I went down to the parking lot last night, when suddenly I heard loud cries of, “ANNA!” “ANNA!” “ANNA!” “ANNA!” “ANNA!”
I was swarmed by the resident children of our apartment complex. They had painted their faces white with black and red splotches.
They said excitedly, “Today in your country there is one…Halloween? A holiday?”
“Yes!” I laughed, “Are you ghosts?”
They exclaimed in the affirmative and made “scary” faces at me. As I left them they called after me, “Happy Halloween!”
I wished I had candy to give them!
I’m not a fan of Halloween, but it warmed my heart to the core to have these kids enthusiastically try to connect with me and show what they knew about my culture.
I sincerely wish more people would reach out to their foreign neighbors and try to learn things about their way of life. You never know if your foreign neighbor is feeling lonely or homesick, and even making an attempt at connecting with them might just make their day.
Anna Sojourning 