When my roommate Olivier wished me a gleeful "Happy Eclipse Day," I felt like a schoolgirl. I had my $1 3D-movie-style sun shades all ready, purchased from a coworker. The hawkers that convene at traffic lights, selling everything from plantain chips to batteries to drivers still sitting in their cars, had gotten in on the game as well.
Elizabeth, the neighbor woman I often buy egg sandwiches from, laughed deeply when I asked her if she had her special glasses ready to see the eclipse--turns out her daughter Alberta had them and that there had been a wide spread effort to educate people not to look directly at the sun with the naked eye.
The atmosphere at work this morning was like recess and we were even served minerals (soda/pop). A bowl of water was brought out as an alternative way to see the eclipse safely, but I couldn't see the eclipse in it. The day became dark and the moon covered the sun for about 3 minutes, before slowly passing on and sending us back to work.
I went online to steal the above
AP photos to share with you, only to discover that these were taken by Olivier, photojournalist extraordinare!