Spooky Bhutan!

The night of the play performance happened to be Halloween which, oddly, is somewhat celebrated here. Granted, it's not celebrated very widely, but there are masks and costumes available in some of the shops. It's somewhat strange for Bhutan to even marginally celebrate Halloween given that I think that it's somewhat strange for even the United States to celebrate Halloween. I mean, think about it: either the holiday has its origins in the Celtic holiday of Samhain where the Celts believed the door to the otherworld was opened and fairies entered the earthly world and dead souls departed, OR it's a Christian holiday where you pray for the souls of the recently departed. Either way, it's a far cry from kids dressing up as Superman and begging for Kit Kats door-to-door, teenagers throwing eggs at houses and smashing pumpkins, and adults using it as an excuse for drunken debauchery in hyper-sexualized attire. Then again, maybe it's not...

Anyway, Cathy threw a Halloween party and we all went and had a good time. Here are the pictures:

Our costumes: Emily is a nurse and I'm a Western tourist in Bhutan.

Arun goes with the classic Halloween costume: homeless guy. 

Chris and Liz as Jack & Jill O'Lantern. 

Samir as a Hawaiian tourist, Suraj as Death, Kimi as a witch, and Arun. 

Doug is most definitely NOT David. 

Creepiest costume prize goes to Jeff. 

Janet as a sunflower, Deb as Antipholus of Epehsus (his play character),
Liz, and Doug (not David). 

Arun knows how to party all by himself. 

Someone came as an Atsara. Notice the penis for a nose. 

Chris provides the jam. 

The two witches consult: Sue and Kimi. 

Emily checks Death for signs of life. 

Dancing and signing. 

Crouching nurse, hidden Jack O'Lantern. 

Emily's mantra (actually, it's Arun's sign). 

Samir's all partied out.