I also feel that my knowledge of Syria and it’s story was small soundbites I remember from 2010, 2011, 2012, when I was a high school student watching the news. The chlorine gas attacks particularly stood out to me, because of how cruel and inhumane they were as a military strategy. I also decided to take more than the minimum required courses because I wanted to become more knowledgeable in nations and topics I am not familiar with. Something that surprised me, too, about this course, was Russia’s cozying up to Syria. Even now, with al-Assad being overthrown, I just looked up where he went and it turns out he may or may not be in a Russian military base. That checks out, considering the two nation’s historical interactions.