Pumpkins and Polka

It's already the day before Halloween and to think that I don't even have a costume picked out for the anthro club party. I'll have to get on that. I guess with writing papers and reading Joyce, I just haven't had the time to scrounge in my closet for something ghoulish to wear. I think last year I was a German peasant woman. I know, really scary. But the best I could do on short notice. It seems like Halloween was a bigger deal back in the day when I was say five or six. We even had parties in class complete with games, treats, and a costume parade. Ah, well. At Beloit we celebrate with a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, a campus ghost tour, and various clubs host parties so there are plenty of ways to get in the holiday spirit.

So how about a weekend recap?

Whew! It was a whirlwind of polka, schottsch, pumpkin carving, and charades with a little trick-or-treating thrown in for good measure. Friday night German club hosted a polka dance with live oom-pah band and German food. My friends and I tried all the dishes--potato pancakes, applesauce, brats, strudel, and potato soup. Everything was pretty good and it's always nice to get a free meal once in a while so I'm in no position to bite the hand that feeds me. Then we danced, danced, danced the night away. Polka and schottsch are really physical dances--takes a lot out of a girl--but my dancing partner and I were singled out by the instructor as the couple that best represented the spirit of German dance. Pretty sweet designation, if I do say so.

Saturday I went to the farmer's market with my pals for the final weekend and all these kids and their families were trick-or-treating at the storefronts and decked out in costumes. It was really cute. But us old college students weren't left out of the fun completely. On our way to Cubs to get groceries we walked past a car dealership and the owner stopped us to give us some candy since he thought we might feel left out. Later that day we carved pumpkins at the interfaith house which was a ton of fun. Everyone was talking, drinking cider, and squishing through pumpkin guts for the seeds. Definitely a throwback to childhood right there. That evening my friends and I watched "Shaun of the Dead" and made Halloween cards to send home before completing the evening with a spirited game of charades. All in all, a most satisfying time.
Happy Halloween everybody and be sure to eat lots of candy corn!