Another Veil

I was teaching this morning when the director of our center burst through the door.

I expected her to tell me something or to ask for permission to speak to my class.

But she immediately addressed them, "Do any of you attend the Paul Valery school?"

Three students out of my eight raised their hands.

"Are any of you students in the classes that were closed because of the swine flu?"

A bit of confusion ensued. All of them knew of the closed classes, and some of them confused that with being in the class. The director switched to French in order to clarify.

As it turned out, one of my students was in the class that was closed.

The director said to him, "Why did you think it would be ok for you to come here if you can't go to your regular school?"

There is a serious concern at our school about the swine flu. We take students from almost every school in the city. So if a student brings it to the center, it could spread further and faster. And there would be a chance that our center would be shut down.

She sent him home and walked to the next class. And I resumed my lesson.

After class, I was on my way out to eat with two of my co-workers when we saw something that stopped our conversation dead in our tracks.

Three girls, crossing the street across from us, had their faces covered. But it wasn't the veil that over half of Moroccan women wear. Instead, they were wearing medical masks.

The swine flu has arrived in Meknes.