April Fool's!

Waking up on the morning of April 1, I thought it was going to just be another day of school, with no one thinking anything of April Fool’s Day.  I asked the librarian, however, if they understood the concept here in Liberia, and she told me that it is in fact recognized and understood here. 

If you have been following the news in the last month or so, the Ebola virus is hitting Guinea hard right now and there have now been six confirmed deaths in Liberia due to Ebola.  (They are all in Lofa County, which is a three day drive from Maryland County, for sure.)  My students are worried about contracting this virus, which is only gotten from direct contact with contaminated body fluids, and they are always trying to warn me about how I can protect myself. 

I walked into 10D, by far my favorite class.  The students were not plenty that day, but they were enough to make my joke worth it.  I walked into class and informed them that due to Ebola, Peace Corps was evacuating me back to America and that I was never going to return to Liberia.  My students were vexed!  They immediately started trying to explain to me how Ebola was not that bad and that I couldn’t be leaving because of it.  Instead, I even had one student offer to let me stay with her for the rest of my time here in Liberia!  I told them the truth after about ten minutes or so, and it was the funniest part of my day.

At fifth period, Sarah and I did the same thing to our 11A class, a section that we both teach.  They were so upset, too, and it was so funny to see their reactions to the idea that we were going to be leaving them, especially considering we are the most regular teachers they have most of the time.  After telling them the truth, they were not happy with us, but they did finally laugh a little at our idea of a joke for April Fool’s.  :)