American Independence Day

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."


- The Declaration of Independence. Signed July 4th, 1776. 

Though I was forced to spend my holiday among the Redcoats, this may have been my most patriotic 4th of July yet!

At home, it had always been about grilling hot dogs and making strawberry shortcake to me, and less about celebrating the actual day and what it means. But this year I fully understand just how wonderful and important this holiday is. What a glorious day in history! The day we become free from the British, free from England, free from saying "swimming costume" instead of bathing suit.

I woke up and read the Declaration of Independence to get in the spirit. My favorite excerpt is above. I particulary like the bits where it says "absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown."
Three cheers for that!
Hip Hip....HOORAY!!
Hip Hip.....HOORAY!!
Hip Hip.....HOORAY!!

I always try to dress like a modern day Betsey Ross for the holiday.
I have a number of red, white, and blue themed sun dresses that I rotate each year and of course I brought them to England with me. But, wearing these outfits require the weather to be a minimum of 75 and sunny, and I woke up yesterday morning to 55 and rainy. So, I had to be inventive and settle on a navy and white stripped skirt, white blouse, and bright red lipstick.

When I got to work, I made my 4th of July playlist, which included "Proud to be an American," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Empire State of Mind," and "Born in the U.S.A." and the musical stylings of Johnny Cash, among others.
I listened to this all day, and my American colleague even joined in singing along. She was clearly influenced by my enthusiasm -  because by the end of the day she stood and declared, "I'm moving back to America!!!"We treated ourselves to lunch on the company in honor of the holiday and had Red Velvet cupcakes for lunch-dessert.

But the real party began when the workday ended, as it always does.
I got together with my American friends at an "american pub" on Kings Road called Henry J. Bean to celebrate our sweet land of liberty as best we could from England.
On top of having Mississippi Mud Pie on the menu, there was a live band playing  and American flag bunting covering the inside. We loved it instantly.

My American friends here happen to be from the South. I have a Texan and a Tennessian
Also in our party was a Belgian, and our English friend who loves America. They both decided they wanted to pretend they were from Mississippi. So after a barrel of Lynchburg Lemonade, out came the accents - southern, instead of British. Something about the South seems more stereotypically American to me than any other region of the US, so I was happy to embrace it, and I done got myself a chilli cheese hotdog and curly fries fo' dinner.

While we waited for our food we played American trivia, like naming the original colonies, singing the 50 states song, and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Our food ended up taking nearly 2 hours to come, so we told the waitor what would happen in America in this situation, and he comp'ed our food and gave us another round of drinks! To which I say, God Bless America!!!

The live band was playing all my favorite American tunes, and it was only a matter of time until we were all on our feet dancing to "Sweet Caroline" and obnoxiously screaming "SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" like any good American should.

The band was actually British. But I give them an A for effort, even hough they could not play our request "Wagon Wheel" because they did not know who Tom Petty was.
So that shot down my hopes of hearing "Pretty Woman," but I was a little too far into my 4th Lynchburg Lemonade to really care. I don't think that British Band has ever seen 3 girls dance like we danced.

It was a rowdy crowd, with occasional chants of "USA! USA! USA! from the many ex-pat and american enthusiast patrons. Everyone would cheer when they spotted another native...
For example:
Person 1: "Hey - you don't sound British, are you from the US?"
Person 2: "Yeah!! Ohio!!"
Person 1: "Ohio?! YEAHHHH!!!!'
Person 2: "YEAH!!!!!!
Person 1&2: "USA! USA!USA!"

When the band finished their final tune of the night, which was the full 8 minutes 36 seconds of Don McLean's "American Pie," a group of Americans stormed the stage and started singing the Star Spangled Banner. I may or may not have been one of these Americans.... but the idea was a hit because soon the entire pub was screaming the  Star Spangled Banner like the proudest countrymen you've ever seen.

It was the perfect way to end the night. I almost felt like I was in America!
Until I got home...

One of my flatmates is Spanish, and some friends and family arrived for a visit, so I came home a living room full of Spaniards crazily speaking Spanish at each other at a speed no human could possibly understand. When my flatmate saw me she popped up and eagerly introduced me to them all in her Penelope Cruz accent,

She started with, "Anna, this is my cousin Maria."

I half expected her other cousin to be named Bernardo. Apparently, I had left the bar and walked into West Side Story.  I contemplated asking them to perform the musical number "America" with me, but decided against it. They're all from Granada anyway, not Puerto Rico.

So I started my 4th of July in England among the Redcoats and ended my day among The Sharks.
I recited several excerpts from the DOI, correctly named the original colonies, dressed in honor of Betsey Ross, ate a chilli cheese dog and curly fries, and drank alcohol out of a Jack Daniels Barrel. I sang the Star Spangled Banner, and danced to Lynyrd Skynyrd until the band quit on us, and screamed "USA! USA! USA!" more than any person ever should.
I think spending this year away has made me realize just how proud I am to be an American.

Yes, there ain't no doubt I love this land, God Bless the USA!