We'd been told that we should find the nearest consulate and go for a 4th of July party: the admission ticket is your US passport, and inside it's all hotdogs and fireworks. US inside, India outside. Headtripariffic. Sadly, the nearest one is in Delhi, a 2 hour plane trip. So, instead we made due with hanging out with one of the housemates, who's all super-patriotic (he spent an hour drawing a flag and the message "Happy Birthday America" with dryerase markers on a window in the office), and drinking shitty vodka mixed with Minute Maid pulpy orange drink. It's not orange juice, but it's better than Sunny Delite. It's like Orangina without the carbonation. Not too bad, really. And we set off two leftover streamer/confetti poppers leftover from my birthday. Yay. We could've gone to buy what would be really illegal fireworks in the old city, but noone thought about it. This is the youngest housemate, Lance, an easygoing, Chinese-American former frat dude programmer who went to school at UC Davis. He grew up in Chinatown, and during the course of several drunken conversations has revealed his relative comfort levels with Mexicans and Chinese people (high) and Whites and Blacks (ok for middle class folks, really not with poor poeple). Talking about race and class and gender here and at home (ie: who gets stared at, why, how women dress, immigrant parents, school, neighborhoods, food) over many vodkas was an amusing and I think appropriate way to spend Fourth of July abroad. He's close to 10 years younger than we are, and he reminds me of my brothers in some ways I can't quite pin down.
I've been reading the NYT online as well as the BBC. I'm floored (and yet somehow not suprised) at Bush's latest "I AM THE LAW" shenanigans. I found this commentary cheering somehow, and it reminded me of why I wanted to be a good citizen when I was a kid. (Hat tip to Bitch PhD) I loved the idea of patriotism, even if it makes me a little bit squirmy now. Still, I wonder if anyone actually saw this on TV? Or did they air it at 2am?
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Okay it's crazy you put that utube news bit on your sight. Brad just played it for me yesterday and we were loving it! Not that it will make any difference (she says cynically and with a genuine sense of disillusionment).
CG
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