having Jewish classmates who aren't religious can put you through experiences that range from funny, to awkward, and downright embarrassing.

on Purim morning when i was in clinical, the nurse manager on duty was talking about the daily schedule. she mentioned that since it's Purim, the schedule was different. Tatiana looked at me and asked

"what's Purim?" so i said

"oh well it's Jewish holiday..."

"no i know that" she said "but what is it? like why do you celebrate it?"

well, how do you sum up Purim in 50 words or less, to a Latino girl who would get offended if i told her we were celebrating the fact that some non-Jewish guy wanted to kill Jews? before i could begin to explain what it was, Jan (who's nonreligious) leaned forward and said

"it's like a cross between Christmas and Halloween" then he looked at me and explained "well, Halloween because you dress up, and Christmas because you give out presents"

i didn't know whether to laugh or cry.