As a blessing, it rained on Eid. Afterward, I went to the mosque to pray and fulfill my Muslim duties. Of course, since it was my first Korité away from home, I left a little early, not wanting to be late, especially since I didn’t know the exact prayer time.

Before the prayer, the imam gave a sermon on Zakat al-Fitr. I didn’t understand much of what he was saying, but I acted like Boulard in Les Profs: I blinked and nodded as if I understood everything.

After the prayer, I was getting ready to go home to cook, but to my surprise, my host father said, “Stay, we’ve cooked for everyone, let’s share.” Unfortunately, I had already bought meat to prepare my own meal, as usual. After some explanations, I finally went home because I had left the meat soaking in water. Having been at the mosque for nearly two hours, it had absorbed a lot of water, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Back home, I started cooking the meat, but it took much longer than expected. I even called Senegal for advice. While we were talking with the family, I completely forgot that I had added potatoes to the frying pan. The result: 30 minutes of wasted work, because peeling and preparing potatoes takes time! I had to start all over again.

After four hours of hard work, I finally managed to prepare a delicious dish. I had the privilege of sharing it with the neighbors because, as they always say, Eid is a day for sharing.