"God bless America, land that I love...."
I have never experienced such a great sense of pride in my country and my freedom then I did celebrating Independence Day outside of America. While living in the U.S., the Fourth of July wasn't a huge deal to me. I always took it for granted that we would have a barbecue, swimming and of course, some fireworks! This year we did not have that guarantee, but we certainly showed our pride in our own country over here in Thailand! When we were on campus at Bang Na with our American flag bandannas on our heads, a Thai student walked over and asked us if we were, in fact, Americans. When we said yes, he replied with a giant grin on his face with, "Happy birthday!!" Later, when I went to Grandma's for dinner, she wished us a "Happy America Day!" It was great to see how happy the Thais were to see us celebrating our own country.
On the Saturday after July 4th, our entire group went to the American Chamber of Commerce Independence Day party. Our tickets were paid for through our program, and we all got to have a day full of the typical American Fourth of July things- hot dogs, hamburgers, Dairy Queen ice cream, and even some American beer and wine (a big improvement from what we've found in Thailand) We had such a fantastic day meeting other Americans living in Bangkok, and showing our American pride. It's also probably the first and last time we will ever see that many farangs (white people) in one place in Thailand, too....
Barack and Michelle made an
appearance in Bangkok....
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