Halloween '08

Yesterday we had a big Halloween party for our kids here.  It was funny b/c Halloween isn't really that big here in China, so this was the kids' first time dressing up for it... they were as excited as 5-year-olds, which was great to see!  We'd been prepping them and teaching them a little about Halloween for the past week, so they were clued in.  We decided we would skip the afternoon classes on Friday and a have a bunch of games for them.  

The 48 students were divided into 8 teams of 6 and were competing against each other in all the games, of which we kept a grand tally so that one team won the grand prize (ice cream) at the end.  As always, our students were totally into it!  We had pumpkin bowling, apple bobbing, the mummy wrap (with a mummy dance!), a string weave, and a candy-guessing-jar.  
Andrew and I went to Toys R Us here in Shanghai to get our costumes.  Sadly, they didn't have a very good selection, and the only adult costume they had was Dracula, so that's what Andrew was.  I opted for the fairy costume, but had to settle for the 2-6 year-old version of it... tiny wings, hairband, wand, and a tutu that looked more like a little ruffle on me!  
The best reaction of the day was when Andrew walked into the classroom dressed as Dracula.  As you can see from the picture above, it was like the Chinese Paparazzi... they all rushed up to him and started taking his picture and saying "Ohhhhhh Mista Nay-rayn..."  Very funny!

Even the Principal and Vice Principal of the big Chinese school we work in came up to be part of the party... various kids donated parts of their costumes for a bit so they could feel included in the dressing up... at one point the principal was wearing a big black witch's hat with long neon-green hair attached... he was lovin' it!  

I am so happy with our students... they really took the initiative to make this party even better.  Without being asked, they somehow came up with tons of decorations for the rooms, painted artwork for the walls, etc.  What a great memory!