Independence Day

July 4 - We had a community party at the school. All of our host families came out and sampled various American deserts such as apricot-cherry crisp (the closest we could get to a pie here) and brownies and cookies with ice cream on top. Not sure whether or not they really liked the food. Sometimes they seem weary of trying new things, although my spaghetti seemed to be a hit with my family. After that we held a bobbing for apples contest which was pretty hilarious. I got some video of the rules being translated into Armenian on my camera. The girls were interested in playing, but all of the adults stood in a huge circle far away from the center of the game. Then we went to the field in the back of our school and taught the kids red rover and freeze tag. By that time, other village children came out to play and there must have been about eighty people across the field. We had sparklers for twilight and had a little sparkler party with about forty-five of the kids in the end. Next day some of our buddies from the other villages came over to Elliott's house for a nice 4th of July on the 5th of July BBQ.

This Independence Day meant more to me than any other one I've ever celebrated, naturally. Especially when I think about how lucky I am that I even have the opportunity to travel to other countries, to get out and see the world. And that I don't have to spend three weeks at a time stuck in the boundaries of my house cleaning and cooking all day long, from seven in the morning until eleven at night. America is a beautiful place and we are lucky that we respect and preserve the beautiful land we live in.