4th of July has always been such a fun summer holiday. To me it is a celebration of everything I appreciate - my freedom, my family, my friends, my country, summer, good BBQ food, and just life in general. Growing up we always spent the holiday with family hanging out by a pool, eating BBQ, throwing things at people until someone got hurt, celebrating summer birthdays (I always loved that part) and setting off backyard fireworks and sparklers.
This is the first 4th that I haven't been in the USA - and it's weird. It was actually yesterday for me...and it passed quietly. A few of us went out to dinner for fun, but beyond that, nada. Don't worry, I repped it at school by wearing red earrings, a white shirt, and blue jeans, but I don't think anyone understood. haha. It was just weird not to see fireworks stands, flag t-shirts for $5 at Old Navy, grocery stores with sales on typical 4th of July foods, etc. It's little things like that that you don't realize are so familiar and wonderful until they aren't there.
Being in Korea has made me much more appreciative and proud of my country. Although it probably contributes to it, I don't think it's merely because I'm away from it. In the first few weeks of orientation and moving here, I was hit with negative comments about the US and Americans not from Koreans but from other foreigners. While I'm quick to admit that the USA is definitely not without many, many problems, and that Americans sometimes fit the stereotype of being loud, over confident, etc. it really bothered me when I heard negative comments. It still bothers me. Sometimes (often) I feel as if it's a lose-lose situation for Americans abroad. Negative comments/stereotypes are said and if we stay silent, I feel as if we're just accepting it and almost encouraging it. However, if we speak up and either A. ask them to please stop because it offends us or B. defend our country we are either told A. they're just joking and to lighten up (riiight - joking) or B. it looks as if we're feeding into the stereotype of being overly confident. blah. It's just so frustrating to me. While I may not fully agree with everything our government decides to do, I fully support our country and am especially grateful to those who have dedicated part or all of their lives to defend the US in the military.
So as cheesy as this is, I'm proud to be an American.
To lighten up after that serious note, please enjoy this hilarious video from my 4th of July last summer. This was in the backyard of a family in Yreka, CA and it's all of the Kidder Staff of 2010 watching. Leadership put together this hilarious production in about 5-10 minutes and it was sooo fun. Enjoy and Happy 4th of July!!
Fondly named "A Patriotic Demonstration"
UPDATE: My family was all (well minus a few) together today and because it's finals and I had a half day of work, I was able to skype with them before they went outside to do fireworks. As usual, it was SO good to talk to them. My family is seriously the best at making a person feel loved and missed when he or she can't make it to a family gathering! We usually celebrate my birthday on 4th of July (since it's July 21 and we do all summer birthdays in the fam on the 4th) so they even put the computer next to everyone else who was sung to and I "blew" out the candle via skype! haha! To be expected, it made me miss home even more, but was totally worth it. Here are a few screen shots I took of the skype video! Love you family - you're amazing (even when you do tease me with strawberries and pound cake!)
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| as they're singing Happy Birthday! |
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| Josiah! He loves his Aunt Rachel even over Skype! |
I loved reading this entry Rachel! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat entry, Rach!
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