The most American 4th of July ever!

I have to admit that the 4th of July isn't my favorite holiday. It's not that I don't love celebrating my country and all of the traditional 4th of July activities (BBQ!), but for the last couple of years Independence Day just hasn't been that much fun for me. Exhibit A: last year I was closing a deal with some non-American clients on the 4th and ended up pulling an all-nighter, then crashing around 8am and sleeping through the entire day. Exhibit B: the year before I also spent the day working, then wondered around the East Village with my boyfriend trying to find a BBQ joint that also had AC. We failed, and ended up eating at a mediocre Italian place.

Ironically, some of my best 4th of July celebrations have occurred when I've been out of the USA since it's an excuse for Americans to all come together and revel in our Americaness. (I still remember fondly the July 4th of 2005 which I spent in Argentina: I and my American friends all took a picnic to the park and read the Declaration of Independence aloud while pelting my British flatmate with tomatos every time the document mentioned the British oppressors. Good times.)

This year I decided to go to the American Embassy's 4th of July party, which is open to anyone with a US passport. (They make a big fuss about not letting non-US citizens in, but it wasn't too hard to convince one of the embassy workers to sign in my Italian friend). 

Let me tell you, embassies sure know how to throw a great party!*

There was an awesome band, fried chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers with real beef in them (which is really hard to get in India--all of the hamburgers here are made with buffalo meat, what with cows being sacred and all), the national anthem was sung, there was a pie eating contest, groups well-muscled marines were walking around, there was a game of tug-of-war (in which said well-muscled marines got their assess handed to them by a group of better muscled folk), a face and nail-painting station for the kiddies, a congo line, a watermelon seed spitting contest, and a bouncy castle for the kiddes (um, and me). And of course, fireworks.

So yes, folks, this is what July 4th looks like outside of America.**

(Real beef! Finally!)

 

(You can always trust the kiddies to open the dance floor)

(Having to pay for beer post cover-charge? We might as well have stayed part of the colonial empire)

 

(The Americans, trying out our best American poses. On the left, the statue of liberty. On the right, a baseball player. And I'm doing my best cowgirl impression sans hat, boots, horse, or cow).

 

(Yep, congo line)

(These are the strong and brave men who guard our embassy getting whopped in tug-of-war. How embarrassing.)

 

(Ok, it's a little blurry, but that is in fact me on the bouncy castle. I snuck by the Kids Only guard when her back was turned.)

* A great party, except for the part where there was a hefty cover charge to get in the door, and then you had to pay extra for liquor and food. Aren't Americans supposed to be generous? Plus, the event was sponsored by Citibank and United Airlines--what's the point of a sponsored event if you still have to pay for food?
** Well, technically as we were on embassy grounds we were still on US soil.