L'halloween

Tonight is halloween and instead of walking around door to door with my bag of candy, I am eating eyeball-shaped chocolates alone in my room. Halloween is not very popular in France because, according to my host family, it is usually a celebration against the Catholic holiday of Tous Saints (all saints). The cemetery was flooded with flowers today, but not many people were out in their ghost and witch costumes. My friends and I were excited to buy candy and carve pumpkins today but all the stores were closed and our halloween dreams were crushed. Instead, I wore my new skull underwear and the tattoo sleeve that my sister sent me (which was surprisingly realistic), and I listened to spooky songs and clips of women screaming for their lives. While at my friend's house this evening, one group of boys rang the doorbell and asked us "bonbons?" but we had no candy to offer them. They told us that they were having no luck in their candy search (even the Americans did not have candy on this American holiday), but they were not wearing costumes, so that made me feel less guilty for not giving them treats.

 

Nantes is finally wearing its Fall colors. All the trees around town are shedding their green leaves for oranges and golds and reds. Even the wet, fallen leaves decorate the sidewalks with spots of color. I am very content watching France switch over to its new color palette.