HALLOOOWEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

Although it marked the end of October, and therefore the beginning of my last full month in Canada, Halloween was so much fun! It started early, with pumpkins appearing on the porches and lawns of many houses from the start of October. As the month continued, pumpkins were everywhere and the windows of the shops in Wolfville were full of halloween decorations. 

       Then the Halloween events began. On the Monday before Halloween there was a pumpkin carving competition in Dennis. Pumpkins and tools were provided, and I decorated one as an eye. The winning pumpkin was a face with teeth spelling the word Dennis, which looked really good and of course showing house pride is always a good thing! A girl who has spoken to me before about her obsession with the BBC got a Doctor Who stencil and carved the tardis and David Tennant onto her pumpkin - I think her and I were the only two who understood what her carving was!



eye pumpkin!



         A few nights later a house trip to the nearby corn maze was organised. This was a house council event, so only had to pay $5 to and from the maze which included a taxi both ways and entry to the maze (normal price $8). The corn maze is literally what it sounds like - a maze built in a corn field, where the corn plants are really tall so you can't see over the top of them, and they're pretty thick too so you have to stick to the path. I heard about one in Truro, which is about an hour from Nova Scotia, which is a haunted one and so the staff chase you with chainsaws and scare you in other fun ways.. The one we went to was just for fun, not scares, but I still did get quite freaked out due to the darkness... I'm glad we remembered a torch! When we had all gone round the maze, the owners organised a bonfire for us and marshmallows were toasted!



Corn maze (should be called maize maze, haha!)



         Halloween was celebrated in both of Wolfville's clubs (yes, there are TWO!) on Saturday the 30th. I went as a cow (another word which I say funnily, according to the Canadians), wearing a onesie pyjama suit which I bought from Primark before I left, complete with homemade udder! We had meant to go to a Haunted House, held in the residence called Seminary which is the oldest building on campus and apparently home to a ghost or two, but by the time the group of people I was with were all ready it was after 11, which is when the haunted house closed. Some other friends told me about it though, and said it was extremely scary, so I'm a bit disappointed I missed it. Anyway, we went to the party in the union bar (called The Axe), which was good fun although definitely not as busy as Dundee Union last year - there was actually space to move!

          One final halloween event, which actually happened on Sunday 31st and which I didn't take part in due to a lot of rain and cold, was Trick Or Eat. The concept of food banks seems to be quite big in Canada - just yesterday I was at a coffee house night which was raising money for the local food bank - and this is what Trick Or Eat is also about. Basically, you go round the neighbourhood in groups of your choice, dressed in your halloween costumes, and instead of collecting sweets (although usually you get some of these anyway), you ask for food donations to give to the food bank. It's a really good idea, and if I wasn't such a baby I would have taken part. In general I've noticed that volunteering for charities is a more popular thing to do over here, at least when comparing Dundee and Acadia Universities. There are all sorts of charities which students get involved in - from helping out at the food bank to going swimming with disabled children once a week. Unfortunately I haven't gotten involved with any of these groups, as I didn't want to commit myself to a cause only to leave after first semester is done. It's definitely the sort of thing I'll want to get involved with next year at home, though.

Anyway, that's all the stories I have to tell about my Halloween experience. It's definitely a bigger event over here in Scotland, which I was expecting, and which all added to the excitement!

 Until next time, over and out!