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Published: November 7th 2010
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Halloween is my favorite holiday. After two years in Shenzhen--where it's a big celebration, full of planning, insanity and a bit of debauchery--I've been pleased to see that some aspects of the holiday to translate well. But, not being in a big city this year, I was a bit apprehensive about what the holiday would bring this year.
As I got myself ready, alone, I managed to pull it all together in twenty minutes. On one hand that's great, but on the other, it's so much more fun to get ready with friends. We just hadn't planned that out. I met up with some friends in the hallway around 7:30 and we set off. I know it's an American holiday, but I was surprised how many teachers weren't participating. I was feeling a bit down, sort of like one would on Christmas with only part of their family and no special meal, and no parties; sure you've still got some family present on the actual day, and you have gifts, but the spirit seems a little lackluster. But I went out determined to have the best time possible.
First we went to a student party where our friend, Toby,
was performing. Before he started, he told the crowd that if the sound was bad (because of the mic and speakers) he'd do a shortened version of the song. We all left after less than five minutes. I was happy to leave, actually, because I was beginning to feel like a spectacle.
Next we went to the foreigner restaurant. Last year, this was the place to be. That was last year. We had some pizza, tried some creepy looking shots, I enjoyed the music, and we took photos with the few students who had shown up in costume. It's good to encourage such behavior. Then we left, some going home and some of us heading to one more student party down the road at a bar.
The bar was packed. Students were streaming in and out, some to go home before curfew, and some to simply cool off. In one room was a pool table and sofas. In the other room was a dance floor. Usually, in my experience, Chinese people don't really dance, they just stand in a circle and watch other people, leaving a big hole in the middle. Not this time! A large group of
students seemed to make a mild most pit in the middle and were jumping and dancing to the music en masse. It was spectacular. I ran into a friend of mine and he and I ended up dancing on the outskirts of the crowd. We wanted to be able to move about and not just hop up and down in one place. A number of students stopped to take our photo as we swirled and twirled around each other, oblivious to everyone else.
Finally, we sat down on the sofas and rested while drinking some free beer. (Being a foreign teacher has its perks!) Still warm, we went outside where students were setting off fireworks and passing out sparklers. We joined them, dazzling the night sky. Then, suddenly, the party was over. Most of the students had left to make the 11:30 curfew and the bar was working to get everyone to leave.
I hopped on my bike and sped home, feeling satisfied.
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