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!

People #AtoZChallenge

People are driving me crazy.

Which is weird, considering I am at home all the time now!

Nevertheless, I felt my heart racing dangerously as I read an absolutely INSANE conspiracy theory posted on the facebook wall of a friend from high school whom I know to be a sweet, intelligent, rational person. (I have no truck with conspiracy theorists.)

I have inherited my father's heart problems. I can't be reading inflammatory stuff that will give me a heart attack before I get out of bed in the morning! I know, why blame People? It's my own fault for opening facebook, especially before coffee. And that's the point.

I locked myself out of facebook for a few weeks recently, purely because of the People who live there. I don't mean the version of those People that I know in real life. IRL, People are generally pleasant! But, to paraphrase Shakespeare, "Facebook doth make fools of us all." It has taken a lot of strength of will for me to stop myself from responding to inflammatory posts in the past, but I have managed it.

This time, I could not refrain from responding. I love this girl. She was like a sister to me in high school. I had to tell her how sad it made me to read those opinions - which I believe were reposted from some other twit - on her wall. That's all.

Today may be the day of a purge. Time to block all the People who are proving to be a problem to my health and well-being. I might just unfollow the People who are simply sharing stupidity in their panic-induced insanity.

More often than not, I wish for solitude more than anything. People have not typically been a primary joy in my life. Why do I collect them on social media? 

I truly think I'd do well on a desert island. Who's with me?

Why Won't You Come See Me???

Got into a conversation recently about people who say they'll visit and then don't, and people who were your closest friends "back home" but when you move overseas you never see them again.

This is an expat issue. Would it be nice to see old friends? Of course. But I get it. It's expensive. And even for the friends who could afford it, or who love you enough that they might save up for it... it's not always convenient. 

Travel is inconvenient.
Packing for a trip is a pain.
Airports are crowded, and not always comfortable.
There may not be a free charging station.
Airport food is expensive and often unhealthy.
Unknown food in a foreign country is a risk!

Travel is not for everyone. 
Travel outside your home country is definitely not for everyone. 

Personally, I get a little panicked before any social event. Maybe some people get that way before they travel. 

I know a lot of my American friends who just don't think travel is safe. (not picking on Americans, but any of my friends of other nationalities are already travelers, so...)  
Flip-side: Any time I've lived in another country, they think America is unsafe! Literally. I heard that in Sri Lanka and India in the 80s, and hear it here on a regular basis. 
Pick your safe.

Even of my friends who I think would *pipe-dream* like to visit, how many have a passport? A passport card to travel within North America, maybe, but few leave the country. So if they actually made up their minds to come, they'd have to shell out about $100 for a passport before even looking at tickets. And they'd have to do that months before booking tickets, too, so it's a long-term commitment!


Do I have friends who could do it? Sure. But let's consider priorities:
Unless travel is a priority for you and your family, you aren't going to make this trip. Maybe the comfort of the known is where you are at your best. Even friends who take big trips annually often make the same trip - comfort of the known.

Maybe getting the kids to their favorite summer camp is a bigger deal than showing them the wider world. I don't get that, but I won't judge. I'm not a parent.
 
For years, I lived on the East Coast while my family lived in the Midwest. My vacation time was usually spent visiting them. America is a big country. For families that are spread out, visiting a friend in a far-off land just isn't a priority.

Besides, America is big. REALLY BIG! Unless you live on the west coast, flying to China is a LLOOOONNNNGggg trip. It's actually really annoying, to be honest. You have to have a major sense of adventure to do this.

My brother's family lived in Turkey for 7 years. For 7 years, I intended to visit, but couldn't afford it, couldn't afford it, couldn't find the time... and I only got there weeks before they moved back to the US! There is a lot that goes into international travel, and I will not ever begrudge my friends who "intend" to visit but can't make it happen.

Life is hard.
Travel is good, but not easy.
Pick your hard.