(no subject)
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I love the fanfare of it all; the one day a year I am unabashedly proud to be American. My neighborhood gets together, and we spend the whole day in each others' company. It's brilliant. We share our favorite foods, tell stories, new and old, and just enjoy the day, even if it's raining. We end it all by going to watch a local fireworks show. It's so much fun.
But, here? I've thought all day about just how lucky I am to live in America. All of my foreign friends here are fantastic. They're wonderful thoughtful people who care about our world, and want to make it better. But they don't have the same opportunities that I do at home. I got to watch four of my friends try sushi for the first time. We talked about sports, and activities we liked to do in class, and only the other Americans knew what a kayak was. A classmate was amazed that my university would offer both Korean and Norwegian, and that I would be allowed to take both. America is such a mish-mash of culture. We say it all the time, but I never thought what that meant.
For as much trouble, and imperfect, as my country is, it really is a great place to live. We just forget it sometimes. Yesterday I was huffing over Fox News (again). But, I'm going to let it slide today. We all have our differences, and we need to work on them, but at least we have the opportunity.
Have a good day all!
The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I love the fanfare of it all; the one day a year I am unabashedly proud to be American. My neighborhood gets together, and we spend the whole day in each others' company. It's brilliant. We share our favorite foods, tell stories, new and old, and just enjoy the day, even if it's raining. We end it all by going to watch a local fireworks show. It's so much fun.
But, here? I've thought all day about just how lucky I am to live in America. All of my foreign friends here are fantastic. They're wonderful thoughtful people who care about our world, and want to make it better. But they don't have the same opportunities that I do at home. I got to watch four of my friends try sushi for the first time. We talked about sports, and activities we liked to do in class, and only the other Americans knew what a kayak was. A classmate was amazed that my university would offer both Korean and Norwegian, and that I would be allowed to take both. America is such a mish-mash of culture. We say it all the time, but I never thought what that meant.
For as much trouble, and imperfect, as my country is, it really is a great place to live. We just forget it sometimes. Yesterday I was huffing over Fox News (again). But, I'm going to let it slide today. We all have our differences, and we need to work on them, but at least we have the opportunity.
Have a good day all!