For a week leading up to the Fourth of July I started thinking about celebrating. Should I throw a party? Where will I get the decorations? Are fireworks legal or even sold here? I started walking up to Americans on the street (we are easy to spot) and asking if they would be in town and if they had heard of anything. I facebooked people I had never met at the suggestion of someone from Canada to try to find a grill out or something!
Anyway, morning of the 4th my neighbor Michael (from Minnesota) and I were resigned to go to the beach and make the most of our holiday. After a beautiful day in the sun and waves, we met some friends for a cheeseburger and fries and I saw a group celebrating a few tables over!
OF COURSE I recognized their Southern accents right away and walked right up and said “I’m from Little Rock!” and they cheered and welcomed me into their group, sharing their red, white, and blue bling! I’ve had some really great Independence Day celebrations, last year I was at the Nation’s Capitol watching thousands of fireworks, many years I have spent on one of Arkansas’s beautiful, natural lakes with friends and family, but there is something special about being so far away from home and feeling patriotic just by getting a little plastic flag and singing a little “And I’m proud to be an American!” with strangers from Texas!
That looks like so much fun! You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThis is all too familiar to me. My junior and senior years of college I went to New Zealand and Australia, and Paris respectively during Fall Break which fell on the Thanksgiving holiday. Both times I searched for people, restaurants, any establishment that would serve a Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate the American tradition. In France, we finally found a Hard Rock cafe that sold a Thanksgiving meal that my four friends and I had to split due to our meager cash flow at the time, but it was worth every penny.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this is Candace
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