Night of the Living Dead

This weekend was my first encounter with Halloween in China. I will admit that while I didn't really partake in the Halloween festivities (please read: I did not dress up as a slutty nurse, witch, teacher, high school student, doctor, or anything else that requires cleavage and a short skirt) I did get to see a bit of what goes on.

First, I'd like to clarify that Halloween is clearly an expat activity. It is an excuse for men to dress like women and women to dress up (or rather undress) as what ever they want. People get frisky, drunk and loud. They love having their pictures taken and become best friends with the person next to them who is wearing the same costume (it is perhaps the only time of the year when girls are not mortified to be caught in the same outfit as one, two or three others... and in some cases not even necessarily other women). However, it should also be noted that there are many locals who also partake. I saw lots of witch hats in stores, and zombie make-up on men walking around. All in all, everyone seemed to be making the most of it... then again I was back in Hong Kong.

Chinese Halloween is a bit different. While I was bombarded with emails about one party and another, I didn't really see much going on. No webs, no hats, no wings, no wigs. Of note, there was a mask painting table in the lobby of my office building. No, it was not for children (there are none of those in the building) but for the people who work here. There was some pretty fancy mask painting, I must admit, but I was left wondering, what do they do with these masks? Hang them on their wall? Because clearly they are not going to wear them. It is a question that has remained unanswered.

I also got my own little Halloween surprise. At the end of what was another long night (for those of you who don't know, if I get home by 9pm it's early), one of my students came into the office. Her uniform was covered in orange, but she looked at me eagerly. "Ms. Catalina, I know that you normally celebrate Halloween and we don't do that here, so I made you a pumpkin." And she presents me with this little jack-o-lantern. "It is still fresh, but I wanted you to have it. Here. I even have a candle."

So in the end, while there were not trick-or-treating kids to be seen. No loud busy costume parties to attend. This was one of my better Halloweens. I was reminded why I do what I do, and why I love working with this group of students. Even when they are trying to be adults, you see the child they actually still are and it gives you another reason to smile and get back to work, reading yet another essay.