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I'm Feeling a Little Un-American

I've mentioned before that even though I'm a resident of the great 'ole state of Georgia, I'm only half American. That's right, half of my blood is tainted with tea and crumpets and those weird hats that the British guard guys wear:

Source
While finding that photo I learned that each one of those hats is made from the fur of an entire Canadian black bear. I wouldn't throw red paint on a good looking leather jacket or anything, but bear hats are where I draw the line. Weird.

So despite the fact that I drink tea with my pinky finger in the air and occasionally pronounce "tomato" oddly, I generally consider myself to be American. Over half of my life has been spent in the states (Hawaii, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and now Georgia), I have an American passport, I talk a lot and I own a fanny pack. Ergo, I am American.

So what's making me question my authenticity as a citizen? The date of our British Airways flight booked for this summer:



I know. Boo-hoo, someone call the waaaambulance because I have to go on a European holiday. Woe is me. I'm actually pretty dang excited for the trip, but did we really have to leave America at night on the 3rd of July and arrive in ENGLAND of all places the 4th of July? I'm pretty sure they don't celebrate "It's a bummer we lost that whole massive colony" day. At least not with fireworks and corn on the cob.

Last summer was hubby's first Fourth of July and we did everything right. Barbecue, fireworks, corn on the cob, watermelon, wearing red, white and blue, high-fiving soldiers and getting a little drunk. Just like we were supposed to.


This year? I can only imagine we will be in some place called Dottingly on the Bridge-ford-shire-town drinking tea and having scones with some Lords and maybe a Duchess. Feel free to insert any other British stereotypes in here as well. (Hey, maybe we'll be at the dentist! Or at a football match with a bunch of hooligans!)


What are some things that make you feel American? Or, if you live elsewhere, what reinforces your nationality?
I'll admit I'm a little bumbling when it comes to this. Sometimes I feel super American and other times I feel a bit lost. BUT - I love American politics and always feel really connected when reading/watching anything to do with that. I rarely feel British though. Tim always needs to remind me of my heritage. 


Do you have any summer plans in place yet?
I know it's early, but thanks to the London Olympics this year we needed to get tickets ASAP. For the record, I would not go anywhere near London during the actual Olympics. Crowded enough normally. We're spending a couple of weeks in England and Germany to visit family. 

Comments

  1. I was in Austria for the 4th of July once. It's actually really fun to go find an American bar and celebrate with all of the other visiting Americans or expats.

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    Replies
    1. That actually sounds like a ton of fun!! I want to go overseas for the 4th now :D

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  2. I am soooo soooo jealous! That will be amazing. We're supposed to go to London /France this summer but since I started tracking flights they've gone up $600! So I'm not sure it's going to happen. So I'm that much more jealous of you!

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    1. I know! And the summer tickets are so much more expensive. But it's cheaper for us to travel to Europe than Hong Kong, so I'll take it!

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  3. Oh yay!! I love vacations! Can you pack me in your suitcase? I'm Canadian so no 4th of July here! But we do have Canada Day! No one really makes a big deal of it though. We are kind of boring!

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    1. we are, aren't we. I always notice we aren't nearly as patriotic. sigh....at least the British guard are using our bears. (ps: the black bear is the same as the grizzy and the brown bear - crazy eh?) <-----that part was for you Vanessa ;)

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  4. I think Americans make too much of the 4th of July .........
    ......
    .........
    ................ *runs and hides* ;-)

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  5. well I am not American...I am Canadian. I was born in Canada and so I only consider myself Canadian although my father is Hungarian. I am trying to go home this summer but the tickets are so $$$ and I need 4 cuz..well if I dont bring my boys my dad will not let me in the house!!!

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  6. How do they make the bear fur so pretty? Do they just fix it really well, or are they really, really careful when they shoot the bear?

    I clearly latched onto the most important part of this post.

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    1. shampoo - no joke I had to do taxidermy in college (wildlife course) and when we washed out their fur it got all soft and pouffy ;) hahaha so maybe they do that to the hats. Most hunters can also shoot an animal right in the skull b/c they use bait to lure them into a secluded area, making them an easy kill.

      it's actually pretty funny to think about them shampooing and conditioning the hats

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  7. I like how British people call a banana "bananer".

    I think I feel most American when eating fast food...haha. Or shopping in Walmart.

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  8. OMG are you going to the Olympics? What an exciting time to be in London!

    Canadian bears do have the best fur... kinda sad but I don't think they execute them to make hats.

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    1. Elle - Canadian bears are over-populated due to them removing the spring bear hunt. I wouldn't worry about us losing a few. It's population control ;)

      Although I do love bears

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  9. England in the summer sounds wonderful. Took a European trip in '06 and loved it. Can't wait to go back! There's nothing like a trip to a foreign country to make you feel completely American =) Seriously, I feel American the most at baseball & football games. Something about the good 'ole hotdogs, peanuts, and cracker jacks.

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  10. Enjoy your upcoming trip. I want to go to England so bad!

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  11. Any time I overeat and my stomach hurts I feel super patriotic. Ok, I stole that from Jim Gaffigan. But I stand by it.

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  12. I was in Russia for 4th of July two summers ago and we went to a KFC to celebrate the holiday :) And some students we were with soaked a watermelon in vodka….it made up for it! And I was in London on Thanksgiving many years ago….it's always weird to be in a different country on the date of a holiday that is unique to your country! Have fun, should be a great time!

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  13. I did not know that hat was made from a bear. I assumed it was synthetic. I was in Argentina for fourth of July and we bought party hats and noisemakers and wine and made our own party.

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  14. I often feel "un-american" as well. There's nothing glaringly obvious that makes me feel super american. whoops. I should probably work on that. I guess I take it for granted sometimes. So jealous you'll be in England! Even though you've lived here half your life, do you still have any hint of an accent still?

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  15. too funny!! it's awesome that you're getting to visit though! summer makes me feel american. being barefoot, cooking out, popsicles!

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  16. oh no, we'll eat some watermelon for ya :)

    enjoy the trip and take lots of pictures

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  17. Things that make me feel australian - prawns on a hot summer christmas, thongs, the beach, eating lamingtongs and making pavlova!

    So very jealous of your trip!

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  18. haha...u are so funny! i adore how many stereotypes u were able to cram into this post!! am i the only one who, when i'm around people with accents, i start to imitate them WITHOUT meaning to!! i love british accents and sometimes catch myself falling into it if i'm talking to someone with a true accent, i then feel embarrassed that they think i may be making fun of them! but i'm not...i guess i'm just envious. ;)

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  19. Will you ride the tube and talk on the bloody telly??

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  20. Hilarious! :D Love your blog.

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  21. Nope, no summer plans yet. Pretty jealous of yours though!

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  22. Oh how fun!!! I am so envious of your trip to Europe!! And am like 150% American. In fact I haven't even ever traveled outside of the States. I really need to get a life....

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  23. I'm excited for your trip, but it is pretty ironic to be heading to England on Independence Day! :) Hope it's a great time and you do a LOT of blogging about your trip!!!!

    Owning my own home makes me feel pretty American!

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  24. great blog!!! following you now...

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  25. Living overseas in Korea for nearly two years has definitely made me realize how much I love being American and living in America. Not in the close-minded "AMERICA RULES! ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE LAME!" way, but just in the "sigh, I miss home... this place is weird and unfamiliar to me." way.

    And being surrounded by people from all over the US (my hubby's coworkers and such) has made me realize that while I never thought of myself of being very southern (I don't find the John Deere logo cute and I hate hunting... and country music), I am apparently quite southern nonetheless. Huh... Who knew? lol

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  26. Seriously - it is on my bucket list to one day take a flight at night on the fourth of July -- just so I can see the fireworks from ABOVE for a change!

    What I really want to know is: are we going to get regular blog updates so we can travel vicariously through you in July? :)

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  27. too bad you aren't flying on the night of the 4th, watching fireworks from a plane is super cool!

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  28. I accidentally did the same exact thing when I moved to Ireland for a few months years ago (landed on 4th of July). I somehow found myself in an Irish pub where the musicians played "American Pie". Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome.

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