Happy Halloween!!

Part of our job has American teachers in China is to celebrate and teach children about the American holidays. Yesterday was Halloween for us and we threw a big party at the school. We went trick or treating to each classroom, we had game rooms, we went trick or treating around the block, we had a pumpkin light show, and we had a dance at the end of the day. The process and planning up until the day of the event was a complete mess. We had planned out the week for a month now and gave a detailed schedule to the school but China doesn't plan in advance! Two days before the event the school decides to tell us that plans have changed which messes up everything we have organized. Magically, we figured things out and the day turned out great! The children were adorable and seemed to have a good time yelling "Trick or Treat" every time they came to a door. Ally dressed up as a scuba diver, Michelle as a witch, and I dressed up as a minion. Me being the crafty person I am, I was very satisfied with how my outfit turned out and the teachers and children got a kick out of it.

     The Roommates!

 Jeffery, one of my students, being adorable dressed as Thomas the train. The day before Jeffery says to me "Amber, tomorrow me Thomas. Hat and Thomas shirt. Chhheww Cheeewww!" Can't handle his cuteness!

 Thomas and I playing halloween games together.

 Glen dressed up as Harry Potter! I wanted a picture with him but I don't think he liked my outfit because he ran away.

 Some of the pumpkins that the parents and children worked really hard on for the light show. One of my students brought in a carved orange!! So creative!

 My minion outfit!

 Oliver!!!

 Dancing with the children.

 Alice and me.

 Door decorations my younger class and I made for the week.

 The night before Ivy our roommate didn't know what to dress up as so Ally went and got some clothes and dressed her up as a boy and even put a beard and mustache on with face paint. Unfortunately, Ivy didn't dress up the next day. She was hilarious.

Many more photos to come!

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Pumpkin Carving at the Sinology Institute

For the holiday we wanted to do something festive so I worked my magic and searched online to find an event. I came across a activity called Pint and Pumpkins. The event cost 40 yuan and included a pumpkin, carving materials, a beer, snacks, and you got to work with a teacher on Chinese. We ventured a few stops on the subway and found this place in a little alley way. We had a good time carving pumpkins and would have had a great time socializing but the people were just bragging about where they have traveled and how much money they make and so on and so on. It was too much for us to deal with so we stuck to ourselves. We did meet one guy that was very nice and actually was from North Carolina, right outside where Ally and her family use to live.

Ally's Birthday

Time to catch back up with blogs. It has been a busy, hectic, and chaotic couple of weeks. On October 16th, for Ally's birthday we were going to go to pizza hut because that is our go to for American food. In the beginning it was just going to be Michelle, Ally, and I but we decided to invite all our friends to come along too. It ended up to be a really fun time.