Chat
07-23-2016, 07:59 AM
I was a student at a European university. The buildings were very old and multi-storied; without elevators. The campus was surrounded by green fields and trees, and the day was very sunny and beautiful.
I was in a small classroom, and sat down at a large table. There were only 20 or so students in the classroom, and more continued to arrive. We all sat around a large rectangular table, and all the seats were full. Class started, and there was a great deal of discussion about the subject matter. The students were vocal, and happy, and many talked with exuberance, moving their arms to make a point. One of the more senior students suggested to me that we leave. I considered him to be a bit of a lothario, and although I was not really interested in that, I did want to leave. We both left the classroom and no one seemed to notice or object. He was tall and lean, dressed in jeans and a light chambray shirt, so I assume this was not during the summer months.
As I followed him, he said his room was on the 8th floor. I kind of rolled my eyes and made some sarcastic comment about both of us having to pee. (have no idea what that meant, but the word 'pee' seemed significant). We took the stairs up, and the stairs were on the outside of the building. Oddly, we'd take the stairs up one floor, then go in the building, take a 90 degree turn, then go out a door, and take the stairs up another floor, go back in the building, take a 90 degree turn, go back out, take the stairs up one more floor. So the stairs were wrapped around the building, but not continuous. I believe they were designed that way for security purposes, when the building was originally built centuries ago.
Once we reached the 8th floor, he opened the door to his room. To my surprise, it was a large neatly organized dormitory room, with rows of beds, and several male students busy making their beds or getting ready for class. Their was a matronly woman there and I thought she'd give me grief for being in the room, but she just smiled at me. The guy I was with took off his jean shirt, and slipped on a pair of khaki pants over his jeans. I slipped on an olive colored long sleeved shirt over what I was wearing.
We checked our class schedules, the room locations and times, and realized we had to leave. My next class was in the same building on another floor. I considered this class to be fun but 'fluff', and it was about pastry baking, some type of local delicacy like a madeleine or bellini (again, the word was important, but I'm not sure that was the exact word). There were very few seats left when I arrived. I sat next to a male student that I thought was Muslim, he was dark skinned, slight build, and wearing a turban. He did not seem pleased that I sat next to him; he exchanged glances with other Muslim students in the room and looked as though he wanted to move, but there weren't other seats available.
The female teacher at the front of the room was getting organized, setting out a variety of pastries. I'm thinking wow this will be a fun class. Many students are talking as class has not yet begun. Suddenly one of the female students talks very loudly, and in a panicked voice asks what will we do if there is a terrorism attack at the school? She talks louder and louder, and becomes anguished, and the other students now are quite upset. The teacher has no answer, and now the students are getting out of their seats as worry and panic escalates.
My sense is the university is disrupted with terrorism concerns.
Many of the students were Americans, and many were European as well as Muslim.
I believe the madeleine or bellini terms are clues.
Madeleine pastries originated in the Loraine area of northeastern France.
Bellini pastries originated in Italy.
I was in a small classroom, and sat down at a large table. There were only 20 or so students in the classroom, and more continued to arrive. We all sat around a large rectangular table, and all the seats were full. Class started, and there was a great deal of discussion about the subject matter. The students were vocal, and happy, and many talked with exuberance, moving their arms to make a point. One of the more senior students suggested to me that we leave. I considered him to be a bit of a lothario, and although I was not really interested in that, I did want to leave. We both left the classroom and no one seemed to notice or object. He was tall and lean, dressed in jeans and a light chambray shirt, so I assume this was not during the summer months.
As I followed him, he said his room was on the 8th floor. I kind of rolled my eyes and made some sarcastic comment about both of us having to pee. (have no idea what that meant, but the word 'pee' seemed significant). We took the stairs up, and the stairs were on the outside of the building. Oddly, we'd take the stairs up one floor, then go in the building, take a 90 degree turn, then go out a door, and take the stairs up another floor, go back in the building, take a 90 degree turn, go back out, take the stairs up one more floor. So the stairs were wrapped around the building, but not continuous. I believe they were designed that way for security purposes, when the building was originally built centuries ago.
Once we reached the 8th floor, he opened the door to his room. To my surprise, it was a large neatly organized dormitory room, with rows of beds, and several male students busy making their beds or getting ready for class. Their was a matronly woman there and I thought she'd give me grief for being in the room, but she just smiled at me. The guy I was with took off his jean shirt, and slipped on a pair of khaki pants over his jeans. I slipped on an olive colored long sleeved shirt over what I was wearing.
We checked our class schedules, the room locations and times, and realized we had to leave. My next class was in the same building on another floor. I considered this class to be fun but 'fluff', and it was about pastry baking, some type of local delicacy like a madeleine or bellini (again, the word was important, but I'm not sure that was the exact word). There were very few seats left when I arrived. I sat next to a male student that I thought was Muslim, he was dark skinned, slight build, and wearing a turban. He did not seem pleased that I sat next to him; he exchanged glances with other Muslim students in the room and looked as though he wanted to move, but there weren't other seats available.
The female teacher at the front of the room was getting organized, setting out a variety of pastries. I'm thinking wow this will be a fun class. Many students are talking as class has not yet begun. Suddenly one of the female students talks very loudly, and in a panicked voice asks what will we do if there is a terrorism attack at the school? She talks louder and louder, and becomes anguished, and the other students now are quite upset. The teacher has no answer, and now the students are getting out of their seats as worry and panic escalates.
My sense is the university is disrupted with terrorism concerns.
Many of the students were Americans, and many were European as well as Muslim.
I believe the madeleine or bellini terms are clues.
Madeleine pastries originated in the Loraine area of northeastern France.
Bellini pastries originated in Italy.