Halloween

In October, Germans tell us how Halloween gets more and more popular with each passing year. "Five years ago," they say, "you never heard about Halloween. Now there are Halloween decorations and candy in the stores, costume parties and some towns even have...what do you say....trick-or-treating!"

There is a section of new town homes in Liederbach loaded with kids where trick or treating is very popular. Emilie and Becca went ringing doorbells there last year, saying not "Trick or treat!" but rather "Süßes oder Saures!" (Sweet or Sour!). We were invited to the Siedlung this year, the Frankfurt compound where American government workers live.

I didn't think twice about letting Emilie dress up in a Native American costume. A week later, however, I was rethinking her choice. I listened to a podcast about when Halloween costumes cross the line from funny to offensive. I thought people would be discussing dressing your five-year old up in a short French maid outfit. Instead, the woman being interviewed said, "I cannot fathom why a parent today would allow their child to dress up as a Native American, letting centuries of Native American culture, actually hundreds of distinct cultures, be whittled down to a brown, fringed shirt and tacky face paint."

Yowsa! Gosh, we had the costume because one of Micaela's favorite books and one I remember reading as a child, too, was Island of the Blue Dolphins, the classic children's novel based on the true story of a young Nicoleño Indian girl left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island, off the coast of Southern California. All the students in Micaela's grade had to read a book and then dress one day as a character from that book. It was with pride and admiration that Micaela wore that costume. Most of Emilie's knowledge of Native Americans comes from the animated Pocahontas, but she still wore the costume with a sense of admiration for another culture, not to disrespect it. The strong opinions on that podcast might make me rethink such costumes in the future, though.

Rebecca is Sleeping Beauty, a safe choice.

James. 'Nuff said.

Micaela and her friends Caitlin, Catherine and Caitlin's expat friend visiting from Vienna, as hippies.

The festivities were more subdued at the compound this year, as compared to two years ago, but some buildings still had decorations. The whole area has the feeling of a college campus. Hundreds of families as well as many single people live in apartment buildings next to playgrounds, social halls and ball fields. There was a picnic table set up in front of each building covered with baskets of treats for all the little ghouls and goblins.

People who live on the compound have commissary privileges. That means just one thing -- American treats!

One moment that haunted me for the whole night happened as our group approached a certain table. The woman manning the table pointedly said, "You may pick one treat." Just one? My eyes scanned the table. There were 8 baskets laden with treats, but my attention was drawn to the extra-large basket full of mini bags of Cheetos. Cheetos! Before I could tell Becca to take a bag of the orange-powdery puffed bits of heaven, she reached into a basket and took.....she took.....I can barely bring myself to write this.....she took a little bag of German gummi bears. German gummi bears? I can buy those at any store here! What I cannot buy are Cheetos! I whirled around to tell Emilie to get a bag of Cheetos, but she had already picked out a bag of M&Ms, another thing I can find at any German grocery store. Micaela and James were off with their friends, nowhere to be seen.

Oh, the humanity! Oh, the Cheetos! I was still talking a week later about that moment when I realized the Cheetos and I were not meant to be. At the time, I said, "Thanks a lot," to the stingy guard-of-the-table, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

Gummi bears......Why did it have to be gummi bears?....

Cool jack-o'-lanterns

Tired Becca.

When we got home, we checked out their haul. We can find a fair amount of American candy or close equivalents, such as the aforementioned M&Ms, KitKats and Milky Way bars, though they are called Mars bars. And a Three Musketeers is called a Milky Way. A Snickers bar, though, is a Snickers bar. Treats that the kids had in their bags that we cannot find here at all included candy corn, Tootsie Roll pops, Starburts, Skittles, Bit o'Honeys, Milk Duds, Reeses Pieces, and Nerds. No Cheetos.