Happy 4th of July!

So I found a thing...

I can't copy and paste here, but it was this post that I found, all about the 4th. I am on the far side of the planet from the USA, so 4th of July is ... just another Sunday.

I am American, however, so it's an odd position for me. I know other American expats in my small city, but it seems strange to ask "Hey, anyone have any 4th of July specials?" on a facebook forum in Vietnam. Not that there's animosity towards America, but we are a minority among expats here, so it seems presumptuous. 

South African ... Day, sure. Plenty of South Africans around!

ANZAC... You got it. (That's an Australia/New Zealand thing.) Aussies are a dime a dozen in this tourist town!

Anyway. I was reading the 9 Independence Day related questions on the above-linked post and thought how crazy my answers would sound in the US. (I'm only doing some of them. Hit the link for the full selection.)

2. Where's the nearest US flag to me right now?  

Possibly at the embassy in Hanoi? I don't know. Maybe there's one in a tourist shop in town or something, but most of those are closed these days - thanks Covid - so I have absolutely no clue. 

3. When was the last time I sang the Star-Spangled Banner?

Wow. I have probably hummed or softly sung along with it when watching some event on TV within the past five years, but actually stood and sung it at an event? I've been out of the US for five years apart from visits. Probably it's been more than five years ago.

6. I will not be toasting the US with an adult beverage today. Sundays are my longest day working online, and I do not work for an American company, so I don't have the day off. I'll drink, sure, but nothing special, and I won't be out with fellow Americans.

7. This question was about how easy/hard it is to go without access to a bank or the mail during long holiday weekends. 

To that I say, "BWAHahahahaha!" My home is in a small city in a developing country. I live on the outskirts of town, in an area that hasn't even been designated with street names. Mail. HAH! Nothing can be delivered here except food, when we provide a map-link.

8. Food-wise, my 4th will include a pizza - flat, weak, barely a pizza really. I've gotten used to the Vietnamese version of pizza. There are places that do decent American-style pizza, but they are expensive, and I'll only be grabbing a slice as I can between work, so not worth it for today.

9. The Fourth might be a summer highlight in the US, but here, we've been coping with heat and humidity for two months already. No, I have not gotten sunburned. The sun is almost directly overhead, so I stay inside the house most of the day. Bugs aren't much of a problem either. The climate keeps them docile in the summer! (plus... geckos.)

So what about you? Make me jealous! Tell me your Independence Day plans! I'd love to hang out for a cookout, sitting on the deck drinking beer, watching fireworks over the trees. 

(Last year, we were supposed to travel back to the US for an extended trip in June-July, but Covid happened, so we missed all that.)

Happy Independence Day!