Halloween in China

Halloweeeeeeen...

Mmm.  This has got to be one of my favorite holidays.  Actually, if it wasn't for Christmas being so darn full of family, friends, and fun, Halloween would be my fave.  Unfortunately, this year I couldn't dress up as my customary Jedi because I left that costume at home.  I was forced to be creative (alas!) and think of a new idea. *sigh*  As much as I love making costumes for Halloween, I also love being a Jedi an awful lot.  But I did have a ton of fun doing something different for a change.  Prompted by my recent obsession with the musical CATS, I decided to be one of those furry felines.  It would be a fairly simple costume to assemble, and as resources and funds are limited, this was a good choice.  Can anyone say alliteration?  Furry, felines, fairly, funds... haha.  I'm a nerd. 

Moving on...

To start off, I put my hair in sponge rollers last night to get the needed volume for my big 'do.  Rollers out: just call me Shirley.

Since Halloween is a holiday most worthy of going all out, I dyed my contacts yellow (a la food coloring) to be more cat-like.  I did my own makeup. *takes a bow*  Pretty hot, eh?

From left to right: Tawny as a vampire, Heather as a witch, Paige as the Grudge girl, Cherstan as a vampire as well, and moi.  The Bond Language Institute hosted a big Halloween party for the students and their parents.  We helped out with games and a group of us even performed the Thriller dance for the guests.  As I am the one who taught the dance to the teachers, they made me be the lead dancer. >_<  I didn't mind, though.  It was fun.

Heather's contacts, which we also dyed, turned out fabulous.  We gelled, ratted, and baby-powdered her hair to make it look that gross.  

Witchy Heather and me on the bus.  Halloween isn't a big holiday here, so the group of us were stared at even more than usual on the way to the school.  I totally took advantage of it and hammed up the part, meowing and walking cat-like everywhere.  Allow me to point out my collar, which I made out of felt, brads, and eraser tops cut off and covered in gold foil.

Ok, so there are a lot of pictures of me, but really, I looked awesome!  Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year, and I love going all out.  

We decided that I was Heather's black cat.

Group photo!  This is most of the girls that teach at my school and live in my hall (and a few who don't).  I love you, guys!   

Dressed up as Indians, Sara and Breanne were definitely some of the more tame partygoers, as far as costume goes.

Why a vampire would be snacking on another of her kind is beyond me... and Tawny just looks stoned or something. ^_^

80's exercise instructor Shelby.  Unfortunately, her neon pink leggings are not visible in this picture. 

Paige's contacts were quite frightening, as was the rest of her makeup.  She originally wanted to be a banshee, but when we realized how much she looked like the Grudge chick with the makeup on, we decided that's what she would be. 

Tara (Cleopatra) and her mom pose for a picture.  Laurie, Tara's mom, is visiting for a few days.  She arrived in Zhongshan from Hong Kong just a few hours before our party and Tara picked her up from the port.

Jessie poses as Batgirl.  Her costume was so creative and cute.

Amy's goal for Halloween was to dress up as a dragonfruit.  I think she nailed it.  Notice the actual fruit on top of her head...

The Geek Squad pose for a creepy photo.

Brighton came to the party without dressing up (who does that at a Halloween party?), so we painted her face like a mime's as a last-minute solution to her lameness problem.

All in all, this year's Halloween was a blast.  The day ended on a bit of a downer, though.  As per my nightly routine, I went to the school track to run a few miles followed, up with a few minutes on the rowing machine.  When I got out of the machine, I slammed my shin against the bar, which hurt.  A lot.  I limped very painfully up the four flights of stairs back to my apartment to discover that I now sport a bruise/goose egg the size of a football. *reaches for the ibuprofen* So much for running every night.  Looks like it's going to be long pants and knee socks for a few weeks.