The land of a million doctors.

As you may know, I've been suffering from a serious back injury for awhile, and it's been keeping me in bed most of my time. As a result, I had to cancel many dates and let some people down in the past few weeks, and that's the bad part, now the good part is the laughter.

I live in a city called Homs, a city that is now famous for being the main target for all the cruelty of the world, but this same city has always been famous for its simple and nice people and their sense of humor.

There's about a million residents in Homs, and each one of them think they're a doctor, so every time someone hears about my back problem they must give me advice, and here's some of what I've been given:

The first tip I received was after I first injured my back and it was that I need to lie down on the floor on my back and put my feet up. My dad gave me that advice and it made sense at the time, and I've tried it but the results were catastrophic. I couldn't move for 15 minutes because of the unbelievable pain I had from that pose. Never again.

A taxi driver told me I needed to stand on my toes and raise my hands up for 30 minutes three times a day.
The guy who fixed my AC told me I should lie on the floor with my feet up, and then I should jump up and do sudden sports moves that involve moving my back viciously.

A man who was looking for a house told me I should put a pillow behind my back and do bicycle moves while on my back.

My mom's friend said I should sit backwards. I still have no idea what that even means.

One of my neighbors actually gave me the name of the pills he used to use, and then gave me directions to a pharmacy that would sell them without a prescription. I saved the address in case I needed something else (wink wink).

A relative of mine told me to get someone light to walk on my back. I now believe she hates me.

Of course there are many more like using hot water, getting an oil massage, and voodoo. Okay no one really suggested voodoo.

This is why I love my city and its people so much. This simplicity that might sometimes hurt is just too damn adorable.