-A European Adventure-: Halloween

I have learned another thing about Croatia this week. I have learned that Halloween is not a huge event nor a commercial craze like it is in America. Most of the dancers weren’t even sure what day Halloween was on.

My American friends and I decided to throw our own little Halloween party in an attempt to bring the tradition over here. Well, that posed for a harder challenge than we were expecting. There aren’t isles of candy, costumes or decorations in the stores here like there are at home. In fact, there are NONE! Its weird to walk the streets and through the stores and not see any sign of Halloween or anyone in the festive spirit. Honestly, it was a shock to all of us and it made it a little difficult to get into the spirit of Halloween.

We ended up going to the grocery store and buying everything we could possibly think of to make the most of our situation. For dinner, we all made a dish that was very suitable the season. For dessert, we had chocolate pudding with worms, gravestones, and other spooky decorations. For entertainment, we invited some of the dancers over. We all ended up having one of the best Halloweens ever.

After we ate dinner, we played music and painted our faces. We looked ridiculous but it was so fun! Then, while we were TPing our villa, we lost one of our friends outside. Caity had gone missing. Now I should probably set the scene for you. We live on our own private beach. Before getting to the water, you have to walk down all the large rocks and through some bushes. Well, with the ocean and the moon setting the perfect background, we were all excited and scared to go on the hunt for Caity. Every so often we would hear her scream from a far and random location. After about a half an hour of searching, WE CAPTURED HER. It really made the night perfect and set the perfect mood on the evening. We ended the night by watching Rocky Horror Picture Show. How can you NOT enjoy that?

It was a change from the normal Halloween I am use to. I had to make due with what was available. Instead of fancy costumes, we painted our faces. Instead of candy, we had a graveyard meal. And instead of trick or treating (or parades or partying), we went on a hunt for a missing person. It was fantastic.