So this little adventure in Mongolia has led to a lot of firsts - like my first 4th of July outside of the US. It was incredibly weird to go to work for example. In a lot of ways it was like any other work day with one exception.... lots of congratulations. Let me explain. First you probably need a bit of context - there aren't very many Americans here. A few, but while there are lots of folks from the UK and Austrailia, not a ton from the US. So people tend to know if you are American.
The other thing is that independence is still fiercely celebrated in Mongolia (first their independence from China and then becoming a democracy). I have never been congratulated more for doing nothing more than being lucky in where I was born. That said, I even got the Brits to celebrate. (Although as you can see by Adam's expression - he's not thrilled)
I mentioned in an earlier post that I had too many party supplies that I didn't want to go to waste - that plus sparklers and you have the 4th of July. I had great intentions of trying to barbeque - but that was a degree of difficulty that I just couldn't seem to manage on a school night.
Even with some pizza and drinks - folks got into the spirit. Baika went a little crazy with the sparklers!
And we had a few treats - some standbys - apple pie (ordered - I didn't try to bake), a cake and the crazy and fabulous flag made out of strawberries. Now that was a hit.
In addition, Joe did a great job with the music mix some tracks:
"Born in the USA"
"Achy Breaky Heart"
"Proud to be an American"
and a proud selection of bubble gum pop. The crew here knows me well.
Here is Taylor proudly with her cake. While the other folks were up for a party - it takes an American girl to get properly excited about a flag on a cake.
Now, please do enjoy a few pictures from the festivities.
Sparklers! Who doesn't love them! Plus a bonus - we didn't burn the building down.
Seriously - probably a dumb thing to have fire in an apartment building.
A better shot of the berry-cool flag (see what I did there?)
Too bad no one like it. :)
It was great - and everyone was fantastic in helping me bring a little bit of home to UB.
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