chuckled at that!!! Looooooove you!

can't wait for you to come home and celebrate your 21st!!!! love yaz!

My new goal for the week is to make you laugh somehow via Skype. But until then... mental image my non-coordinated self playing drumset... your side should need stitches now.

You may be the most unique person I have ever encountered...I am glad you assimilated well in Syria. It will be interesting to see what happens when you come back home to the States :D Best wishes!!!

That's right...you know my new name is Balla! (Jacqueline Blanc should stick to her own colloquialisms...) my reactions to this post - hahahaha! You're teacher thinks you're a pimp?! Huzzah! My life - passed my voice jury! And I can't wait for you to get back!

You should vacation in Australia and New Zealand? Of course, I have no idea why I'd pick those 2 countries. O:-) lol. I'm so glad to hear you're doing a lot better with your Arabic! I know that's a big deal for you. It definitely seems like your hard work is paying off. I'll ttys. :-)

Heyyyy.. you're coming home soon! though I'd let you know.

Paul!!! I am in Dubai right now... so not in Syria... but SO CLOSE. it is amazing. it is good to hear from you; your writing never fails to humor me. I can hear you when I read the things you write. Yay for still being alive and getting healthy/ier!

lols....paul almost died in syria. keep strong out there bud.

You never did actually tell us what your ailment was. I miss you, and can't wait to see you this summer! (P.S. I thought you might find it amusing to know that I threw my birthday party last night - 21 woo! - and now it feels like someone punched the left side of my face, and I don't know why.)

Don't die Paul, we'd all be very upset :) I do wish you updated a little more but I suppose it's alright. You'll be coming home to us soon and putting Eric and I to shame with our (horrible) Arabic. Carolina blows, quite literally. The weather can't make up it's mind, it's pollen season, and the university can't seem to use its imagination when it comes to course offerings for next year. So don't be surprised when you try to choose classes and realize you could teach most of them. yay Carolina. lololol. We miss you like crazy. blog when you can :D

poor Paul... happy to hear you're back on your feet, but WHAT WAS your ailment? The world wants to know! Counting the days until you return... be safe!

Um, I concur with Jackie. You never did say what your health problem was! And don't worry...I'm going to nursing school. I'll be your hot nurse one day ;)

According to Facebook, if you take your parent's middle names, that is your Secret Agent name....Elizabeth Richard or Richard Elizabeth. Take your pick!!

you show those syrian's whose boss. USA!

You never fail to disappoint with excellent stories. and in my limited arabiyya experience, you're arabic is quite impeccable. but I might be biased in saying that---I felt pretty good about the fact that I could still understand you (hehe) anyway, hope you're well. we miss you lots.

You are so quotable, Paul Ryan. "I pity my soul mate, because I will totally cheat on my wife with Beirut." Who says that? Haha I heart you, Paul. If I was your soulmate, I wouldn't be mad at you for cheating on me with Beirut. I love reading your blog! You are fabulous! -Tess

Keep 'em coming Paul... I keep trying to sneak you into my sermons! PFA

Awesome as always. And CRAP, I know, the Skype deal is not working...but because the s/n I was given doesn't work!! =( Write it somewhere in your blog pleaseeee! or take mine and ADD me: Maria.Alexandra.Laborde Yes, it's my actual screen name in Skype, with dots and all. DONT FORGET THE DOTS! Otherwise it doesn't show up right. Anywayyy... Haha, being a woman in Egypt is so different...it's like well, we get rough looks and get called at like a prostitute from running cars that will eventually slow down and get dangerously close to you so they either "request your services" or "say something nice" to you. Uff. Oh and PAUL!! Men around here seem to find glasses VERY sexy, so if you need vision correction, DONT EVER USE THEM! I can feel you would be raped. Seriously.

I'm sticking with 00BadAss - it suits you. I can't tell you how much I enjoy readying your blogs. I just read your most recent two out loud to Lauren. I miss you, and I'm glad to hear you're doing well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/17/assad-interview-syria-obama you should enjoy this paul. looks like relations between the USA and Syria might be getting better.

My skype name is paul.ryan16 for maria and anyone else who wants to send me a message

You, my friend, are a freak. Miss you!

Highly entertaining, despite many things that make me question your mental stability. Be careful who you go around threatening and calling "sugar plum"- you never know where either of those two things will lead you. Best of luck!!!

I love you and miss you. Happy Valentine's Day! I

In all fairness I never threatened anyone. I just shouted a lot (very normal for Syria)

00BadAss

Oh Paul...what am I going to do with you?

You never fail to amaze (amuse?) me my friend. Keep your chin up---your Arabic (in my feeble opinion) is getting outstanding. As far as your dancing skills---I'll leave that one for Eric. We all miss you here. Thanks for visiting me while you had the chance :) Really meant a lot to me. Eric and I have officially dropped Arabic. It's pretty sad but...shit happens as you know. I should be getting on skype sometime. I'll get your sn from Eric. hope all we is well. Update when you can.

It has occurred to me that one israeli life is worth about 75-85 palestinians if I do the math correctly... really bums me out and makes me sad and angry about the whole mess. I lost my red kafia in Chicago over New Years, do they sell them there in Damascus? Be safe, and thanks for reminding us there is a world out there! PFA

it spelled *dying. thanks. :P

Paul i love reading about your adventures and I can just picture you rocking out to that song and everyone staring lol hope that all is well and that you had a great break, and stay safe!

um...wasn't that guy supposed to be leaving for florida like a week after we left?? what the hell is he still doing at the hillside? did our wonderous note taking skills (in our native language mind you) fail to help him pass his test? huh.

Carolyn, he had some visa trouble and is leaving in about 2 weeks from now or so.

Hilarious as always. LOL. I miss u man!! I know the whole meeting-up-in-Skype is like, NOT working. HOWEVER I promise I'll log in every day from now on and insha'allah will finally find each other and plan our next adventure. Thankyouverymuch

Hirsutism is what I think you were looking for paul. Be safe this semester.

"Apparently I'm cuter than I thought." Oh, Paul. :-) lol.

yeah, middle eastern people are kinda weird.

Good lord, Paul. You get into the most entertaining mix-ups. And tell the stories so well! Consider writing a book... It would sell.

Just for refrence the title is supposed to be "I don't feel the homosexuality in the Middle East was accuratley portrayed in Aladdin" dunno why it didn't show up

You literally made me laugh out loud, we're talking covering my mouth to smother the laughter loud. How reliable is mail there? Say I wanted to send you something, to where would I send it and would you get it?

Haha, I'm glad you're getting the real M.E. experience Paul. More so than what you learned from Aladdin. Sorry to disappoint you---I wish I could give you the secret Muslim code for finding a genie but I seem to have run out of my genie cards. We're all missing you at home and I sincerely hope you update more often. mwah mwah mwah.

Haha Paul, I miss your witticisms and all the banter. And I love that you got hit on and kissed on the eye. FAB-YOU-LOUS. Now you know how girls feel when we get randomly hit on by creepy guys all the time...not that you're creepy...usually. :) Take care of yourself, and come home soon!

Wait....you have to ask for sexually suggestive comments now?? Sheesh, that must mean its been too long. Shit Paul, you aren't going to be home for Christmas are you...well that immediately makes break 10x less fun/10x more safe. If it makes you feel any better, I got hit on by a gay guy at a club once...it's not any less awkward when they are fluent in your native language. Keep strong paul, and remember, you survived 4 years of theatre in highschool...you can survive any homosexuality the middle east can throw at you.

Can't wait to give you a sideways, no pelvic contact, hand-patting on the back hug of "Peace" when you get back to LCM...

I'm dying Paul, I'm dying. Especially because you are rooming with a namesake (chuckles) but really, great story. I can't wait to tell the class. They will die! We don't have many funny stories here---except in Arabic we have three Catholics and three Muslims. We have a few good laughs about that. Also, Dr. huq is batshit crazy. I love her but she's INSANE. I'll have to tell you that story some time. chuckles chuckles. Make sure you update soon because I miss you terribly! loveya.

Oh course, I choose to read this in the middle of class where I'm unable to burst out laughing. I have this small movie in mind of what your life is like in Syria, but I'm sure it's nowhere near what's actually happening. I think what's happening is significantly funnier. :-) I miss you - and stay safe! M

Just wondering, America is a big place, just exactly where (city, state) is the doppelganger Paul from?

I almost felt bad for laughing through this entire story. Then i realized if I were in your situation and told you this story, you would have been laughing your head off too. Keep the stories coming- they're QUITE entertaining.

Hey Paul! I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? It sounds like you actually kind of learned a lot about yourself, and i'm sure that is one of those experiences you will never forget. Be safe!

I'm really glad to hear you're okay. I found out about the protest in the office the other day, and was hoping you'd post something soon. Sounds like you handled it pretty well. Stay safe and God bless.

I'm so happy to hear you're safe... sorry you had to go through what you did. I've been wondering if there had been any impact on you after what happened there last week. Peace!

Hey Paul, read your entry. I didn't even know a protest happened, I'll have to look it up. I'm sorry that it was frightening but I'm glad that you are ok and you're taking care of yourself. Please do update soon and more frequently. We all miss you here!

I guess the reality of Syria finally hit everyone, me included. It was cool to think you were over there, having a good time, but, well... the reality of the situation finally really hit me. I'm so glad you're safe, and I miss you immensely. Love :-)

I'm sorry to hear you had a frightening experience and am happy to hear you survived it. But I did smile when I read about the velocraptors.

I'm glad to hear you're okay. Anthony actually told me about it, and I was worried. That was sweet of you to make sure everyone walked home in pairs. When I read that I was like: that is so something Paul would do since you're always looking out for people. :-) Stay safe!

Wow...I'm so happy you're ok...but damn your balloom self most have a heck of a lot of testosterone just to have the guts to sport that Carolina hoodie. I would be freaking out just for having an American passport even though people would be thinking all the time I'm either Lebanese or Egyptian because of my big crazy hair. But no, you sported it. Damn right. Like everyone said, glad u are OK. Still, be careful. Sporting the hoodie in other occasion might not be a good idea. But I trust your judgment =)

That had to have been a truly frightening experience. I'm glad to hear, read rather, that you are ok. I'm also glad to hear that you didn't put your patriotism on a back burner. Semper Fi.

Hey Paul :) Nice to hear from you, I was hoping I would before the elections. Apparently, Florida has become a blue state---SHOCK GASP. I don't have full confirmation on that--- So I think this is the end of Arabic from the original class. Next semester, Qawwee is heading to Mecca for Islamic Study, Tom is studying abroad in Mexico, I'm not going to be able to make evening classes due to LSAT-Kaplan which leaves Cameron and Eric. I'm kind of sad...haha I was hoping to be in Arabic all four years...shrugs. I know you must be learning tons though and I'm uber jealous. I'm pretty excited you saw Amman and Beirut though---and that you're immersing yourself in Arab culture. I know you must be learning a lot. :) Things are pretty busy here---midterms and all. America is still election crazy, Sarah Palin continues to embarass herself and the great state of Alaska. It's pretty awesome lol. Try to update more, I really miss you. and catch me on skype. love you Paul!

Paul! Every time I read a journal entry, I laugh. I can totally picture you there in that cab between two old and gross men. Oh, the though gives me the giggles. That said, I miss you dearly! Today was the LSU game (we lost. boo.) and I was trying to think of people to tailgate with when you popped into my mind. And then I was like "Oh. He's in Syria." Quite a let down. But I'm glad you're having a great time - I'd be intensely disappointed if you weren't. Be safe over there!

GAH! Your entries are too fun--my blog absolutely blows. I don't seem to come up with some good ol' witty writing quick enough. My time to be online is quite limited due to my intense Arabic program, so yeah. Oh yes that's how my classes are going---too damn intense. As to I almost have no life. Pretty sad. Ahhhh I cant wait until I can get out of Egypt! Dont get me wrong, plenty of amazing things to do here, but u know, I'm ready for a stark change. Lebanon and Jordan sound like they would be the extreme opposites, so that's awesome. Anyway we'll see...because I might be plotting with my boyfriend's mother a surprise trip to America for Xmas (by splitting costs in half). Soooo let's see how that goes. Oh damn...cab stories. I think that's just a Middle Eastern thing, truly. Or Near Eastern. I like to call them little moving stand-up comedies. Glad to hear u are having a blast. If you feel miserable one day, I could help making you worse if u read my blog. http://puertorican-on-a-mission.blogspot.com/ Ha. Brilliant. Miss ya tons!

To ellen: I apologize for taking down your post but I felt it was best to not advertise my little sister's email address to the world. Anyone who follows this blog should get a skype name and add me, I'd love to talk to all of you!

People I miss: 1. Paul freaking Ryan I'm so glad to hear you're having such an amazing time over there! I've really enjoyed reading all of your blogs and looking at your pictures. Guess what!?!? I've officially decided to study abroad in Australia next semester! :-D I'm so excited (and terrified)! lol. I hear they love Southern girls over there, so maybe they'll like my Southern accent and won't mind my slowness. haha. Love always, Amanda