Stanford Stories XIII - Halloween

Some people love it, some people hate it. No, I am not talking about Vegemite, I am talking about Halloween. Also less commonly known as “All Hallows’ Eve” or “All Saints’ Eve” which should explain why it is celebrated on 31st Oct. For many Europeans Halloween might look a stereotypical American tradition that spread across the entire globe in the last decades - arguably a bit slower than certain recent viruses. However, the tradition originated in Scotland and Ireland and was brought to the US by Scottish and Irish immigrants.

My expectations for Halloween were high, especially after seeing that some of our neighbors started massively decorating their houses and gardens already in the beginning of October. Unfortunately, my expectations were a bit disappointed on “All Saints’ Eve” itself since not many kids in costumes were trick-or-treating on the streets of Menlo Park. Fortunately, we had a small and cozy Halloween party in our department including pumpkin carving and costumes. And believe it or not, even I bought a costume that I wore for our party.

After a busy working week, I am now on my way to IEEE medical imaging conference in Milano where I will see many old friends and colleagues. And, for the first time in three month also Hélène :). (This post was actually written during my 3h layover at the airport in Frankfurt). Next week, hopefully, there will be new stories and photos about “la dolce vita” (the official translation for scientific conference …;) in Italy.