I walked into my third period class today to see "THNK dr. JNFR -to:students please!?" written on the blackboard.  I was kind of confused at first, thinking maybe it was my students begging me to think, or a call for me to please, thank them?  I was happily mistaken though, when one student clarified, "Happy Eid" (holiday). The class before we had talked about Thanksgiving, and somehow the proper holiday greeting got a little confused in translation, but the sentiment was the same.  I awkwardly tried to avoid erasing the board to put up my own notes and settled just to erase the "dr." in the middle (little did my students know I was erasing the LIES that are my qualifications to be a university professor).
  I begin every class with a speaking warm-up and my question for the previous class had been, "what are you thankful for?"  From my secular cultured perspective, it amazed me how many students proudly declared they were most thankful for their religion, for the fact that they were Muslim, for Islam in general, thankful that God had given them a Muslim life, a moral life, etc. etc.  It is a rare occasion that one's personal faith comes up in a classroom setting in the states, but here it's quite normal. It's interesting how "religious freedom" in the U.S. means the freedom to keep your religion to yourself and never talk about it, while here I feel there is much more freedom to talk about faith and God... as long as you are Muslim.  (For more reasons than not, I was hardly tempted to declare that I was most thankful for Jesus this Thanksgiving) Other answers were more typical, friends and family, good health and opportunities to study and go to a university.  The more I get to know my students, the more I come to love them and view them as people.. as opposed to demons sent to judge my inability and insecurities as a teacher and claim they have "a test" so they can leave my class.  Today, my question was, "what is your favorite _____________, and why?"  One guy chose the category "people" and said "My favorite person is my mother, because she raised me well, she is my guide and my friend."  If that is not an answer to be thankful for, I dont know what is.
  I admitted this fact to my students today; that I liked them.  I promised that for those who came to class, I would make sure they got good marks on their final presentation grades.  I said I knew the faces of those who came to class and those who were strangers.  One of my favorite smart alec students asked, "Yeah but do you know our names?"  I admitted that I had absolutely no clue.  someday I will get this teaching thing down. Or I wont have to do it any more. THNK fr. STDNTS.  Please?!