Fjord reminded me...
My religious instriction teacher was also decidedly uninterested in religious instruction, but got around the concept by introducing something he liked to call "comparative religious studies" where we tried a new religion every couple of weeks, with a trip to the appropriate place of worship to go with it.
As a consequence we actually learned a lot about all sorts of religions which has a) helped me understand the plight and motivations of others much better and b) helped me pretend to be everything from a Muslim to a Jew on various occasions.
The highlight was when we studied the Hare Krishnas and visited their HQ for a lecture and feast.
I've forgotten most of the names so will, as is my wont, insert gibberish, but I do remember the crucial word here, which I assure you is eactly as he said it.
The scene: Big hall, filled with 13-14 year olds sitting at tables. Head Hare is explaining how they are vegetarians and each dish is veggies prepared in a special way.
"This is Blahblah, which is deep fried okra, this is Blahblahblah which is a chick pea curry, this Blahblahblahblah which is cauliflower in a sauce.
"And for dessert there's SEMENOLA, you all know what that is. Dig in!"
I'm pretty sure he meant to say Semolina, but Semenola is what he uttered, leading to, as I'm sure you can imagine, absolute chaos.
Imagine silence as everyone peered at their little bowls of stuff that did look a lot liek what we were discovering comes out the end of ones winkie when touched in the right way. Then imagine a few giggles, then outright laughter, then silence again. Then some brave pervert stuck a finger in his bowl of manmilk and flicked it at a girl.
Now imagine screams, running, and semolina flying everywhere.
Good times... good times...
( difficultchild, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 4:18, Reply)