Cloudy Days and Exams

Cloudy days remind me of exam season. Final exams for the first term would usually be at the end of November, and November marks the beginning of Middle Eastern "winters," which meant short, lazy days, mild weather, and occassionally, wonderfully overcast skies. After 9 months of oppressive desert sunlight and heat where the very wind would sting the eyes, overcast weather with a pleasant breeze was something I greatly savoured. The world would seem to be illuminated by soft light, there would be no sharp shadows and the usual, oppressive yellow that the sun always coloured everything with was replaced by the soft blue hue of the clouds.

We would emerge from one of our final exams at either 10am, midday or 4pm, depending on the subject. As usual, the most memorable exam would be the last one, and usually scheduled at around 8am, so we would come out of the exam hall at about 10am, as free men. And free men we were.

As some of the local students set about barbarically ripping their textbooks and copybooks apart out of spite, me and some of my friends would routinely trudge along to the Naqaanaq place. Here, we had a few sandwiches, bought a few Dews and either discussed the exam questions or discussed where we would all meet to go bowling.

Overcast mornings, no matter where I live, bring forth a flood of memories of all the final exams throughout my school years. They remind me of complete, unhindered, childish freedom.

Looking back now, I realize how much of a peaceful and privileged childhood I had. Not having to worry about where the food came from or who was bombing my people back to the stone age, the greatest worry during my childhood was nothing but a collection of sheets of paper that I had to answer and get good grades for.

For that, I remain eternally grateful to The Provider.