There were no giant balls that dropped

8h: Woke up and completed some chores (sweeping, laundry) that aren’t any different from days that it isn’t New Year’s Eve.

11h: Pounded yams break. This is not particularly important either except that pounded yams is my favorite Beninese dish. Once I ate it four days in a row. Today, the Mama that I buy it from (I am not nearly assimilated enough to be able to make it myself. That is definitely a third-year volunteer project.) had Beninese cheese, which only occasionally makes it to this part of the country.

12h05: Entertained my neighbor’s son while she scrubbed the floor and furniture of her front room for the party tomorrow.

14h30: Nap and West Wing break

15h43: Scavenged the village for ingredients to make couscous and banana cake for the party at my neighbor’s house.

15h47: Almost trampled while buying bananas by church group singing and dancing their way down the street in front of my house.

16h00: Rotated between entertaining my neighbor’s kid, reading the Hobbit and making foccacia bread for dinner.

18h03: Dinner and West Wing break. (Hey, it’s vacation and I’ve already lesson planned for when school starts Thursday.)

20h34: Made banana cake for consumption tomorrow.

21h06: Made coffee for consumption tonight. Because village has turned me into a person who is asleep by ten every night.

21h40: Should have left for mass if church here started on time.

22h00: When mass should have started.

22h27: Actually left for mass.

22h48: Mass actually started.

23h36: Lost power in the middle of the homily.

00h02: Altar server dings bell to interrupt the priest. Congregation erupted in cheers as the priest announced the new year. Singing and dancing begins immediately. Greeted the new year in a church light by the three candles on the altar and the blue glow of cellphones and filled with songs in a language I do not understand.