You get snow days; I get strike days

It only seems fitting that this week should end with me doing a little "snow day dance" of my own here in the desert. After all, on Monday morning I was greeted by an email alert from Chittenden East letting me know that school was canceled for the day due to snow. I was ridiculously jealous considering the fact that Monday was a "work from home" day for me - which actually involved spending six hours on the terrace atop McDonalds writing in the sun. There really was nothing to complain about. I honestly can't think of many more things I'd rather to get paid to do. But, snow days are special, and I did have a wistful teacher moment or two - reminiscing about that amazing feeling that you get when the phone rings at 5:30 a.m. and that dreamy automated voice signals you to turn off the alarm and snuggle back under the blankets. So, when I got my own little unexpected day off on Thursday, I was pretty happy. It didn't exactly happen with the same wave of excitement that accompanies the "official" snow day call. In fact, it was more of a rumored, trickle-down system that kept me planning and grading until the wee hours of the morning in a state of uncertainty.

Around 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday night Brianna was marveling at her ability to text in Darija with a couple of friends.. She casually mentioned that they had said that classes had been canceled on Wednesday because of student protests. I immediately perked up. First, I had that annoyed "Are you kidding me? I've been planning for ten hours! How come nobody tells me these things?" reaction. Then, I realized there could be some perks. I asked Brianna to text her friends again for me and get the lowdown. Predictably, there was just a  murky cloud of uncertainty. They didn't know what would happen on Thursday. They didn't know if they were going to bother to come into Marrakech or not. Apparently these student protests spring up and simmer down without much advance notice. I decided that we had to go with the typical snow day eve strategy - plan for the worst and hope for the best. I kept on grading papers and finally went to bed at 2:00 a.m in a clueless cultural cloud. Who exactly would make the decision about classes in the morning? Who would let me know? To my knowledge I am not on any kind of phone tree, and there is no "First Alert" system.

The alarm went off five hours later, and I dragged myself out of bed for my 8:00 a.m. class. As I pedaled up to the university, it seemed calmer than usual, but there were some students around. When I rode up to the gate, they let me in as usual. I walked to the building where my class meets and found a couple of my grad students. They didn't seem to be exhibiting any particular snow day enthusiasm. I asked them what was going on, and they explained that the undergrads were protesting about the dates of final exams, but that graduate students were unaffected. I could only smile inside. To my American brain, the idea that a university calendar is not set is hard to comprehend. In the same way that there was no start date for classes at the beginning of the semester (until they actually started), there is no set exam date for the end of the semester. Setting the date of exams is an annual exercise that involves lots of negotiating and protesting. Apparently the chosen dates this year (I still don't know what those are) are not pleasing to the students, so they are working to get them changed.

I taught my graduate writing class as usual and then set out to figure out what I was supposed to do about my afternoon classes. I was unclear as to the identity of the authority figure who would make these decisions. I decided to start with the English department office. The most official person I could find to talk to was the department secretary. She seemed to be telling me in a combination of French and Darija that there were no classes today. I decided I would take that as the official announcement. I did a little snow dance and gave myself the afternoon off. It is now Saturday, and I've still had no official notification about what is actually happening regarding undergraduate classes. I think I have two more classes to teach before final exams. I don't know when the exams are. I have decided this is the time to embrace the Moroccan patience and flexibility vibe. I may or may not teach classes this week, and I may or may not give final exams in early January. Either way, Thursday was a merry December snow day in Marrakech.