Took my Mac (computer, not coat) in to work a couple of times this week to play some sound files and the students were so interested in it. There aren't many laptops here at all, fewer Macs, and no Mac laptops, so the teccy guys were really keen to have a look at my little wonder. All the students were also interested to see what I'd been photographing whilst I've been here, plus pictures of my family, so we've been seriously distracted on a number of occasions.
It's so good having internet access here at home; I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it. Now I can prepare my lessons properly, sort out travel arrangements, and keep up to date without having to trek for miles. And more importantly make phone calls without a second thought.

Waiting for a lift the other day outside a restaurant which I frequently visit, one of the employees wandered over for a chat. He was an Ethiopian pilot, but had had to leave when the political situation got a bit warm, so first of all he went to Sudan, and, finding that not much better, he crossed the Sahara for four days to get to Tripoli where he registered as a refugee. He really wants to go to the UK, but I told him it's no picnic - expensive, cold, and wet, particularly Manchester which is where his brother is. He wants a longer chat with me next time I'm in. Tricky, 'cos there's not a lot I can do, but he probably just wants to shoot the breeze really.

In the course of the conversation he asked me if I was a native English speaker - odd to be asked something I talk about as part of my job.

One of the students brought in some dates - fresh from his mother's farm. They're very special because now isn't the season; they're fertilised by hand to make sure they crop at the right time, and they're a particular strain which lends itself to this. All the teachers have been feasting on them at every opportunity.

The weather has improved dramatically - gorgeous sunshine all day. I saw a student's mobile phone video today of a wadi (dry riverbed) flooding because of all the rain - for the first time in 11 years. The water was gushing along, and taking with it all the rubbish that people had been throwing in over the past decade. It was quite a sight:

http://www.youtube.com/v/uoAa3uYF5-A

The younger people here seem to be just as disaffected with politics as in the UK. I asked one student if he went to the People's Conferences which have just finished after running for nearly a fortnight, and he said that the only people who went were older people - young people just wanted to use the extra free time to meet their friends.

I asked another student where he got his news about what was going on in the country, given that there are not many newspapers and the broadcast media are all state-controlled, and he said the only way is to talk to people. The information isn't always correct, but if you talk to enough people you can work out the probable facts.

This week has flown past for some reason. Maybe because I'm beginning to feel on top of everything.

Today I was teaching speaking and listening skills to a couple of classes, using Switzerland and Jordan as places to compare and contrast. One student said she didn't like geography, and didn't know anything about Switzerland, so wasn't going to play. Well, we discussed Europe a little to start, then languages, and eventually food. Then I asked if she knew of any popular foods from Switzerland - chocolate, she said. After that I couldn't stop her talking. It turned out that she knew more than she thought, so we both felt good! Apparently Jordanians are friendlier than Egyptians, but not as friendly as Libyans. And the Swiss are rather reserved but very punctual. Long live stereotypes, I say.