Happy Birthday America

This is my third 4^th of July in five years that I have spent it out of the US of A. For a number of reasons it always makes me homesick. The first reason is that I never celebrate on the actual 4^th of July. Celebrations typically take place the weekend before or after. Second, I always have to work. Third, I don’t normally get to eat hamburgers, potato salad, or other great BBQ eats!

For the all the reasons spending the 4^th of July out of the US sucks, there is an aspect that makes it really fun, the patriotic feeling of being American in a foreign country. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason I feel more patriotic than I do when I am in the States. I typically try to avoid telling people I am American because of our stereotypes abroad but today I feel a pride that I typically don’t feel. Today, July 4^th, I am proud to be an American.

Often times it is also an opportunity for cultural exchange. My good friend who is German is totally surprised by how seriously Americans take Independence Day. She said that Germans typically don’t do anything and then followed up by saying, “maybe out history has something to do with that.” In Guatemala, many of my friends and colleagues thought Americans didn’t do enough to celebrate our independence. I guess it just depends on who you ask whether we do our independence day justice.

So as much as it sucks spending the 4^th of July out of the US, I have to say it is always interesting and different!