Independence Day

Well, today was my first Independence Day spent away from the USA.

It was definitely an interesting day – I had been thinking about what it might be like for a few days, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

This morning I donned my red shorts and blue shirt. That alone made the day different – I usually don’t think about the holiday enough to coordinate my outfit for it. But I was curious to see how many people noticed/did the same.

I did see one person at breakfast that gave me a funny look, but no one dressed as blatantly in red, white, and blue as me.

To be fair, though, I wasn’t exactly walking around all day. I actually wasn’t even on campus most of the day. Dr. Kang and I biked to the CAU (Chinese Agricultural University) in the morning because he was giving a test there, and I could visit JoAnn (BR Intern there). Based unfairly on the short time I’ve spent there, I don’t think there are quite as many international students as at PKU.

So I celebrated the Fourth of July by sitting around eating watermelon and speaking a lot of English with another American. Not a bad way to spend any day.

The 4th of July is not usually high up on my list of favorite holidays – I get more excited about St. Patrick’s Day. I enjoyed going to watch fireworks and eating with my family, of course, but I had little interest in the holiday itself. In fact I’d often get annoyed with the antics of overzealous patriots.

Now, I did not go running down the street singing the Star-Spangled Banner, but I did spend a great deal of time thinking about what it means for me to be an American, and exactly what I value most about my country. And I was able to do this from a perspective of one who is not living in an American lifestyle.

And maybe that’s the most patriotic thing I could have done.

(I know this because last night 3 spirits and Nixon’s ghost came and showed me the true meaning of Independence Day. ☺)

Have a terrific Fourth, everyone! Eat an extra slice of pie for me!