Phantom, I know that feeling of searching for answers on the internet  and being freaked out by what I find... I really think it's better not to think about that and to consult the doctor - if it doesn't get better anyway in the meantime :-)  I usually prefer a quick phone call even if the answer might be "it's all fine what's the worry" instead of feeding my brain with yet another thing to worry about :-)


my rant: i sent a nice birthday letter to someone, who I tried starting from scratch again with. I never got a thankyou. I'm torn between thinking he moved and didn't get the letter (good), or thinking it's just the same old thing all over (makes me angry)... I cant make myself believe it's the first... feeling bad for being so negative, but. trust is just not something that comes back easily.

I wanted to watch a simple comedy tonight and my friend randomly dropped three films on my table.
I chose The Decoy Bride... being flabbergasted when first the story was set in my beloved Scotland, and then suddenly David Tennant appeared! I had no idea, but apparently choosing random films isn't all bad  Then I wondered for half of the film who the woman reminded me of, until I finally realised that it was Alice Eve from Star Trek. I was laughing. The film itself was not the best really, but the scenery and Tennant made it worthwhile 

This would be cool.
But I'm never sure how accurate the Blog really is.

Them being twins would make sense, imo.

oh cool. didn't even know there was a scheme like that :-)
i imagine screaming crowds of girls now, on oxfords streets :-)

that's great :-)

@solar: I don't mind the facts. What do you mean by stories?
Examples, I don't know. It's an impression. Which facts do you refer to?
I certainly don't mean that the media covers the happenings in Clausnitz and elsewhere, I'm glad they do.
I mean more like the fear the integration process won't be successfull. If I find an article the next days that fits to explain myself, I'll post it.
I'm usually confident with writing english but right now I'm struggling a bit to express myself well.

(Was ich meine, ist, dass lange Zeit die Herausforderungen unterschriben wurden mit: das schaffen wir schon. Und jetzt gibt es immer mehr Schlagzeilen, die fragen: schaffen wir das wirklich? Ich frage mich nur, ob dieser Umschwung von Fakten gestützt wird. Ich sehe nicht so richtig, was jetzt so anders ist als vor einem Jahr. Außer dass vielleicht die große Lösung für jede Problematik ausgeblieben ist - aber  das ist doch nicht wirklich überraschend. )


@Yitzock: here I also hear the strongest opinions from the people that are also in need of support. there is fear that they have to stand back because of the refugees. I cannot judge if this really happens. housing is indeed a problem.

@nakahara: yes. But to be honest, I'm not even going to pretend I understand what's really going on in Syria. I tend to believe the refugees themselves the most. politics and agendas can distort the facts. and it really helps to read more than one or two newspapers... which I try to do. And yet, media is the main source for information and our formed opinions.

@davina: and are they getting it right? I must confess, I'm not so well informed where england stands in the refugee question. or rather, I read the papers but that's not necessarily the same as the people's opinions on the street.

In Germany we are facing both sides of the mirror. On the one hand, people are incredibly supportive with the refugees. I'd dare say, the majority. And then we got the sceptical group, which I can live with - having doubts is not a bad thing itself. But then on the other hand there are the right-positioned people, and from there it's just a tiny step to racism, hate, and aggression. but this is a minority, it just echoes incredibly loud in this country i think.

But I think the media has brought so many positive stories till now, that they are kind of willing to go the other direction now... whatever reason they have. I don't think this negativity should cloud the optimism we had month ago. But there is also politics... it's like many politicians slowly loose nerves. Which in turn is having a big impact on public opinion... we are made to believe politicians don't really now what to do (which even might be true, for all I know)... but I personally don't see another possibilty than helping and being open minded... and I don't want to see one of the rich countries in the world close the gates to people in need.

It's like problems are catching up, and everybody seems to be unsure how to proceed.

I'm just curious how other countries deal with this, or if they experience it like this.

"Oh God these curtains look awful!"

"I know. I can't stand looking at them either."

John, thinking: Just the two of us, in our own department, looong train journey, I'm bored as hell... and he is sleeping?!

Sherlock,thinking: Keep your eyes closed, keep your eyes closed... if I open them, he will jump me... must pretend to sleep... oh god how long was this train journey again??

We discussed yesterday how media tries to turn the mood in the country. It's like, at the beginning there were supportive and enthusiastic reports about volunteers and the warm welcoming of refugees and subtext was "yes we will be able to handle this, it will be good".
Since a while, media coverage seems to take on a sceptic, if not pessimstic, view, writing how things become too difficult, how volunteers won't stick around to help, how too many refugees will be problematic for the country... But it's not like there is proof for it. It's more like "it can't last". But why shouldn't it?
I really feel like "the media will turn, they always do".

Thoughts? Do you experience the same?