Today we had a Halloween party for the ESS club, and we cooked cupcakes in the kitchen, ate lots of trick or treat candy, and had a great time. Pumpkins are hard to find in Japan, and they are super-expensive. A large sized pumpkin similar to what you’d find in the States can cost around $90, so I ruled that out. They have smaller pumpkins for about $20, but I think in the end I just didn’t want anybody to lose a finger trying to carve up a poor pumpkin.
This time we had a couple of teachers join us, and they watched the club tear apart the kitchen. I forgot butter, so the home economics teacher pitched in a few sticks to help out. Mr. Hayashi (actually, his wife) chipped in the cupcake mix, eggs, and some toppings. All the members brought candy and drinks, and we cooked up a storm. It was actually very easy, and a surprising amount of English was spoken.
The best part is that it creates a very relaxed environment – the students are far more comfortable speaking English. It’s a big difference from the scared students I see everyday in my class. The students did a great job, and we went through the very Japanese ritual of cleaning the cooking area thoroughly afterwards.
