A week (or so) "after"

As you can see, I've taken a rest from writing - there were just so many things that needed doing after being cooped up at home for about three weeks (still haven't had my hair cut yet - but that shouldn't take too long...). I don't think we consciously decided not to go out or stop doing 'ordinary' things during those three weeks, but there was definitely a feeling of freedom floating around on those first few days "after".



The students (and teachers, of course) have gone back to school after a surprise four week holiday. It's not easy for them at all. Some are doing Winter matriculation exams, and students within a 40 km radius of Gaza have been awarded special accommodations to compensate for the effects of the rockets, which has led to at least one TV commentator complain bitterly that students should not get rewards just because of their geographical location. I wonder how his children would have liked to take exams weeks after they were being bombed and hadn't gone to school?



I'll end this short post with an interesting story. When I got back to school, all the students, and I mean all the students, were talking about an incident which supposedly happened in Gaza. The various versions go much like this: some soldiers went into a house and a woman dressed in Arab style came and told them to leave because it was booby-trapped. She led them out and helped them on their way. When they asked her why she (an Arab woman) was helping them, she said "I am Rachel" (i.e. wife of Jacob from the Bible) and disappeared. Apparently there are other stories of weird, mysterious and miraculous events happening. As I said, this story has spread like wildfire, however, until I see an interview with the soldiers who experienced this, I'm afraid I'm putting it down to the birth of yet another urban myth.