With the long hours I do presenting and training, continually calibrating with the participants and translators, working out my next move, my future moves, my language, I need space in the evening as I am exhausted, my brain needs to relax and switch off.
A participant once said I am like an actor whilst I train, but on top of that, I am the writer, the producer, the director, the theatre manager, the stage manager, sound engineer and catering manager. It is true.
But I love my job.
In the evening, I could have a relaxing meal and conversation with someone I know, or take a wrap, Simit or sandwich back to my hotel room.
I can switch-on the TV, but mostly there will be only two English language channels, CNN and/or the BBC. Once you have seen the news once, that is it, I do not wish to see it again, and again, and again.
If the hotel has free internet access, then I have a great solution. Slingbox.
Slingbox from Sling Media, is a way I can watch British TV anywhere in the world for free, it will change the way we watch TV in the future I am sure, the same as VoiP and Skype have changed the way we can telephone the world at very cheap prices or for free.
Slingbox is a box full of electronics looking like a block of chocolate, that connects to your satellite or cable TV box in your home, then to your broadband connection, not your computer but the router. The Slingbox is then given its’ own internet address, which is secure, that then allows you to access and control your satellite or cable TV box, downloading the TV signal to your computer logged onto the internet anywhere in the world.
You can control which program you wish to watch, in fact it is just like having the home TV controller in your hand.
The main trouble for this is if someone else is watching a program at home and you want to watch another channel. But that can be fun.
You can get the Slingbox here