How I found out who won the American presidential election

“Ok. At CEG Mayamon, who will write the test for 5eme?” asks the coordinator of the English department.

We are sitting in our weekly meeting. Since all the other English teachers teach at other middle schools in the area (It’s only me and one other each at my middle school), we all go to the biggest middle school in the area each Wednesday for the department meeting.

It is the day after the US presidential election. Yesterday, I discussed the election with one other person, but since I have neither satellite TV nor was awake after the polls closed, it is 11 a.m. November 7^th, and I still do not know the outcome.

Because I’m an ocean and six time zones away, sometimes it seems like what happens in the United States isn’t really happening. When I come home in 23 months, I expect everything will exactly how I left it.

Of course, this is not true. I’ve started a list of things that will be different when I come home. On it so far  is: I will be an aunt, my sister will be married and live in a different state, Snooki will be a mom (I learned that one already happened a month after the fact,) But really, I can’t even begin to predict how much things will be different.

I told the coordinator of the department that I would be writing the exam.

“Oh, by the way, congratulations,” he said. “Barack Obama is your next president.”

“Really?” I say. “I didn’t know.”