Trick or Treat?

Attending a private school with students from all religions, we got to know about the different holidays and traditions of each religion. One of the yearly events that took place at school was the Halloween custom party. Students and staff would dress up and there would be a custom competition followed by a dance and candy distribution. In addition to that, I always watched American movies about Halloween so it wasn't a new idea for me. I always wanted to go "Trick or Treating" and going to the States I got to do it.

Every weekend throughout my exchange year was a new adventure for me. We would go out as a family to visit a new city/state, try new activities, have fun all together. As days of October flew by, people were getting ready for Halloween (which is October 31).

Volunteering was a major part of my YES experience and fortunately Halloween gave me a chance to volunteer while having fun and being introduced to some of the American culture. Being an active member of the YSL (Youth Service Learning) club, I had access to unlimited volunteering opportunities. One of these was volunteering to carve pumpkins for the local zoo. The moment I saw it, I signed up for it for I knew it would be a great chance to not only help out but also get to know more about the Halloween traditions. I remember that my host dad went with me and volunteered as well. I have to admit, the whole carving thing was totally new to me and I had a rough start! I had no idea what I was doing but with the help of my host dad I eventually got the hang of it and enjoyed it. It was so much fun making all these different faces with the pumpkins and getting creative. However, getting all the stuffings out from the pumpkin wasn't that fun to say the least. My host dad and I had so much fun and I gave him some serious laughs when I was so confused and lost!

During the weekend of Halloween, we went to Hutchinson, Minnesota to meet the family at our aunt's house. It was so much fun especially that everyone was welcoming and loving. When it was time to go out for trick or treat, I figured that I would go with them to see the kids and enjoy cite seeing around town with all these spooky houses. To my surprise, everyone suggested that I should get into a custom and go out knocking on doors like the kids! As much as I wanted to go, I was too shy and felt awkward for I was almost 15 years old. My host parents insisted on me and gave me the cutest custom ever. I was going to be "Winnie the Pooh" !! After becoming Pooh bear, I grabbed my candy bag and headed out with the kids and their parents.

Everything looked scary in a creative way. Houses decorated with orange lights and ghosts. Front yards gave the illusion of cemeteries and graveyards. It gave me the chills but in a cool way. I felt like I was inside a Halloween movie! Kids and their parents were all over the place with all kinds of customs and outfits. There were the cartoon characters, super heroes, witches,vampires, ghosts... everything. We went all over the neighborhood knocking on doors saying "Trick or Treat?!" and we would get tons of candy and chocolate. It was a real blast.

After we finished our round, we headed back to the house. The whole family was there and everyone shared laughs and jokes. We all checked the candy we collected and enjoyed it!

The next day we went and spent it at the Mall of America. It was HUGE! We had so much fun and did lots of shopping as usual. I also got to run into some Arabian employees over there. It was like the icing on the cake getting to meet someone from back home and speak Arabic with.

As much fun as the entire Halloween weekend was, the best part was after Halloween. All stores put all the chocolate and candy on some serious sales! I went and grabbed all the chocolate I could but I did save some of them for my siblings for when I came back home!