My Big Muslim Mix-up

(Dr. Love is coming soon!)

Earlier this morning, I had my first Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations class. NMC256. That's code for 'Modern Israeli Poetry and Prose'. My computer printout stated that the lecture was to be held in room #215 at Bancroft Hall. I located the room and took a seat.

As attendance was read by the instructor, I began to notice that there weren't any Jewish names. Just Mohammeds, Hassans, and Achmeds. I began to look around. Three girls sat in the back of the class, wearing hijabs. "Alright," I thought "Maybe there are a lot of Muslims interested in Israeli literature." The names continued and eventually came to a halt. My name had not been read.

"Excuse me. Professor?" I called out, determined to clarify my co-ordinates. "Is this NMC256? Modern Israeli Poetry and Prose?"

"No! This is NMC387H! The Islamic Mystical Tradition!" As I sat there wearing my kippah (yarmulke), I listened as all the students laughed at me. I grabbed my bag and sprinted for the door. I soon found the class I was looking for, and it is now currently one of my favourites. How I got there is one helluva story on it's own. In hindsight, my misadventure was quite funny, but at the time? Not so much.