“I hate Halloween,” she said.
I don’t know why, but that really pissed me off. I guess I felt like it was a matter of ignorance. Of closemindedness. And I hate when people are closeminded. But I supposed that’s one way of looking at it. You could just as easily say that many Japanese people are simply conservative, modest, shy, cautious of the unknown, or a combination of those traits.
Still, it pissed me off. This mopey brat, if she wasn’t a complete introvert, was probably going to end up clubbing in Sakae 6 or 7 Halloweens from now in a slutty fairy or witch costume. But I’ve revealed a lot in my bitterness, haven’t I? They’re just young teenagers who hate everything, hate standing out, hate all the pressure they’ve been given to get into a good college, and certainly hate the extracurricular of learning English to do so. They’ll grow out of it some day.
But the thing that really gave me peace was realizing this: I had brought joy to many children in my Anpan-man costume. To the little ones who were still young enough to appreciate the wonders of childhood. I brought smiles to their faces. I made them laugh. I swang them around by their arms, as Kristin taught me, and they begged me to swing them around again and again. Maybe these Japanese children will always remember this. And maybe they will grow up loving Halloween and the merriment that it brings… =)
