5 Ways an Oz Halloween Is Different from the USA

1. Pumpkins: Pumpkin season has past here....average price per pumpkin is $25.00.

2. Weather: It is hot...low '90's today.

3. Candy: Such a healthy country! Ponygirl & Surferdude went to a Halloween party tonight. They came home full from the BBQ sausages and soda...but they had a total of 4 pieces of candy.

4. Costumes: Costumes were very hard to find. There were mostly paper masks, capes, devil horns, etc.. Therefore, costumes are mainly street clothes with some of the above additions. One pre-teen exemplifies what I am talking about...He was walking around Manly with a plastic shopping bag covered with yellow sticky notes all over his clothes, shoes and face. He was a sticky note dispenser I guess...

5. Trick-or-treating: Houses are tucked away anywhere they can build them on the Sydney shores. Around here, 1 in 10 houses put out pumpkins. Neighbors don't get together in the "cul de sac" and walk around to each others houses. Trick-or-treating is also done before dark. This probably due to the busy roads. It wouldn't be safe in the dark.

Halloween is seen as a northern hemisphere holiday. The pagan Irish celebration welcomed the arrival of Fall/Harvest. Since Australia is entering Summer, it doesn't make much sense. Perhaps the biggest reason Halloween is a dud holiday...Australia is very secular. The whole tradition of All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day has no resonance here. One cool thing is that I took the kid's annual Halloween picture on Manly Beach. How many can say they have had their Halloween picture with the Tasman Sea in the background...hmmm?

Things I like this week:

1. Coffee cafes: "Let's meet for a coffee." This has to be one of the best sentences ever uttered. They are busy all morning long. Imagine sitting outside on a beautiful Aussie day, sipping a nonfat latte with a friend. Heaven!

2. Australian nectarines, kiwi, blueberries, strawberries... If fruit isn't dripping down our chins, our family isn't happy.

Things I don't like this week:

1. The American Election: Ponygirl and Surferdude are not experts on our political system...so why do their classmates and teachers ask their opinions about our upcoming election? If they have a question ask me, not them. Better yet, if you can't vote in our election---Don't ask!!!

2. Parking: difficult, expensive and usually parallel

Happy Trick or Treating!!!!