I'm not sure if I'd want to be in this family, but I'd be interested to see the results of the test. There are still a lot of questions about how we learn language, whether there is such a thing as an 'innate grammar' etc., this might give some clues as to the answer. The more detailed explanation by the authors is also interesting.

Wouldn't you know it... Just as we're starting to get the allotment in shape, the fruit is all ripening on the trees... and I'll be away for most of the summer so I'm going to miss it. In June we're going to America to visit Monika's family in Kansas city and Colorado (looks like another thrilling non-stop 14-hours-of-nothing across Kansas and Colorado round trip. Actually, it's pretty amazing once you reach Denver, after that long of rolling plains there's practically a wall of mountains just past the city. On returning we'll have a few days' rest before jetting off to Spain, where hopefully I'll have a job waiting for me. I've applied to a number of different language schools and camps around Spain in the hope of getting my first paid employment from non-Christians. If all goes well, we'll also be able to visit David Rhoton (son of Dale for OMers out there) in Barcelona in order to see the church plant he's working with. Monika will either look for a job in Spain or stay at home and work for an agency (more about this later). I've been trying to persuade her to join me in Spain, I think it's nearly working...

In August, if I have time, I'll join a two week Missions Vacances team in Torreviejos, leaving time half way through for an overnight stay near Berlin for the wedding of our friends Michael and Susanne. If nothing else is pressing, I'll probably go home then.

Monika has not been enjoying her work very much recently, mainly due to the low staffing levels which are set to go quite a bit lower. The hospital she's working at is probably the worst hit from the recent job losses around the country, and as patient care cannot be seen to suffer, the pressure is on the remaining staff to work extra hard. Monika's health has not been the best lately, partly due to the stress at this time, and so we felt it would be best to lok elsewhere for work. We're hoping that she can find a nice hospital or old people's home nearby to work at, but as of after the trip to America she'll probably be working with an agency. Please pray that she'll find the right job, and also that we'll make the right decisions about the summer. I'm going to apply for a work permit at the Spanish consulate tomorrow, so please also pray that it comes through in time (apparently it can take up to six weeks). On a positive note, I have had a couple of responses to my applications already, so hopefully there will be a job for me this summer.

This man is cool. What other leader travels the world and meets other heads of state while wearing his favourite jumper?



Actually, he does have a shirt too, when the formality of the occasion demands it...

I've recently been reading Walter J Ong's book Orality and Literacy, after strong recomendation from Alastair. He did raise some very interesting points about the difference in Culture and ways of thinking between those in Oral and Literate cultures, such as the ideas of accuracy in passing on information. An example is in the area of epic poetry, which often is rarely the same between utterances and many times involves changing rhyming schemes and introducing 'cliches', or recurring themes to describe different characters in an epic poem.

One of the areas which I feel is most relevant to our own society is the difference between literate and illiterate musicians. I know a number of excellent pianists who cannot read music and yet can sometimes reproduce a long piece by ear. It might be interesting to see how they differ in their style and in the way they perceive a piece of music from their literate contemporaries. There does seem to be a similar elitism in the thinking between literate and illiterate musicians as between those in normal language, although I imagine many musicians have lost some of the fluency they could have were they to reject musical literacy. An interesting point that Ong makes is that many non-literates imagine their ability to memorise 'texts' will improve on learning to read, having a written record to prompt them. However, this ability is greatly reduced among literates, leading to a more exact, but less fluent reproduction of the text.