Happy Halloween!

Halloween has at last arrived, after days of partying (not by me, I actually want to pass my degree) All Hallows Eve is finally here. I had presumed that it was purely a night thing, but I clearly was forgetting that I'm in America, and here it is taken very seriously. It seemed like a day like any other as I rushed late to my class, however when I entered I suddenly saw one of my class mates was about 7 months pregnant, which I hoped I would have noticed, however it was a Halloween costume. Great practical joke, should I play on Oz? Would be very funny, but also very cruel, I can almost see the look of pure panic across his eyes before he realises that I can't be seven months pregnant from him. In Arabic we had a giant penguin and two renaissance ladies (they are room mates - it wasn't a costume clash). Apparently I was very brave to walk up to one of the renaissance ladies and say, "Oh, you've dressed up for Halloween!," I didn't realise how easily it could have backfired, although she did say that she sometimes wears the costume at the weekends. I'm very glad I survived unscathed.

When I went to the supermarket this afternoon I was surprised to see lots of the workers in fancy dress, I couldn't really see the point to it, but I did have one of the T-birds as my cashier, and a hippy pack my bags, so I guess I should be grateful, was certainly more interesting than their usual boring attire.

When I was at the supermarket I actually brought some sweets for any trick or treaters, there are quite a few families near by, however none have come to the door yet and I've got to leave soon, so looks unlikely that I'll give any out. When I was cycling back from the supermarket I think I saw an organised trick or treat by the elementary school. There were tiny children being led around in long rows to nearby residence halls. I would have thought that the residence halls would have been safe from trick or treaters, but apparently not.

I have to admit it is all quite fun, if rather pointless, its a bit like children in need, without the children in need (besides being in need of some sweets that is!).

I think some Americans are going to have Halloween withdrawal, so many shops have been decorated Halloween style for over the past month it will be strange seeing them taken down. Even my landlords office was at it. In a few hours I shall be donning my cave girl outfit again ready to go to a few parties and ignore (for a few hours at least) how much work I've got to do.

Halloween night 2

Last night I went out again, but this time it wasn't as good. For a start Oz wasn't with me and secondly I ended up in a big group, big groups make it difficult to get into parties or make decisions. We failed to get into any parties, they had all ended before we even got there, and we were everywhere before 11pm (American parties seem to start early and end early). It got really frustrating, particularly when our friend joined us doing a great impression of a very drunk monk.

As you can see from the photo (I've finally worked out how to add them!)I went as an American girl last night, I appreciated the irony even if not many other people understood the joke.

After several hours of wondering around and getting v.cold I got a call from some other friends and went to join them on DP. Unlike Friday DP was crazily busy, it was necessary to weave our way through everyone and we had to hold hands so as not to get separated. On the sides of the road there were lots of people being arrested and I even saw some paramedics running with a stretcher. Thankfully I experienced neither service first hand.

I was freezing and had several layers on, I don't know how the girls who were literally in their underwear managed it. For your delectation I include a photo, just to prove what it was really like, any guesses as to what she may be dressed as? My vote goes for hooker. By contrast I was dowdy.


It was good fun walking past all the interesting costumes, there were guys dressed as giant penises (there were drunken girls almost queueing up to have their photo taken with them), kissing booths, DUIs (Driving Under the Influence notices), as well as the raft of girls wearing very little. I never knew until last night that Snow White's skirt was very, very short, which explains why the Seven Dwarfs and Prince Charming were quite so enamoured with her.

I ran into an Australian girl and was surprised to see she'd really gotten in to the spirit of things, her bra was poking above her mafia outfit and the skirt was minuscule. I am amazed she managed to really get into the spirit of things, I really can't understand why Americans are so prudish for most of the year and then for Halloween it all goes out of the window and they feel they can legitimately walk around in their underwear. For example I have been sharing a room for almost six weeks now but have never once seen my room mate get changed, she always goes to the bathroom. It wasn't until Friday night when she was dressed as an army girl that I discovered she had her belly button pierced. She goes from usually wearing baggy t-shirts and shorts to having it all hang out. I find it hard to understand why they suddenly want to. I don't particularly want to be perved on by a bunch of salivating American youths, thank you very much. This seems to be a very American thing that does not make any sense to me or most other international students.

In the end I did have a good time, and I'm looking forward to Halloween itself, even if I have got classes the next day.

Halloween, night one.

It's Saturday morning and I'm writing this from the library, I am not, however, a swot, I'm just forced out of my apartment by Halloween. By pure chance I have ended up in one of the most famous party universities in the whole of the US and IV is particularly known for Halloween. Most normal people think that Halloween is a one day "holiday" (I hate that American term - if its a holiday then give us a day off!), however IV residents know better, why have a single day of drunken debauchery when you can have at least a week? And this year Halloween falls on a Wednesday and so instead of having just one weekend to party we get two (+ midweek of course).

Halloween in IV is so famous that people come from a long way around to experience it. My room mate has 4 guests who refuse to let me get a moments peace. From the moment they entered the apartment yesterday afternoon loud music went on which magnified my slight headache, they then proceeded to take over the main living area and my bedroom. I had no where to go and not enough time to go and do my homework anywhere else. To say I was pissed off is an understatement. Eventually I was able to escape to Oz's.

Halloween was certainly a big event. When Oz and I returned to my apartment to put our costumes on (he had completely failed to come up with a costume - thankfully there was a spare male costume lying around) I was astonished to see loads of people (around 15) squashed around the kitchen table playing some drinking game that involved hitting hands on the table and yelling. By the time I had got changed (evolutionary regression into a cave girl takes a while) a full blown party had started. Having only had a beer I felt far too sober for all this and gladly went to our fridge and a few jello shots that had been made earlier. I don't like my room mates friends at the best of times, particularly not when they are plastered and I am only mildly pissed. Her male friends tend to be stoner idiots with whom it is impossible to to have a conversation with on anything other that alcohol, drugs or sex. Her female friends tend to be high pitched, and most importantly, American. Thankfully my English next door neighbour was hosting her own Halloween party and I was only to grateful to escape next door, her friends were much easier to get on with.

Eventually Oz and I made our not entirely sober way down to where the party really happens, Del Playa Drive, affectionately known as DP. Its the road right next to the ocean and once we had made our way past the police barricades we got onto the floodlit road. All around us were women wearing very little (some were literally just wearing their underwear), there were people dressed as bongs, sailors, naked men (with fake penis), a variety of furry animals (wear a pair of knickers, a basque and a pair of said animal ears et voila - sexy mouse/cat/bunny/whatever), police men, guys dressed as gifts from God (a present with a label reading: To Women, from God), army girls and whatever other skimpy costume you can think of. I was fairly unimpressed by DP, it wasn't nearly as busy as I had been told it could be and there was no music playing.

Oz was getting really tired so we went back to my place and he almost begged to stay over to avoid the five minute walk to his place, but I kicked him out saying it wasn't fair for my room mate to have a strange man in the same room as her. Unfortunately my room mate didn't extend the same courtesy to me and I awoke at 4.30am to the sounds of her boyfriend snoring loudly. I was unable to get back to sleep and had to leave the room and sleep on the living room floor so I awoke fairly earlier and got out as soon as I could to avoid the American girls.

I haven't represented the true extent of IV Halloweens, I think that only a bit of history and some crime statistics will suffice. IV has held a damn good Halloween since at least the mid 1960s, but in the 70s there were riots and people burnt down a bank and the police actually shot and killed some students. That was how IV gained its Halloween notoriety and huge police presence (including police on horseback). This year there will somewhere in the region of 150-200 police officers on the street every night ready to arrest people for a raft of offences - Driving Under the Influence (they were doing spot checks for this one), Drug use, Public Intoxication (only if someone is acting v.drunk, they don't have enough cells for everyone who was intoxicated), Minor in Possession (Under 21 with alcohol), Sexual Offences (People have been raped, I was v.glad to be there with Oz) and possessing open containers of alcohol. This week our student paper has been full of advice about how to avoid getting arrested and dire warnings about the penalties (usually at least a years driving ban, which seeing as I can't drive doesn't bother me at all). Last years Halloween Weekend there were 290 citations, 291 arrests and 40 hospital visits. The police had set up at least one emergency medical tent complete with at least 5 stretchers. Its all a little bit scary. But I survived last night without getting arrested or injured. Hope I succeed tonight...