Oh the Humanity!: Friendship is International Adventure, Thursday, period 1

[vdistinctive]

"Ya ain't gonna talk in French the whole class again, are ya?" Eliot asked Pinkie as the students started to gather.

"Nope!" Pinkie said cheerfully. "I figure that joke's been played out, now."

"And you're not wearin' any silly outfits," Eliot noted.

"No. Why, do you think I should be?"

"No," Eliot growled. "You usually do somethin' weird for the class theme."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pinkie said with great dignity. "The only thing I'm doing special today is bringing Gummy along for the ride."

Eliot didn't want to know. He didn't. He didn't. ". . . Gummy?"

"My pet baby alligator!" Pinkie flipped her mane and a tiny alligator with enormous purple eyes sprang out of it, its little toothless jaws clamped onto her forelock.

Eliot stared into Gummy's eyes.

The abyss stared back.

"Right," Eliot said, straightening uncomfortably and turning to face the students. "We're goin' to New Orleans today. It's pretty much my favorite city in the United States, so try not to embarrass me."

Pinkie blinked up at him innocently. The alligator blinked up at him vacantly. Eliot stared, then shuddered and shoved both of them through the portal.

Around The World in Sixteen Challenges, Thursday

[saddeserthermit]

Today found the class on the banks of a giant sea, wind whipping the cloaks Obi-Wan and Anakin were wearing around their ankles. "Welcome to Baku, Azerbaijan," Anakin said. "A former Soviet state that has now rebounded economically thanks to natural gas and oil, both of which play a historically significant role in the culture here. The Zoroastrian religion--worship of fire--began here, mostly due to the highly flammable nature of natural gas when it just, well, erupts from the ground."

"As far as motivations for worship go, it's not a terrible one," Obi-Wan said, sounding faintly amused. "For those of you who are unaware, the Soviet Union was a sprawling empire, of a sorts. It stretched out over a large part of this continent. Many other nations were formed after it fell, some functioning... better than others."

They would not by taking you to Belarus any time soon, kids.

"Azerbaijan is one of the success stories," Anakin said, nodding. "They've even won Eurovision, whatever that is."

"It's a singing competition," Obi-Wan said immediately.

Then he coughed.

Anakin smirked. "Right. The first one back can ask Master Kenobi why he knew that so quickly."

"Let us not," Obi-Wan said. "Proceed."