Halloween

Obviously I realize this is a month late...but I thought I should write a short post about how I celebrated Halloween in Russia!

The Friday before Halloween Svetlana invited me over for a Russian feast/welcome dinner/meet my baby. This was also the same weekend her son turned 3 months old. Letting friends outside of your family meet the baby is a pretty big deal, and it is something that can only happen after the baby is at least a month old. It was exciting to meet Grisha, the adorable new addition to her family. The dinner lasted about 4 hours! By the end my head was spinning from so much Russian, but the food (obviously the most important) was great. It is great to be able to step outside my room and be at their front door immediately, alhough I was sad to learn they are moving to a new flat in January. Oksana, a teacher in my department, and her husband also joined us for dinner, as well as Konstantin, a teacher at the university who lives in our building as well. Artyom cooked plov and some salmon dish and there was a big spread of other traditional Russian salads and more. Writing about it is making me hungry.

Saturday was Halloween! This year I didn't dress up or go to a party, but instead my friend Grunya invited me to go on a haunted bus tour through Tyumen. I was really excited because I thought I wasn't going to celebrate it this year. I love Halloween and fall activities like bonfires and hayrides...so this was exciting. The excursion was a historical tour, which was actually really interesting. I learned more about the city's history - especially about legends and haunted places. Grunya took some pictures so I will ask her to e-mail them to me soon! I also made my second TV debut! This time I was interviewed by the local news about the differences between Halloween in America and in Russia. I think there are definitely some similarities but here there are no trick-or-treaters (everyone lives in apartments) and costumes are mainly traditional. Also, we have NEVER had snow in NJ in October before!