Really Super Cool Story

My Human Growth and Development professor had been out for the first two weeks of class, so today was the first time I got to meet him. He's a good teacher, and we had a great class. People were participating in discussions, it was lively, etc. He's also Black, like many of the teachers and most of the students at my school, but I couldn't tell what country he was from or even whether he was from Africa or maybe India or something. Anyways, after class I needed to tell the professor that I wouldn't be in class on Friday due to the Jewish holiday. I figured I'd get a questioning look and "what holiday is this and why do you need to be out?" Here's how it really played out:

"Hi. I just wanted you to know that I won't be in class on Friday because of the Jewish holiday."

"Oh, you're Jewish?"

"Yep."

"Wow, so am I!"

That was SOOOOO not what I was expecting. My jaw dropped to the floor and I said, "Really??"

So he asks me, "Do you know what a Falasha is?"

I reply that I do (it's an Ethiopian Jew), and he tells me that his mom is a Falasha (meaning he is) even though he doesn't really practice Judaism now. But of course that it's ok for me to miss class because he understands.

Wow...just wow. Flabbergasted and floored doesn't even cover it. I've actually always been fascinated by Black Jews (and even more especially Falashas), so this was even cooler than just having a regular old Jewish professor. So flipping amazing, and so fantastic. That was the shocker of the day, folks. :-)