Quote of the day (2): On voting in pre-revolution Egypt

"A ballot box in Egypt was like a magic box: you put the paper in with a vote against Mubarak and it would come out as a 'yes'!"

Hopefully they have toned down on the magic tricks this time around.

Source: one of my (Egyptian) students.

Shock doctrine in Egypt: post-Mubarak economic crisis and the upcoming elections

Very insightful.

Teaching in Egypt (4): What is karma?

A big part of teaching English is defining words. Some are easy (insult, conflict, debate), some are more challenging (imagination, rhetoric, influence) and some just simply take you by surprise.

The other day, just as I am about to take the lift down to skip out for a snack, a young guy standing in the hallway suddenly turns to me and asks: "Hey, what is karma?".

What I learned today (5): Hiring standards at Vodafone Egypt are low

Me, at my local Vodafone store: "Hello, I'd like to reactivate the internet on my phone."

Store clerk, looking at my iPhone4 with great suspicion: "You get internet on that thing?"

Pool time!

Teaching in Egypt (3): Sometimes you've got to have some fun

This is what one of my fellow teachers taught her students the other day:

(I know it supposed to be 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', but still, I laughed.)

The most difficult word I ever taught my students is anthropomorphic and that actually came up in an article we were reading on the subject of alien life.

Quote of the day (1): Never trust a man...

"Never trust a man that keeps a drawer full of condoms next to his bed."

Duly noted.

Source: an anonymous friend (female, of course)