Hi Jan,
If something is moving from east to the west near the equator (not exactly on the equator, but slightly north and south of it), Coriolis force will “push” it towards the poles, i.e. north on the northern hemisphere (because of deflection to the right) and south on the southern hemisphere (because of deflection to the left). So that part of what you learned is correct, it’s just a special case and not the whole picture. Does this make sense? I can’t think of a force that would push things towards the poles other than that.
Best wishes, Mirjam

I have a question on the Coriolis force. When i first learned about the concept I understood that on a rotating sphere like Earth the Coriolis force was also a force on the surface that pushed e.g. a fluid away from the equator towards the poles – bet it air or water. But some ten years later when i again looked at how the concept works i only found the explanation that you have given. So did i remember it wrong and on a rotating sphere there exist no surface force away from the equator? And the Coriolis force is “only” a deflection of movement?

All the best

Jan