Many of our friends and family have asked what we could possibly do to celebrate America’s Independence Day – in Russia. You would be surprised…Of course everyone had to work like any normal day. All the petitioning of the Kremlin could not get expats a little July 4th leniency. And yet, the holiday did fall on a Monday this year. If being foreigners celebrating a foreign holiday in a foreign land is traditionally frustrating – we had a three-day weekend this year to compensate. In retrospect, we may have over-compensated.
Saturday was the American Women’s Club picnic. Think softball games, barbecue, potato salad, watermelon and (bad Russian) beer. It honestly felt like, somehow, we recreated a little of home in a Russian park.
On the actual 4th, the day started with a reception at the American Ambassador’s house. It was not a small, intimate event but a party of at least a few hundred people. I have never been to a July 4th event in the States that was quite so elaborate. There was a band, flown in from North Carolina just for 24 hours -- your US tax dollars at work. The entertainers sang country music and if I closed my eyes long enough I might have thought I was home in Ohio. But all I needed to do after that was open up and get a look of the Russian appetizers: little shrimps perched on a dollop of sour cream and a dash of mint balanced on a mini toast. Way more like wedding reception cocktail hour than backyard barbeque. Not a cob of corn to be found. Then again, give some credit where credit is due. Lynchburg lemonades were available at the Jack Daniels sponsored bar. And I did nibble on red, white and blue sugar cookies that were scattered on the snack tables. The explanation for the non-American food might have been the fact that there weren’t very many Americans at the event. The guests represented every corner of the globe. There were military uniforms from around the world. The brass and medals were on display and quite impressive. My favorite outfit had to be the guy who looked Russian, and was with a Russian girl, but happened to be dressed like the Dalai Lama. We pondered his clothing choice for a while but came up empty-handed. There were African diplomats in colorful formal wear, an array of Russians with bad dye jobs and uncomfortable shoes and a bunch of American Embassy staff who looked miserable. I assume this was because their bosses were hovering, likely making the Jack Daniels bar off limits to them. After speeches and a little mingling we decided it was time to go….to Chilis. Yes, they just opened a brand new one in the center of the city and we felt it appropriate to go -- only because it was the 4th. After imbibing on the best margaritas in town (really they are the best I've had) we headed for a final stop at an American diner called Frendy’s. They serve American beer and Corona. The wings have real buffalo sauce on them and are actually spicy (Russians don’t like spice normally). After nachos, fried cheese, wings and burgers we rolled home around midnight. This is the overcompensation I was talking about. We paid for it with stomach aches but it was worth it…for one day of the year. We missed you America but tried to make you proud from here.
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