Fourth of July

I tried to celebrate the Fourth of July as best as I could. Usually I would be vacationing for a whole week in northern Michigan with my family. Fourth of July is a wonderful, magical time of activity-packed vacation. I dare say it's even better than Christmas (if only it included my grandma's spaghetti). So Fourth of July in Rwanda had a lot to live up to.

I decided to attend the festivities at the US Embassy in the capital. For a price I was able to surround myself with other Americans, eat quasi-American food and participate in classic barbecue activities. There was volleyball, water balloons, bean bag toss. I ate a hamburger and it even had lettuce on it! The hotdogs were a little sketchier. Not quite Kowalski. Just to activate every American cell in my body, I even ate the potato salad (which I usually hate) and found it was delicious. I've been missing out all these years! The cake couldn't even be considered cake but I did pay extra to eat a chocolate apple pie that was submitted for the pie contest. I don't know if it won but it sure was delicious. Everything came with a price tag, sadly. But the ultimate highlight was the bathroom and drinking fountain. I was able to drink water straight out of the fountain without boiling it or filtering it or worrying that I would get some form of worms, etc. That moment was magical. I went back twice. I felt like one of those kids who is completely entertained for days with an empty box instead of wanting a present inside.

The pleasures of life are so simple here. Tap water has become my favorite thing about America.