For at least two months now it has been a part of my morning ritual to check the news to see if war has begun while I slept. After so much time, this morning's news that the attacks had finally started seemed almost surreal. And those moments of trying to assimilate the news seem several days away now. Per instructions and warnings, I haven't been outside much over the past two days, but today was the first day of actually being unable to leave my building. From my balcony I could see the sun shining and the girls in the school across the street going to and from their classes, and I could hear the shouts of the vegetable hawkers and imbuba suppliers rise from the street below. Everything seemed perfectly normal. I did hear on the news tonight that there were some protests and demonstrations today in a few cities here. One in the capital ended in violence when the riot police came to break it up. The real test is tomorrow, when everyone gathers at the mosques for the holy day.

Still, everything seems very calm, and I expect to be able to go out again in a couple of days.