last class

last night was my last english class and probably my last trip to porto novo and back. it was quite the adventure. i arrived about 30 minutes late due to a major accident that stopped all traffic (and here, people actually turn off their cars... no use in wasting petrol, especially when there's no AC to keep on in the first place). then, as i walked to the entrance of the school, i noted a huge political rally. i'm pretty sure the US embassy (or anyone else official) would recommend avoiding rallies of any sort in any country. but me? i join them.

like in palermo, italy. i once joined in on a parade, singing and skipping with everyone else. only later did i discover they were demonstrating against the american "fascist pigs." oops.

or in la paz, bolivia. my bolivian professor's father was running for reelection as a senator, so a bunch of us piled in the back of a truck wearing political shirts, waving political flags. that was fun.

and yesterday, when i couldn't seen any other way to get past the crowd to my students, i started walking behind a car covered with political posters, smiling at all the shouting bystanders. good times. at last i walked in the classroom to find all my students quietly and diligently working on their exams. you can tell by their smiles they feel pretty good about their work. this i will miss.