The last day of class

My final day of class was supposed to be special, The students had already taken their final exam and I had finished their final grades in two days so that I could show them their scores before I left for the States. I was planning on having a quasi-party, I had some prizes and candy to hand out and was going to just sit around and chat with students until the class was over.

This was in June last year, at the beginning of the monsoon season here in Laos. When I woke up that morning it was pouring rain, so at 10:15 I decided to brave the elements and drive to school on my motorbike. Donning my poncho I pulled out of the driveway and started off. About ten minutes into the thirty minute drive the rain completely stopped and the sun came out. Because I was already late for my class I didn’t want to stop and take off my poncho, so I started to heat up as the dark blue nylon absorbed the sun. By the time I got to school, it was obvious that it had not rained a drop in that part of town, and I was getting some strange looks from the other motorists.

I went into my class, and I was dying from the heat and humidity. To make matters worse, I was wearing a light green shirt that showed every drop of sweat on my torso. As I called students up to my desk to show them their grades, I was getting hotter and hotter and sweating more and more. The ultimate low point was when I went to smooth out my shirt and left a wet handprint on my stomach. By now I could hear all my students snickering about the amount of sweat their teacher could produce. To salvage some self-dignity, when I had shown everyone their grades, instead of having the party, I wished the students luck and ended class.

THE END