Halloween and the Election

Friday was Halloween, and it's important to note that, while everyone in Germany is familiar with the way that Halloween is celebrated in the USA, it is still very new to them, and they don't quite have the hang of it. While there are many "Halloween" parties--it's getting more popular every year--there are still relatively few people who feel the urge to dress up. Fortunately, all of us American kids on the study abroad program put together a party for ourselves and some of the Germans we know so far.

Getting the party started...with a pair of depressed American business people ruined by the financial crisis, a pair from the movie Cabaret, "the Universe," and James Bond. The setting was an appropriately creepy basement.


Some of the other Americans dressed up as Ugly Betty, a librarian, and mouse.


Now some of the Germans, such as this pair of "aliens," were able to pick up the idea of a proper Halloween costume relatively easily.

But some of the other Germans, such as these three, were less cooperative, and emergency back-up costumes had to be issued.

Now, it's not just that Germans are party poopers, though. One of the reasons that Halloween hasn't really caught on, especially in Bavaria, is that the following day is an important Catholic holiday, All Hallows/All Saints' Day, on which many people visit the graves of their deceased family members. Fortunately, that doesn't really mean much to me, and so we threw a successful party, and it was great to be able to celebrate an American-style Halloween.

Meanwhile, yesterday I saw Swan Lake performed by the Russian National Ballet Company. Having not seen a ballet in probably a decade, it was really something impressive. However, I'm convinced that ballet is centered mostly on doing things that must be incredibly painful for the performers. But, I guess that's part of why it's so beautiful.

And in other, most important news, the U.S. presidential election is taking place tomorrow! Of course, the one time that Chicago will (hopefully) be the center of the universe, myself and the other Northwestern students here won't be there to be a part of it. Nonetheless, we are going to have an election-watching party here in Germany, and it will last into the wee hours of the morning--as long as it takes to find out who the next president will be!

-TG-