We used to talk more, didn't we?

Yes, we did. Alright, look. Yes, I promised in that video thing that I was gonna start posting regularly again, but here's the thing; that was a horrible, horrible lie. Sometimes the camera makes me say crazy things, make promises I can never possibly keep, that sort of thing. Once, I was caught on camera stating in all seriousness that I planned to build a life-sized replica of the Louvre entirely out of cottage cheese. I am back again, though, hopefully this time for good. However, not being on camera right now, I don't really feel like making any promises.


This is all assuming that anyone is even still checking for updates. If you are, drop me a comment; I'd love to know if this blog has turned into just so much shouting into dead space.

In any case, I shall continue writing, just as I continued trying to make bricks out of cottage cheese, even after I knew the effort was futile. This past weekend, we put on the Halloween party for elementary school students, and overall I'd say it was pretty successful. We started off by introducing ourselves to all of the kids one by one in English, which meant that absolutely none of them knew anything about us by the time we were done talking. Not that it really mattered anyway. James revealed at the end of the introductions that he was dressed as Spiderman, and that seemed to make them pretty happy.

After the introductions, it was time for costume construction. The children were given paper plates, colored paper, crayons, and scissors, and then were set loose to bring their dark and twisted designs to fruition. I actually found myself being surprised at just how creative these kids were with the materials we gave them. There was, for instance, a boy who used his materials to make a quite proficient version of the Halloween classic, "Cat With Crab Claws and Angel Wings". Truly it was a sight to behold.

It was also interesting to see what these kids were familiar with. It was really odd seeing these Japanese schoolchildren, most of whom can't have been born before the year 2000, walking around with Jack Skellington masks and arm patches. It was also awesome.

After costume construction, the kids broke up into groups of six and the ALTs all went to their different stations; this was where it was my turn to shine. There were three different rooms where stuff was going on, with ALTs and BOE employees evenly distributed throughout all of them. There was a games room, a trick-or-treat room, and a haunted house. Jake and I had been in charge of designing and assembling the haunted house, and we were prepared. I would describe it to you, the terrible result of our mad scheming, but it's possible that mere mention of the horrors that lay within may be enough to scar your mind. Fear not, for I am not so cruel a man.

The first group of children to go through the haunted house seemed to enjoy it well enough, although I wouldn't exactly say that they were scared. The problem was really with one kid who was probably to old to be there in the first place; I'm not entirely sure how he got in. In any case, this one kid wasn't scared of anything, and it made the experience less frightening for everyone else. It's just kind of hard to be scared of a monster that gets headbutted by a child and then stands there looking bewildered.

In defense of our haunted house, every group that came after that first one was scared of it. And when I say that, I mean it; they were actually afraid of the house itself. Many of them refused to even set foot in the first room. Those that did usually didn't go any further, and at least one or two left in tears. I'm not entirely sure whether I should be proud or ashamed. Regardless of how I feel about it, I'd at least say we succeeded in creating a frightening haunted house. Out of the thirty or so children who were at the party that day, about ten of them actually made it as far as my station in the third room.

I mean sure, one of those ten headbutted me, but I still like to think those are pretty good numbers.