I've been living in Paris for the past two months, and during this time I have experienced many differences between my new home here in France, and my home in Pennsylvania. The most recent strange experience I was lucky enough to take part in was Halloween. Halloween is not celebrated with the same sort of enthusiasm as it is in the United States. There is no trick or treating, stores are void of any kind of decoration, and in order to buy a pumpkin (which we did eventually accomplish) we practically had to beg our local market to give us a whole one to carve. Knowing that Halloween would be different here, my friends and I decided we would take a trip to the most magical place in Europe; Disneyland Paris.
Disneyland was just what we needed. Apparently the folks over at Disney have an appreciation for Halloween even across the Atlantic and the entire place was decked out in Halloween themed greatness. Disney provided yet another example of the differences between the United States and France, in the form of it's rides. Oh the rides! I don't think I've ever experienced so many twists, turns, and loops, on any Disney coasters at either of the parks in the United States. Disneyland Paris is maybe a little more intense than the Disney we know and love at home, and it was exemplified by the numerous adults and teenagers that we encountered, not your usual hoards of small children. But that's not to say that they don't have the classics; Dumbo, Small World, and the Snow White. Those are, after all, what make going to Disneyland so much fun. You get to be a kid again.
I certainly felt like a child again as I roamed through Alice in Wonderland's Labyrinth wearing my newly acquired Minnie Mouse Ears. All in all one of the more interesting and memorable Halloweens that I have had in quite a few years actually.
We even arrived home in time to have a real Parisian Halloween outing at Social Club to celebrate our friend's birthday complete with Halloween costumes that we purchased here in Paris. So maybe the French know how to do Halloween after all.
I'll leave you with this short video of some of my friends getting into the spirit of things in a Caucus Race. Wait a minute, this is college?
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