I was anxious, but exhilarated; I'd missed the frenzy of the American solar eclipse in 2017 and vowed I wouldn't miss the next. On the hilltop, my family and I played with shadows, each of us donning the flimsy solar viewing glasses that would help us witness the phases of the eclipse as the Moon's shadow grew closer to the Sun. We ate round sweets – Oreos and Moon Pies – to mark the occasion.