2007

My supervisor in Cameroon had a fantastic tradition of asking people where they had been in the past year. She'd usually ask at your birthday: what were you doing or where were you last year? I started asking myself those reflective questions at other milestones, like Christmas and New Year's Eve.

I can't remember what i did for New Year last year, which bothers me, and i have no immediate resource to check. I have a journal entry for 23 December 2005--while in Maroua, describing the trip and jotting down notes of what i needed to write from the past few days (which i didn't do, oops). The next entry is 15 January 2006, after going to Kribi with friends for a quick weekend away after the first week of the semester.

2005-2006 was a very different holiday season--traveling and away for Christmas, friends out of town when i was back--i wish i had written down more. One day just blends in to the next when they're spent in similar ways. Perhaps i could try capturing bits of it now before even more memories fade, and i could ask a few friends with whom i know i spent it.

This New Year was fun, although it was also very different. I didn't write down a letter to read in September, and we didn't have a reflection time before midnight. Kind of missed that. It's interesting how a similar setting throws into sharp relief what isn't the same.