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Published: November 3rd 2006
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yuge102
My small Halloween shrine outside my apartment door. I'm only a little obsessed. Also, the pumpkin doesn't look as big in the picture as it actually is. Trust me though, it's huge. The last Halloween I spent in Japan when I was studying in Osaka was a bit depressing. Once the month of October begins, Halloween trinkets and other paraphernalia start showing up in all the shops and super markets. Seeing all this Halloween stuff everywhere kind of gets your hopes up that maybe they do celebrate the holiday after all in Japan. But then October 31st comes and goes, and nothing happens. Halloween exists in this country just as a commercial ploy.
So, this Halloween, I decided to change all that and spread the Halloween love all over the island of Yuge. I started as soon as the month of October began. I taught Halloween vocabulary in all of my classes from preschool to adults. I brought the “Halloween Mystery Box” to my elementary school every week. It was full of gross things like intestines (udon noodles), eye balls (peeled grapes), kidneys (canned tomatoes), brains (tofu), and fingernails (bits of plastic). I forced the children to reach inside and guess what they were (in English of course). Muwahahaha!
As Halloween drew closer, I taught more and more about Halloween. I wrote a reading for my junior high school’s third year
yuge93
Not so pretty to look at, but it sure tasted good. students about my first Halloween when I was two years old and didn’t understand the meaning of “trick-or-treat.” I even managed to cram all the grammar points we had learned in the past chapter of the textbook. I also taught everyone at my junior high school the “Witches’ Brew” song, which I haven’t been able to get out of my head for the past month. Then, once the week of Halloween actually came, my students and a lot of other people on the island were experts on the holiday.
I had a Halloween party for my adult English conversation class that was a complete success. I tried to dress up as a clown using all of the most colorful clothes I could find in my wardrobe, but my class told me I just looked like a colorful teenager; I baked a pumpkin pie, which no one had ever eaten before; And I gave them a true or false quiz on the various traditions of Halloween.
At my junior high school we baked pumpkin pies, which was only a small disaster. It was more difficult than I thought to organize a baking class. Still, we all ate the pies
yuge94
Festivities at my adult English conversation class. In addition to the pumpkin pie, I also gave them all apple cider, which no one had ever drunk before. It was pretty good, despite being instant which was the only kind I could get shipped from America. despite their irregular appearance. We also played a ton of Halloween-themed games. We played the game where you have to pass an apple under your chin. The boys refused to do it, but the girls at least attempted. I showed them a couple of home videos of my Halloween when I was two and three years old. They got a kick out of those.
Finally, the day before Halloween, I carved my gigantic pumpkin for the big day. I finished carving it around 6pm when it was getting dark, so it was perfect timing to put a candle inside and put it outside my door. I was kind of disappointed that my students wouldn’t be able to see it (there was no way I was going to lug that thing all the way back down the road), and I figured no one else would really notice either. But I was happy just to make it for myself, because I carve a pumpkin every year, and I didn’t want this year to be an exception.
Then, it seemed as soon as I walked back into my apartment and shut the door behind me, I started to hear voices outside
yuge95
Thankfully, one other person came in costume so I didn't look like a total fool. This is Yassine. He's from Morocco and goes to the merchant ship school here. The ghost costume he is wearing is actually traditional dress in Morocco. my door. Soon, my door bell started to ring and I heard “Jennie-sensei! Jennie-sensei!” I cracked open my door to see that a small crowd had gathered outside my apartment. Pretty soon, just about my entire apartment building came to check out what the crazy foreigner had made. Everyone was taking pictures and asking all kinds of questions about how I cut the face out, what I did with the inside, how long it took, what I was going to do with it after Halloween, etc. These people were absolutely amazed by the littlest thing. It turned out that no one had ever seen a jack-o-lantern before or even a big orange pumpkin. I was so happy that everyone liked my jack-o-lantern so much, and I didn’t even think anyone would notice. I gave out candy to everyone too, but not until they said “trick-or-treat!” The kids LOVED it!
Word traveled quickly to my schools, and then my students started showing up at my apartment yelling, “trick-or-treat!” Success! The island of Yuge has now celebrated Halloween beyond just buying all the Halloween merchandise at the stores. And I have realized that teaching everyone about Halloween and its traditions can
yuge96
This is me and my second year students at my junior high school. Here we are attempting to make pumpkin pie. be even more fun than actually being back home on Halloween where everyone already knows all there is to know about the holiday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
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jim
non-member comment
FUN
WOW! you see like a great teacher!