I love sharing stories with friends and family, au pairs and
colleagues, about the various festivities that I had the chance to
celerate during my time in the states. This Friday is a special day for
our beloved Americans, namely 4th of July (Independence Day for the USA), and here's how I
experienced the celebrations:
Let's start out with how I shared this with my
hostchildren. My oldest hostchild made sure to teach me the
"must know facts" and I remember the two of us reading a
textbook stating the historic facts. My youngest hostchild, still at
pre-school, brought back coloring templates and other arts and crafts
that we kept busy with. I think this is a great example on one of the many
times I shared, a true learning experience and cultural exchange, with the two
of them.
The actual day of July 4th I was fortunate enough to spend with my
American friends. On the agenda was bar-b-queing, while enjoying the company of
good friends, live music and the Californian sun shining on us in Dolores Park
in downtown San Francisco.
You will often hear how Americans come across as somewhat
patriotic, at least more so than what most of us Northern Europeans are used to. In
my oppinion and to my delight, this was very much true during the occasion of
4th of July. Everyone was dressed in patterns of stars and stripes,
shimering in blue, white and red. Singing about the waving flag. As the
sun started to set behind the hills of San Fran, we changed locations and soon
found ourselves on a rooftop, overlooking the Golden Gate to the left and the Bay
Bridge to the right. From here we had the perfect view while watching the
enormous firework display. And yes, it's one of those very special
moments, that I will forever remember, and smile when I do.
With this being said, I want to encourage you all, to take the
opportuniy to take part in, learn from and celebrate the festivities that comes
as part of your au pair experience in the States.
All the best,
Amy