Halloween Costume 08

The single biggest improvement to my Halloween lessons this year was my costume. Last year, I had nothing: no inspiration, no motivation, and thus no execution. I ended up wearing nothing special for the classes, something I almost immediately regretted. I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but I come up with the best Halloween costume ideas... in June. I get some of my best ideas at the completely wrong time. Lazy as I am, I don't write it down, and I find myself going nuts come October. Two years ago I created a Beetlejuice costume, the product of about two months of work.

This year, I made sure to jot down that summertime breakthrough. I decided to go as Harry Potter. I highly doubt I'd have tried this costume back home, because a) it's too common and b) I don't bear much likeness to Daniel Radcliffe. Here, however, I wanted something popular, easily recognizable, and requiring some creativity. Harry Potter was what I arrived at.

As I figured it, the costume consists of seven parts: the robes, the hair, the glasses, the shirt, the tie, the wand, and the scar. The robes mostly covered up my pants, so wearing my plain black work trousers was fine. Shoes were irrelevant, as everyone in the school wears a pair of indoor shoes.

Robes: UGA graduation gown--you'd be surprised how well it works, especially in a country where nobody wears cap and gown.

Hair: I let my hair grow out for about two months, and practiced (yes, practiced) getting the disheveled look right.

Glasses: This was probably the hardest part to track down. I wanted perfectly circular frames. I went to every optometrist and eyeglass shop I could find, but nobody was selling that style. I ended up explaining my situation to one of the shopkeepers, and he showed me a drawer full of old frames. I found the right pair, and he didn't even charge me anything.

Shirt: Oxford shirt, with the top and collar buttons unfastened

Tie: Cord mailed me his Gryffindor tie

Wand: Unable to find a holly sapling suitable for felling, I bought a three-foot dowel at a local store for about a dollar, sawed it down to the requisite eleven inches, colored the handle with a brown marker, and sanded the tip for a slight tapering effect.

Scar: I bought a $1 makeup kit, and used a q-tip to apply foundation in the right shape at the right place.

I decided to wear it on the last day at each school before Halloween. I came to school wearing black trousers and an Oxford shirt--essentially what I wear every day--and carrying a nondescript shopping bag, in addition to the usual pumpkins and candy. Just before class, I put on the rest of the costume, and made a casual beeline for the classroom. Everyone instantly recognized me, which was a relief: I'd been dreading the possibility that nobody would get it. They loved everything, especially the wand, and only a few noticed the scar, which produced a gratifying gasp of recognition.

Students ran up to take pictures with me, using cell phones they're not supposed to have at school. More surprising, though, was that several teachers asked to take pictures with me, too. My favorite part of the day, though, was walking around during lunchtime and hearing 17-year-old senior boys yelling "Expecto patronum!" and "Wingardium leviosa!" across the school at me.