4th of July Abroad!

A traveler can emerge themselves into any number of cultures or countries, but in the end of the day there is and always should be sense of pride for your native country.

I have had some interesting 4th of July's in the past, with my favorite being in Kampala, Uganda. After searching around all day I found the most patriotic thing I could. Eagle Beer! Sharing them with some locals at a bar and expressing myself as a United States citizen in East Africa, during President Obama’s election campaign, resulted in holiday to remember.

This year was no different, back in South Korea trying to maintain my American customs.
We had a classical rooftop barbecue rounding up any ex-patriots we could, drinking beers, smoking import cigars, and shooting off Roman candles into the rainy Korean night sky! It was by no means a glamorous 4th of July, but just as fun as home, being surrounded by other ex-patriot friends representing all corners of the United States.

The following day during the 4th of July in Western Hemisphere times, we also felt the need to celebrate in accordance with everyone else in the United States. The questionable nature of being able to purchase extremely cheap fireworks at grocery stores, gas stations and elsewhere surpassed our better judgment. 

We carelessly embarked on a second night of rooftop fireworks and beer. After a firework exploded in one friends hand as well as my face; accompanied by Koreans yelling at us in Korean from their windows; we relocated to the local park. There, we set off a makeshirt fire display of over 30 fireworks over a 15 minute period, finishing just seconds before police showed up.

We may not live in the United States but we still maintain pride in our homeland on the otherside of the world!