So yesterday was July 4th; our first official holiday that we celebrated overseas. To be perfectly honest, I was kind of dreading it. It's kind of hard to explain. So I'll just shoot as straight as I can. I miss America. Don't hear what I am not saying though. I love where I am. I wouldn't trade where I am for anything. But living overseas has made me realize that America is the greatest country in the whole world (ok, that may be a tad of an exaggeration, but still). So for each holiday, I think about how I would have celebrated back in the States, and since that is most likely not an option here, it is easy to miss America and get a little sad.
Back in America, I never had tons of traditions for July 4th. I am pretty sure ever year of my life I did something a little different. But, each year did include some of the same things: fireworks, awesome American food, shorts, tank tops, pools, and plenty of friends and family. And as July 4th approached, I was pretty sure not very many of those things would be included in my celebration.
But you know what y'all? The Father is so gracious and blessed us with a fantastic July 4th. The day started out with me wearing a dress! Yes, I did wear pants underneath, but still! A dress!! I felt kind of American :) Our language helper showed up to our apartment, and she came bearing gifts. Let me just tell you that she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She goes out of our way to encourage us in our language endeavors. So she showed up to our apartment with two handkerchiefs for us that she thought had the American flag on it. It was so funny though because she had accidentally gotten us handkerchiefs with the British flag and the word "England" written at the bottom of it. It was absolutely hilarious. Danae and I immediately cracked up, but stopped when we saw the look on our language helper's face. She looked so upset that she had gotten it wrong. We assured her that we love England, and that even though America gained it's independence from England, that our countries have excellent relations with one another. Not to mention the Olympics are gonna be in London in a few weeks! I think she finally believed us when we showed her pictures from our recent visit to London. After she gave us our gifts, we went outside to light sparklers that she had bought for us! Nothing like standing outside looking out on our city waving around sparklers while singing God Bless America! She then taught us how to say "today is our independence day" in Malayalam. Language time was quite a success I would say.
After language was over, Danae and I gathered up some food supplies and headed over to our friends' house (they are American) for a celebration. We ate homemade muffins and hash browns, and then settled in to watch an episode of John Adams. I am sure that it was a great episode, but I fell asleep. I know, I know. Shocker. We then fixed a fantastic meal that consisted of burgers (yes, they were chicken but nonetheless, awesome), baked beans, mac and cheese, cheese dip and salsa, potato salad, and for dessert, apple fritters. While we ate, we watched the Patriot which may be one of my all-time favorite movies. I did not fall asleep this time :) It was such a good time of building one another up in the Lord and celebrating what an amazing country America is. Really, living here has made me realize how blessed I was in America, and I hope that I never, ever forget to the thank the Father who is the giver of every good and perfect gift; both for those gifts I had in America and for the amazing gifts I have here in South Asia too :).
Back in America, I never had tons of traditions for July 4th. I am pretty sure ever year of my life I did something a little different. But, each year did include some of the same things: fireworks, awesome American food, shorts, tank tops, pools, and plenty of friends and family. And as July 4th approached, I was pretty sure not very many of those things would be included in my celebration.
But you know what y'all? The Father is so gracious and blessed us with a fantastic July 4th. The day started out with me wearing a dress! Yes, I did wear pants underneath, but still! A dress!! I felt kind of American :) Our language helper showed up to our apartment, and she came bearing gifts. Let me just tell you that she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She goes out of our way to encourage us in our language endeavors. So she showed up to our apartment with two handkerchiefs for us that she thought had the American flag on it. It was so funny though because she had accidentally gotten us handkerchiefs with the British flag and the word "England" written at the bottom of it. It was absolutely hilarious. Danae and I immediately cracked up, but stopped when we saw the look on our language helper's face. She looked so upset that she had gotten it wrong. We assured her that we love England, and that even though America gained it's independence from England, that our countries have excellent relations with one another. Not to mention the Olympics are gonna be in London in a few weeks! I think she finally believed us when we showed her pictures from our recent visit to London. After she gave us our gifts, we went outside to light sparklers that she had bought for us! Nothing like standing outside looking out on our city waving around sparklers while singing God Bless America! She then taught us how to say "today is our independence day" in Malayalam. Language time was quite a success I would say.
After language was over, Danae and I gathered up some food supplies and headed over to our friends' house (they are American) for a celebration. We ate homemade muffins and hash browns, and then settled in to watch an episode of John Adams. I am sure that it was a great episode, but I fell asleep. I know, I know. Shocker. We then fixed a fantastic meal that consisted of burgers (yes, they were chicken but nonetheless, awesome), baked beans, mac and cheese, cheese dip and salsa, potato salad, and for dessert, apple fritters. While we ate, we watched the Patriot which may be one of my all-time favorite movies. I did not fall asleep this time :) It was such a good time of building one another up in the Lord and celebrating what an amazing country America is. Really, living here has made me realize how blessed I was in America, and I hope that I never, ever forget to the thank the Father who is the giver of every good and perfect gift; both for those gifts I had in America and for the amazing gifts I have here in South Asia too :).
