Halloween

Halloween is not celebrated here in Senegal. If people know about it, it is because they know it from American movies they have seen but have no idea what time of year the holiday takes place. On the other hand, All Saints Day is a national holiday here due to the 5% or so Christian population. So all government jobs were closed today, but really, most everything else was still open because people need the money. When I ate breakfast yesterday morning, my host dad said something about yesterday being a holiday and I was confused and told him that no, today was the holiday. And then he said "Happy Halloween!" I had actually forgotten, and he was shocked that I had forgotten. Classes went as normal, of course, except that one of the profs said "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" every time he saw a student. On my way home I bought a bunch of candy at the boutique on the corner for my host siblings. I gave them the candy and explained the holiday to them. They couldn't believe that the majority of American children were dressed up in costumes and walking house to house at night begging for candy. But they liked the fact that they were getting candy, too, because of it.

Because today was a holiday, lots of people were out late taking advantage of the fact that there were no classes (at the university, too) and people would be going to work late today. My American friends and I were trying to come up with a way to celebrate Halloween, without dressing up in costumes. So, we ended up going out dancing for a bit with our local friends as well. The big Halloween moment for the night was when the DJ played Michael Jackson's Thriller.