万圣节

That's the Chinese word for Halloween (wan4 sheng4 jie2).
My costume was that of a Chinese woman, really a modern Chinese woman's view of a Western woman. This fashion style is popular, but I must say they haven't got it just right yet. There are a lot of fashion examples that would never exist in the West. And for good reason sometimes, but that's my American opinion. For those American fashion-conscious people out there...manpris!
Chinese kids aren't really familiar with this American holiday. All they think of is 'trick or treat.' They don't really know what else happens. I taught some of my classes what the phrase really means. So now there are Chinese that know more than American students. Ha! I also taught a few of my classes why we wear costumes. The more they understand of American culture, the better, especially if they plan on studying in the States.
This year's Halloween night was a good example of a famous Chinese phenomenon, 'nowism.' We face nowism every day, and we must always be ready to adapt to changes. The original plan was to go to NYPD Pizza for a party (a pizza delivery service in Futian District, next to the district I live in). Ben and I went with some of our Chinese coworkers: Annie (librarian), Carol (English teacher), Melissa (English teacher), Daniel (simultaneous interpretation teacher), Deng (music teacher), and Jason (Geology teacher).
First case of nowism: the site of the party changed.
Second case of nowism: you had to pay to enter the party area even if you didn't want all the beer and pizza you could eat.
We foreign teachers earn a lot more than our Chinese counterparts, so the entrance fee was a bit steep. I listened to some of the music played, and then we went to eat Japanese.
Third case of nowism: some of our foreign friends wanted to hang out with us.
So we tried to find a karaoke bar to sing and hang out.
Fourth case of nowism: we couldn't find a place available, so we returned to another Ashlee and AnnaRae's apartment to drink, watch movies, and have fun. (We, meaning Ben, me, Jason, Melissa).
First cultural conflict: the Americans wanted a decision made then and there about what to do. the Chinese were more laissez faire.
Fifth case of nowism: somehow we lost the other Chinese teachers.
At the apartment, we played cards and had a fun drinking time. Then Ben and I walked back to school with our Chinese friends.
Here is when I am totally impressed with Jason and Melissa. They were tipsy, but they continued to communicate in English. I was so impressed that they could and wanted to speak English. I think it really helped their speaking skills. And they also learned a bit about young American culture.