MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Sailors and Marines dressed as convicts, pirates and witches climbed up a small staircase leading into a classroom filled with eager young children.
As they stepped into the classroom armed with bags of candy and cookies, the children screamed out in excitement and wonder.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Ruiz Avelardo, station religious programmer, stood in front of the children disguised as a fierce werewolf.
Some of the children timidly hid behind their braver classmates as Avelardo clawed at the air and let out a threatening growl.
Other children laughed and giggled as they jumped up and down ready to start playing with Avelardo and the other service members who came with him.
Approximately 10 station service members visited the Japanese students of Midoro Hoiken School in Iwakuni, Oct. 26.
They spent the morning with the children playing games and teaching them some of the Western traditions of Halloween.
Avelardo said their visit to the school was a great way to build stronger ties with the community while sharing some of the American culture with the children.
“(When the children go home) they’re going to be talking about Halloween,” said Avelardo. “They’re going to be talking about how we came, gave them candy and taught them how to celebrate Halloween.”
The service members removed their masks and introduced themselves to the children.
The smiling students stared with wide-eyed wonder as the service members removed their costumes.
“The children have been looking forward to the service members’ visit,” said Ayaka Kobayashi, a Midoro Hoiken school teacher. “They‘ve been learning about Halloween since yesterday. The children think it’s awesome that the Marines and sailors have come to teach them about Halloween.”
Many of the children had not seen anything like what they saw that morning.
“We don’t really have such customs in Japan like Halloween,” said Kobayashi.
Having the service members come and share something new, like Halloween, is a wonderful way to open the children’s minds to the different ways of other cultures, she added.
The service members stood in front of the class and tried to teach the children about trick or treating.
The sailors and Marines tried to encourage the children to repeat after them by counting to three and yelling out, “trick or treat.”
At first, the children stared at the Marines and sailors with smiling, confused looks on their faces.
After practicing a few times, the children caught on and started to repeat in unison, “trick or treat.”
Once the children learned their new phrase, the games began.
Teachers began playing music and had the students walk around the classroom in a circle until the music stopped.
As soon as the music stopped, one of the service members held up a card with a number written on it and the children called out the number.
After calling the number out, they quickly scattered around trying to get into a group with the same number of people as the number on the card.
As the children got into groups with the service members, they started climbing on top of the Marines and sailors to get a closer look at their costumes.
After the games ended, the service members were separated from the students into another classroom.
Two by two the students walked into the classroom and yelled out, “trick or treat!”
With ear-to-ear smiles, the children received a fist full of candy from each service member they walked past in the classroom.
“I really had fun,” said Marin Takemoto, a six-year-old Midoro Hoiken school student. “I really liked trick-or-treating.”
Takemoto said she hopes the Marines and sailors come back to her school for another visit.
Once all the candy was passed out and the children received their fill, the service members gathered their things to return home.
As they climbed back down the staircase, the children rushed to the classroom windows to watch the Marines and sailors drive away.
After the service members stepped out of the school, they turned around and saw the children peeking through the windows waving goodbye.