Now, before we get this thing on the road, let me clarify a few things: I am a Halloween newbie. In fact, Halloween-wise, I am a complete virgin. Not only do I come from a country that doesn't celebrate Halloween, but I have never gone trick-or-treating before, nor would I know how. But nothing is worse than this: I have never EVER before tasted pumpkin in my life! To be completely upfront with y'all, I haven't come close to, or in contact with, a single pumpkin, ever. What does it feel like, how does it smell, I haven't the foggiest. My only knowledge of these elusive vegetables (or is it fruits? plants? oh dear...) has come from movies, and I am not entirely certain if there even ARE pumpkins sold anywhere in Greece.

That being said, I am absolutely fascinated by Halloween! All of my American -and more than a few Canadian and British- friends seem to have the most wonderful gatherings this time of the year, and the costume and make up is just phenomenal. Even some offices throw Halloween parties, and it is the only time of the year when you are actually allowed to call your boss a mean, old, wrinkled witch!

My deepest and most envious regret however, has always been the food. Oh My Goodness the tons of pictures featuring what is surely delicious candy, toffees, caramel apples, candy corn, and all sorts of -simply put, what seems like- roasted divinity. Every time someone showed off what new tasty explosion they've created for Halloween, I cried a little on the inside.

I made sure to express these feelings, in a much less "this person is just cuckoo" way to my Trick of Treat PLUS match. Ι was secretly hoping some good Samaritan out there would take pity on a humble Greek girl that had never savoured the simple, common, yet so baffling, tastes in life.

I hit the Jack Pot.

The first thing I got was a cooking booklet, filled with recipes for pumpkin treats. I immediately embarked on a supermarket scanning mission to locate the mysterious orange ingredient, but was getting disappointed by the minute. Yet only a couple of hours later, a new package arrived at my door... and boy did THAT contain a surprise.

On the very top, sealed in an envelope, was a message from my match. In true Halloween spirit, it was written in (true?) Halloween font, and immediately put me in a celebratory mood. However, the envelope contained more than just a letter: wrapped inside was a pair of Halloween earrings, which I of course instantly put on before I continued searching through the foamy bubbles for my prezzies.

My hand then touched something hard and metallic; my eyes goggled and my heart may have skipped a beat. I picked up the 2 cans of pumpkin as if handling a long sought-after treasure, and took a couple of minutes just looking at them, both with awe and genuine excitement. Digging even further into the package though, held another surprise: pumpkin seeds! A dozen recipes from the booklet flew through my mind, and I picked a relatively easy one (biscuits!) for my first attempt. However, I was not yet done with my gifts.

At the very bottom, were I don't even know how many Halloween treats, as if I had gone trick-or-treating myself! Ghosts, black cats, and of course pumpkins were in-between a sea of chocolate bites (of which I immediately consumed 2 -nom nom!). I admit their number shrunk significantly while I was baking my biscuits in the kitchen (I blame the ghost). I am SO going out tonight to share these with my friends -they can only have one each though, the rest are for me!

My dear ToT+ match, you have no idea how happy you have made me. You will never know what it meant to me, to get these gifts from you, a total stranger. You have opened me to a new experience, and it may not mean anything to you, but to me it is the best gift I could have ever hoped for. If your life's path ever sends you to my part of the world, I will gladly offer anything you may need, the same way you have shared a piece of your world with me.

Happy Halloween, and may we all have the most fun this year!