The first thing that confronted me on my way to see the festivities today was a giant yellow chick made predominantly out of yellow pom poms riding on the back of a miniature glittery lilac open top car. Initially it stunned me somewhat as personally it is not one of the things I'd expect to pop up on these ancient straight street of biblical fame. Still, I followed this odd object around the corner, where it parked, ever so slightly menacingly, just up the roa...

Sham sham sham - what a place to return to. Essentially the same city but full of new and exciting people along with a few treasures still here from before. It is astonishing how many people recognise you and greet you smiling and saying - 'kayfik? Kana zamen!' My favourite fruit juice man has a new obsession with Michael Jackson and now has a couple of pictures up of him and wears a red bandana when he works. I don't quite know what this has to do with Michael...

how to get from Bethlehem to Damascus in eight hours. Leave the phoenix centre at 7am in a servis that takes you directly to the jericho station for 50 shekels. Try not to get stuck in the centre due to the somnolent state of the gate man. If in doubt, get the servis driver to bang on the door of his hut so that he knows that someone wants to escape. Having successfully navigated the checkpoints, arrive slightly bemused at jericho station whereupon your luggage...

If I were president.... Was the question I put to my students some time this week. Other topics have included the Wonders of the World, making up an Agatha Christie style murder and matching bizarre english idioms with their real meaning. I have no idea whether it holds any benefit for them, but it amuses me no end to watch them wrinkle their brows as they try to work out what exactly having a whale of a time entails. Whilst not preparing for classes (ever an up...

I have realised that it has been far too long between now and my last entry for me to actually give anything in detail without it turning into some vast extended and gratuitous essay on the mundanities of daily life here. I will try my utmost to curb these tendancies to give an accurate yet relatively concise image, unlike Rousseau. I may be so bold as to juxtapose two events that took place precisely a week apart and involved the same journey and the same desti...