So, a few days in and I am becoming acquainted with our lovely little area of bab touma. The nearest ATM is just about ten minutes' walk away and functions perhaps half of the time. Taking that one in two chance is always an exciting gamble. Along the road you walk to get there is pretty much anything you may or may not need. For example in celebration of being able to withdraw money from me old nationwide account (donations accepted) I bought a new broom with which to keep our apartment vaguely dust free. Yesterday we added to our possessions with a beautiful new red saucepan called Percy because the old one appeared to be parting with delightful metallic flavoured scum every time we took it upon ourselves to boil water. Percy has taken to his new vocation well I am pleased to say and should he excel himself I may consider giving him the journey of his hitherto uneventful life back to Brittania.

Hiba (who has the patience of a saint) lives with her two white dogs, the two rather ruffled relics of the 70s with bell bottomed feathery trousers with interesting tail feathers which are apparently doves and a mysterious and seemingly eternally rather grouchy brother called Amir. We drink tea and try to converse with her with limited success - in fact I have no idea how much of my incessant ramblings are in fact in any way coherent Arabic sentences, but at least I am trying and it is only four days in, and she is always smiling which is a comforting plus methinks. We have as yet not met the elusive father, but await this moment with baited breath and become excited every time the door bell rings (big ben if you must know).

To get to the university one takes the 35 bus from just outside bab touma which lets you out 20 minutes or so later on the wrong side of a busy road. Unlike the rest of the middle east where this would then mean a hair-raising jay walk across the indistinguishable paths of traffic, one takes the subway, a magical underground pass lined with academic book stores. Who'd have thought that one could invest in Grey's anatomy or other some such delight in a dark alley not unlike some sort of crime den and learn to cure the masses with the roar of cars overhead? Alas, the first day I made this journey the university promptly told me to come back the next day, because they had evidently changed their mind about letting me in so soon. Perhaps it was the rainbow hair braid - do they not like colour?

Amongst other animalistic delights we have resident cats on our roof terrace that are named Nur al-Din (underappreciated forbearer of Saladin) and small scrawny possibly blind in at least one eye kitten wahid. We fed the latter on hummus the other day which seemed to please it no end, however they look so flea bitten and mouldy, as if moths had got to them that I am reluctant to let them get any closer to our living quarters. We are currently without bed bugs, fleas and cockroaches and do not wish to obtain any of these less than seemly residents.

Emyln and Everitte's flat received an unexpected visitor in the form of Ronald the Deadly Angry Scorpion the other day which happened to co-inside with India and my's first visit to their humble abode. Needless to say we felt it best the show Ronald the door eventually, though he didn't seem too pleased about the whole arrangement. I think he would have preferred to stay lurking on the black and white rug newly purchased, perfectly camouflaged and ready to announce his arrival at any point with a sharp sting to any unwary foot. We hoped that he would not take his eviction from the house too badly as I certainly didn't want to run into him with his no doubt prodigious karate skills in one of the numerous dark alleys this old city is full of.

May I take up another paragraph to recount to you all a description of our wonderful bathroom? I may try to upload some photographs to clarify these things in people's minds, but for now…

There are three taps in the basin, although the one marked red does not appear to work at all. Both remaining taps run cold unless you put the heating on and wait 15 minutes, at which point the water turns browny orange and hot water will run out of the cold water tap. The shower is a similar scenario, but is rather difficult to use due to the dribbling nature of the shower head, compelling us normally to mix by hand in a plastic measuring jug adequate sufficiencies of scalding hot and cold water with which to wash ourselves. Now, the heater is this incredible cylindrical object in the corner of the bathroom which sparks as you plug it in or unplug it. It has a temperature gauge on the front, though I doubt its relevance to the actual temperature of the water as it leaves the tap. All these free dangling wires are most probably a death trap being situated in the bathroom, but it adds an element of danger and excitement to the morning ritual. And to get the loo to flush you lift the plug in the tank yourself and help the mechanism afterwards by re-filling it partly with the hose so considerately fitted at the side. The lid to the tank has also gone missing, probably for the best really. Oh, and there are a couple of holes in the floor, but nothing large enough for anything worse than a cockroach or seven to emerge from.

Khalas! Updates with be forthcoming depending on the ease of accessing free wifi and the difficulties of my Arabic course which commences on Sunday. Day of rest? I don't think so…

word for the day: tawoos. Peacock.