It's been awhile but I had some time today to write and I was reminiscing about the old days. Let me tell you about my first Halloween experience. In case you forgot, this series is to recount the experiences I had my first few years in the States.
It was going to be Halloween soon, and by this time I had been in school almost 1 year and my English was getting pretty good. I understood what Halloween was by hearing about it in school. So basically, you dress up like something scary and get candy...can you imagine the excitement that went through my mind? I was 9 years old, this is the best news anyone could have told me. At first I thought this was a cruel joke that my teacher was playing on the class, but after asking my classmates I realized this was a real American holiday.
A few days before Halloween I was walking with my parents, going home from the grocery store (very close to the Magic Gardens). As I was walking I looked down and saw a $10 bill. Wow!!!! I picked it up and showed my parents. We didn't have much money back then and I didn't get any allowances (another weird concept of American culture that was foreign to me) so this $10 was a big deal. What should I buy with it? Well, it was Halloween and I didn't have a costume. So we went to K-Mart and I bought a skull mask, a sword and bucket (I still have the mask and used it for the next 5 Halloweens) all for about $8.
Now that I had my costume I was ready to go! But where? We didn't know where the candy would be, but we knew where all the people were going to be: South Street. If you don't know, South Street is the party street of Philadelphia, with night clubs, retailers, bars, restaurants, etc. Hardly the appropriate place for kids to get candy...but we didn't know these things. The next few occurrences I did not understand until I got older, but you will all understand. Keep in mind it was my first Halloween and I did not know the etiquette of trick or treating.
As we entered South Street there were a few apartment complexes so it was smooth sailing. After walking down 2 more blocks we found the party. First occurrence: I saw a guy sitting outside an apartment door with a brown plastic bag in his hand and a smoke in the other. I figured this guy was there to give candy so I went up to him and said, "Trick or Treat." He looked at me for a few seconds and laughed so I tried again, "Trick or treat." He ignored me. I tried again and this time he reached into his wallet, pulled out a $1 bill and put it in my bucket. I thought they only gave candy on Halloween. I was confused but he said, "Happy Halloween, kid. Now get outta here." So I moved on.
Second occurrence: I walked into a Chinese restaurant and went to the counter. "Trick or Treat." This did not work. The three workers behind the counter stared at me with blank faces. One was on the phone but the other 2 just stared. "Trick or treat." Not knowing what to do, I just stood and waited. "Trick or treat." Nothing happened...then suddenly one guy reached down and slid 3 fortune cookies to me. My first through was, "Finally! I just wanted candy!" My second thought was, "What the hell did he just give me?" This was my first exposure to fortune cookies.
Third occurrence: As I walked down the street I saw a woman dressed in a very small dress showing off a lot of skin standing outside a door that had purple neon lights all over it. I figured she was in her Halloween costume and giving out candy so, "Trick or Treat!" She looked at me in confusion and said that she was sorry and didn't have any candy. I didn't buy it, "Why?" She said, "Why am I here? I don't even have candy. I should just go inside." But she didn't, she just laughed and my parents pushed me forward. This was probably the most confusing occurrence.
Fourth occurrence: I walked into a Radio Shack. The store looked colorful and I figured they must have candy. It was packed with people but one guy was free so I said, "Trick or Treat." He said, "We are not giving candy...instead we are giving these Jetson Clocks." I still have that clock.
Fifth occurrence: A drunk black guy came up to us and started asking if we were Japanese. My parents said we weren't and tried to walk away but the guy kept up. I was pretty scared and confused. The guy kept talking to us and I didn't know what to do. Then I thought, this guy just wants to give me candy so I said, "Trick or Treat." Of course he didn't have any candy and some people around us were telling him to leave us alone so he walked away.
Last occurrence: At the end of the night as we were walking home we came across one of the last houses with Halloween lights. I rang the door bell and said, "Trick or Treat." A white man opened the door and behind him an Asian lady held a basket of candy. I took one and backed off. They said, "Take more." So I dug my small 9 year old hands into the basket and grabbed as much candy as I could and transferred them into my bucket. I must of grabbed half the basket. They laughed and wished me happy Halloween.
Thus ended my first Halloween. I got $1 bill, three fortune cookies, a Jetson clock, encounters with a stripper and 2 drunk men, and a crap load of candy. I did pretty well.
No comments:
Post a Comment