Internet Connections

Today I realized again how useful Internet is and how much it has changed our lives. On TV I saw a report about the revolution in Egypt and the role that mobile phones, Facebook and Twitter played in it. Information can be passed on at the wink of an eye and people cannot be kept from getting it, no matter how hard a government may try to prevent this.

After that I had my very own personal "Internet " moments.I know a lot of students all  around the world  - and I am a passionate teacher. So when my friend asked me to have a look at her essay and correct the language, I agreed to do so. She sent me her essay by email, I sent it back the same way an hour later. She is in  California at the moment, I am in Germany - in real life we would not even have met. Something similar happened a bit later with a student friend in China who is  studying  German. I explained  German grammar to him via Instant Messenger and then remembered some  helpful documents, so I put them into an email  and he got them a few seconds after I had hit the "send" button.

 Do you remember how difficult it was in the old days to get authentic material in a foreign language? Nowadays you can access online TV stations, radio or newspapers; there are websites with tons of material to practise and to study . And you can make friends around the world with whom you can practise your language skills.

Maybe these new media are a chance for understanding and peace, too. They have made the world a smaller place - hopefully no "Klingon" attack from outer space is needed (yes, I admit, I watched Star Trek last night)  to make us humans work together instead of against each other. And we need to work together to save our little planet ...

Parque Nacional in Uruapan/Mexico

All's right with the world ??!!

There is a war in Libya. The Japanese are still fighting with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami and it will take the country years to repair all the damage.I know people who are somehow affected by it all - or by some other form of hardship.

And what does the sun do today? It shines. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, it is a lovely and warm spring day. The smell of flowers and trees is incredible. The cold and dark winter is over. I could sit in the sun and relax. But how can I, when I think of all the sad things happening ?

I can allow myself to do that. Maybe even more, I must do it. We all need it - the precious moments when there is peace around us. We need them to gather new energy to face the hard times. We must take them and cherish them. I think the secret of life lies in living these moments in the full knowledge of the cruel other side of  life. The secret lies in hoping they will come back, when we are in the middle of a disaster.

Hope is a powerful source of energy. Believing can give you hope - religious people know what I am talking about.

I wish those who have a peaceful day that you can enjoy the precious moment thankfully. To those, who are troubled: I wish you hope.

Photo: Sam C. Chan