Last night...I kept the Harry tradition alive by watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to help ring in the new year. But this was not the original plan.
We were, initially, supposed to go out to dinner with Geoffrey and Olivia...they were to pick us up at 7 and we'd go to dinner and then out dancing. Daina and I began getting ready around 6:15...I changed my clothes three or four times (trying to decide between the jeans and white t-shirt or jeans and green t-shirt, since I don't have any actual go-out clothes here in Kenya). Then, I started to think about what I was missing at home and how I don't really like to go out anyway...and I started to cry. Daina, not knowing my train of thought, looked at me, puzzled and asked if there was anything she could do...there was not...I went to the living room, with my People Crossword Puzzle book (thanks, Josh) and tried to think about something else.
We waited and waited...Around 8:15, I said I was putting pajamas back on at 9...Daina said at 8:30 she would be ready to call it a night and just stay home.
A little after 8:30 we got a call from Geoffrey...asking if we were ready to go...and I had to tell him we had decided to stay home...I know it was a little heartless of us, to cancel, but I really wanted to stay home and eat pancakes, watch a movie and go to bed...
The network was down, so we could not get online to find a from-scratch pancake recipe...but Andrew called his mom and she looked it up for us...We decided to have pancakes for breakfast, and Kraft Macaroni and cheese for dinner (our last 2 boxes).
We ate dinner and decided to watch Harry Potter 2...a really great New Year's Eve, if you ask me!
Around 11:50, we paused the movie and grabbed pots and pans. Daina had never heard of the tradition, so we decided that this was her year...Here she is very excited...
Here's Tom Riddle, waiting our return
Andrew and Daina displaying their readiness to make a lot of noise
And, of course, we made use of the timer-feature on Andrew's camera while waiting for midnight.
I like to call this my "pot hat"...a pose I learned from my years in show choir...
And this? Oh, this is my "pot-bellied PIG-ture" (you're welcome)
No clever caption for this one
It was 11:58, I was ready to make noise
All of the clocks in the house are set to different times...I'm not sure why...so we chose to go off of my phone...I've never missed Dick Clark so much...We counted down 15-14-13...and at zero tried to run outside to bang our pots and pans, but we couldn't get the door open. (Daina shouted, "Door! Nemesis!" in honor of Chris) and we just stood in the living room making noise...finally, I got the door open so we ran outside.
Evidently, some Kenyans (like Americans) don't care about New Year's...so we scared Cleophas to death and woke-up Ayub...but that just made the moment more memorable...
After the beauty of noise-making subsided, we went over to say "HNY" to the Ukrainians. They were in prayer...but, when they said Amen, we burst in to clink and clang some more. We sat with them for a few minutes (eating their midnight New Year feast) and then came back to go to sleep.
All in all, I wish I had been at the Johnston Waffle Bar, but it was a very fun New Year's in Kitale.
3 comments:
LOVE it all! PIGture is the best! So glad Daina is learning all the very important Hibbard traditions while she is there too! It's a Wonderful life AND pot-banging!!
Happy Happy New Year!!!
Love you!
My brothers and I would bang pots too and I think we were always the only ones on the street doing it but we didn't care. :) Glad to hear there were other pot bangers out there! :) I think of you often and hope everything is well...take care!!
i missed you and your peanut butter waffle with chocolate chips! and i just miss you in general...
five weeks (:
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