Halloween… every blog needs at least one post about it. For MM 2015, October 31^st was not just Halloween. It was a celebration of two of our classmates’ birthdays and a very hectic day at the first Career Development Programming Day (CDP). But that evening everyone got costumed up and went to kick off the celebration at Koerner’s Pub. Some of us had never celebrated Halloween before and it was a great opportunity to see what it was all about and how locals celebrate. We also went down to Granville’s entertainment district later that night and saw even more people in costumes having fun. Some were funny, others were just downright scary! Vancouver is very into this celebration and I hope to join it again next year.

If you’re looking for a scare, be sure to check out Fright Nights at the PNE. I believe it’s only opened in October so be sure to go before Halloween. I guarantee you’ll have lots of fun between the roller coasters and haunted houses.

-Parawin Adisayathepkul

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I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure this one was going to work out! The idea to have a Diwali Party came up on a Tuesday and the party was set to happen on Friday. All I could say on Tuesday was “so… what’s Diwali?” But with our curiosity and a hunger to learn about each other, MM 2015 made this Diwali a great one!

For those of you that don’t know what it is, Diwali is the Festival of Lights in the Hindu culture and an official holiday in many countries. Our Indian classmates shared how we could celebrate and everyone embraced the opportunity to do something new and fun. For our celebration we dressed up in nice and/or traditional attire (see picture above), lit up the room with lots of candles, cooked a feast, ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, and played many games. Many people brought food to share, including myself (mango lassi) and it was a great time. It was all about sharing culture, and that is something I really value in our MM cohort. As you can tell from the pictures, not everyone was dressed up, but it was something everyone, international or domestic, could rally around and just have fun. At the end of the day, that’s what matters: being open and accepting. This was one of the first international events MM 2015 held and I know there are many more to come. Can’t wait!

– Parawin Adisayathepkul

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