Halloween
Halloween is that unique non-holiday that most North American kids look forward to … and I’m no exception
When I was younger, so much …
We had begun making plans for the school’s Halloween party in September
It was a matter of finding a venue, choosing activities and getting everyone involved.
The venue was relatively simple.
We had had a party in the school last year. We had a haunted house that Steve had put together. We had games and we had teachers, and course consultants to staff the games and herd the 200 plus kids. It was hectic, painful (one student decided her broom was for whacking people and nailed me a couple of times) and exhausting.
To add insult to personal injury, a group of parents complained loudly about our efforts.
Okay, point taken. We’d take a different tact this year.
So we gamely entered the arena again. Armed with the knowledge of what not to do and sure in our conviction we could do better. Oh Boy, were we ever asking to be ambushed.
I left for holiday, and a meeting had been set to happen while i was gone. I’d come home and pick up from there. When I returned I was greeted with, “What are we doing?”
“Weren’t you at the meeting?” I enquired
Although things had been planned and agreed to, someone decided that the party needed more activities. That it should in fact be a string of games an d activities from start to finish. An unrelenting blur of frenzied frolicking that’d make the average Chinese tour seem spontaneous by comparison.
Eventually we got past this. partly by compromise,partly by re-stating our intentions and objectives and partly by a stubborn refusal to be led off the path.
We held the party Saturday night at the Gold Source Hotel.
It was successful
We had 175 paying guests, a hot meal,drinks, a costume parade and contest,apple-eating contest and a Limbo dance.
It was fun. It was hectic. it was a curious admixture of the planned and the improvised. It was Halloween in Changsha,China
We couldn’t decide if John was a Pilgrim who’d mixed up feast days, or a Medieval Punisher
Tags: At the office, Changsha, halloween, holiday, party planner, Tefl fun
Wayne
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.