Halloween

Halloween isn't a holiday traditionally celebrated in Spain, but in the last 5-10 years it's become more common to celebrate it. It's mostly commercial - candy, toys, decorations, etc. in stores - and a reason to dress up in costumes. What people my age in Spain might do for Halloween is dress up in costume and go to a discoteca, or maybe dress up for work.

My roommate Alba's boyfriend José lives with his family in Sevilla, and their house is part of a group of houses that has a kind of interior patio. He says every year there are some kids who come around and ask for candy, although they don't say "trick or treat" but rather something like "¿tienes una golosina?" (do you have candy?). Speaking of which, "trick or treat" in Spain is translated as "truco or trato", which is not a direct translation but rather means something like "trick or trade/negotiation/agreement". We were talking about Halloween and José asked if in the US it's really like in the movies, where all the kids and families are out on the streets. Yep!

Today I brought in a bag of candy to the lab for lunch for everyone. I had to go to a few stores before I found a bag of American chocolates, and I finally found one in a German grocery store. Most of the people in my group hadn't had Twix, Snickers, or Milky Ways, so that was fun to bring those!

Tomorrow is All Saints' Day, a national holiday, so no work, and I'm going to Barcelona for the weekend!! Time for my usual late-night packing now!