Halloween

Halloween as the uruguayans say it (emphasizes on the 'hall' and not the 'ween') actually happened here in Uruguay. I was shocked that they celebrated this holiday especially since I did a presentation about holidays that are more American than anything focusing on Independence Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving where not one person told me that Halloween was actually celebrated here. So, imagine my shock when I walk into Ta Ta (I'm really trying to stop shopping there) and see a whole aisle dedicated to Halloween costumes and decorations.

It made me really excited though because if Halloween is celebrated then that means I didn't get to miss out on dressing up. Win! So, on Saturday I went to Tres Cruces (aka Ta Ta) to find a costume, walked the entire length of 18 de Julio, then took a bus back to Tres Cruces. I didn't need to go to Ta Ta the last time because I walked into at least two Ta Ta's on 18 de Julio... I really am trying. Never said I was succeeding though.

So, I managed to get my costume together, one could only guess my costume by the red witch's hat, and later that night I headed to a party hosted by P¡nk in some abandoned building along Artigas. I don't know. I keep trying to explain it and it just sounds like a bunch of kids met up in an abandoned building and did shady things. I promise it was an organized event with a real life flyer and everything. Still not sure exactly where it was though.

We danced to electronic music, took pictures in a photo booth, and stood around and talked when the music and light set-up blew the power out. It was fun and definitely way more than I thought I would have been doing for Halloween this year. Thanks, Carolina, for inviting me last minute. :D

But, yes, Halloween is celebrated here and it gets bigger and bigger each year apparently. The kids go treat-or-treating to a few houses and the grown-ups have a previa and go out partying. It depends on the party if you have to dress up or not. Now you know.

p.s. As of Nov. 7th, Uruguay is now 3 hours ahead of the east coast of the US. I say this because every single clock on my laptop has the wrong time and I know I'm not the only one. Even my email is affected so I never know if someone just sent me an email or sent it to me an hour ago. I'm working on a logarithm to figure this one out....