10/31/13
Happy Halloween!
I walked into school today wearing my All American Girl outfit again and even brought my flag to school. This is the first year in Poland that kids of all ages are celebrating Halloween. I am pretty lucky to be here this year to witness all the excitement.
At school, most of the kids were dressed up themselves. I saw zombies, pajama girls, Wednesday from the Addams Family, an axe murderer, bloody pirate, and multiple animals. For this being the first year of celebrating Halloween, all the kids looked like experts. The high school resembled an American High School on Halloween.
The student council brought in a fog machine to fill the halls with smoke. It was very eerie and creative. Students also brought in their carved pumpkins to be judged by teachers. I even entered the pumpkin contest with my pumpkins that I carved with my two friends, Alice and Inga. The night before we walked to the store, carried home 2 large pumpkins, and carved them in Alice’s house. It was so much fun hanging out with the girls, doing an American tradition. It almost felt like I was home in America again.
After class I walked with Danny, my best friend from Canada, to the near-by supermarket. Danny is an absolutely great guy and was determined to buy a pumpkin for his girlfriend so she could enjoy an American tradition as well. He is extremely thoughtful and considerate when it comes to his girlfriend. (I hope to find someone who is crazy about me like Danny is for Ada.) It’s all about spreading cultural traditions throughout the world. The only problem with bringing this tradition to Poland is the pumpkins…in Poland the pumpkins that are sold in stores are brown with lots of bruises. The bright orange pumpkins are found in specialty stores for high prices. But we managed to find a pumpkin that only had bruises on one side of the pumpkin.
Back at school I finished reading the book “Summer and the City” and took a picture with Sunny and our flags. A few hours of sitting around with Danny, Antonio, Bohdon, and Sunny was really nice. We talked about Halloween in their countries, what their plans are for tonight, and what their favorite candy is to eat. They are my best friends at school and I’m really close to them.
At home I took a shower and dressed up for my big night on the town with Ania. I wore a cobalt blue top with lace and skinny jeans. I matched my outfit with blue smoky eye make-up and rep lipstick. My outfit made me feel truly sexy. I am single and ready to mingle.
My host father drove me over to Ania’s house and walked me inside. He told Ania to make sure to get me home by 2 am. Inside the house Ania and George (Ania’s boyfriend) were making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. I straightened my hair in Ania’s bathroom while George grilled the sandwiches and Ania gave me a fashion show. She wasn’t sure which outfit she should wear so I was the judge. We decided on black pants and a maroon V-neck top. Monika sat in the bathroom with us just watching.
After filling our stomachs with sandwiches, we finally left for the night to begin. First we took the bus to a neighborhood were George’s grandmother lives. He ran to the flat to get the key while Ania and I sat on the bus bench talking about accidents. There were ambulances flying through the streets all night tonight. On the bus ride over, we witnessed a collision on the road. When George came back we took the bus to KFC where we met up with Justine. There were so many boys waiting outside of KFC for girls. We walked over to the near-by bar to grab a beer before the club.
At the pub I met a guy named Daniel. He was tall, dark, and handsome. I honestly couldn’t remember his name no matter how many times he told me. While we talked in the hallway, he kept playing with his thick brown hair. I could tell he was nervous by the way he was rambling. We talked about America…well rather he couldn’t stop talking about America and himself. He told me he wants to live in Alaska, become an architect, and hitch hike to England from Poland. I think I learned his entire life story within that hour and the only thing he knows about me is that I am an exchange student from America living in Poland for the year. It was definitely an interesting conversation.
When we left the pub to go to the club, Centrala, Daniel was trying to persuade me not to go with Ania. He kept saying I could go out with him, but I just wanted to have a good time with Ania and her friends. Outside the club there was a long line of people waiting to go inside. At the back of the line, I talked to Ola and Justine. They were at Ania’s Halloween party and they are extremely nice girls. I found out that I have a lot of things in common with Ola and that they are really easy-going girls. George walked to the front of the line to his buddy, the security guard, and got us inside immediately.
Once inside the club, I ran down the stairs and straight to the bathroom. I really had to use the toilet. Ola, Justine, and I fixed our hair in the mirror while 15 year old girls passed a bottle of alcohol around. The girls were falling all over each other and being obnoxiously loud.
On the dance floor the music was techno and electronic so it was hard to dance along. People were bumping into each other and it was a cramped dance floor. After “dancing” for five minutes, we decided to buy a drink. When we finished our 10 zł drink, we hopped right back on the floor to dance. They, thankfully, changed the DJ so better songs were playing. I had so much fun dancing with the girls. Some 16 year old boys came up to Ola and I to dance with us, but when he heard us speaking English he got extremely nervous. We danced with the boys for two minutes when I gracefully announced I would rather just dance with Ola. Ola and I need men instead of boys going through puberty.
While dancing I saw Adam, Ola (my host sister’s best friend), and Andrzej. They came up and hugged me hello. They asked if American clubs are better than Polish clubs and laughed when I confirmed. It was nice to feel like I have real friends that say hello to me even if they aren’t forced.
The club was a dud place so we decided to leave. George took us to the Kebab place because it was good food and the only place open. While eating our sandwiches, Andrzej ended up falling asleep on the table with Kebab in hand. Ania kept screaming throughout the restaurant for him to wake up and go home. This was hilarious for the rest of us watching Andrzej.
It was a good night until my host father called for me to go home and then I realized I didn’t bring my house key. My host parents were now sleeping and I wouldn’t be able to get into the house. So we walked to Shine, the other club for 21 years and up, and met up with Agata and Aga. Agata called our mama to see if I was allowed to stay with her at the club. Mama said it was fine and I walked right into the club without paying a dime. We acted like I was already inside since it was now 2 am and they didn’t care.
I danced the whole night away with Aga and Agata. It was much better then dancing with 16 year old boys and instead 21 year old men. I hope to go to clubs with Agata again because she knows how to have fun. We didn’t arrive home until 5:30am and I was truly exhausted from dancing.
It will be a night that I never forget.
Stephanie Raquel
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