The main excitement of week ten for me was Embassy Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. Since I heard about it I looked forward to it, and it was really cool. It was fun to get to see all the embassies, as well as the reactions on people’s faces to the large groups of costumed college students walking around all afternoon. We were greeted warmly at the embassies we came to and received lots of compliments on our costumes. Wearing my Russian Ground Forces uniform, complete with gas mask, I got quite a few comments from embassy personnel, as well as several people on the street. In one embassy they took my picture, and in the South Korean embassy a man put a Snickers bar in my hand, clasped them together, shook my mask a bit, and exclaimed, “Holy shit!” I think we were both quite amused, he by the unexpected appearance of a fully-uniformed Russian soldier, and I by his reaction. One thing I was set on doing that day was going to the Russian Embassy to see what their reaction would be to my uniform. After several hours of bad directions and searching, I finally made it there with an exhausted Gunperi in tow. It was by far one of the biggest embassies in D.C. I knew they weren’t giving out candy, but I had hoped to see the reactions of the Russians and get a picture. I didn't see any embassy personnel outside, but I can bet all the guards were looking at me through the one-way glass windows in the guard building wondering what this American was doing. We went to take a picture, but were told it was not allowed by a voice over a small speaker near the entrance. I guess the fact that they used aggregate as a siding material is considered a state secret.
-Gregory Proulx
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