Halloween

I didn't get on the flight to Wuhan today. I got to the airport 20 minutes too late and the only option I had was to delay my schedule another day. I looked at it as my practice run. This was also my first time on the bus on my own to and back from the airport. When I came back to the apartment my uncle was watching the TV show Supernatural and mom was trying to nap. Yay! Another day in Shanghai! And I better get my act together tomorrow and get on that plane :)

Yesterday was Halloween. I didn't think there would be any kind of festivities here. I was half wrong. We were at Xintiandi last night, which was an equivalent to a unique combination of Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade and Pasadena Old Town and Universal City Walk and The Grove with a dash of historical Chinese landmark buildings and structures. Even though there weren't trick-or-treating kids or candies being given or exchanged, there were many staffs who worked at the bars and restaurants dressing up to be taken pictures with the crowds. And speaking of crowds, wow, they just kept on coming. Hundreds and hundreds of people. After having a big meal at Ding Tai Fung (yes it's that very popular Taiwanese dumpling house franchise), we went people watching and latte-ing at Coffee Beans & Tea Leaf (yes another big franchise). The street lamps were decorated with Halloween theme shades, the windows and trees had corps and props hanging over and spiderwebs spreading over as well. There were foreigners taking pictures, and of course regular Chinese folks doing the same. My godmother's daughter was sort of dressed to the night, wearing a red cape with a free witch hat from the stores. People took pictures of her too. It was a festive evening, but I wondered if anyone there knew what Halloween was about. I mean, even I don't know the story exactly.