The 4th of July

Much like Thanksgiving, the 4th of July isn’t really a notable day here. And unlike Thanksgiving, our cafeteria wasn’t even decorated during lunch (although we did have an ice-cream-and-cookies party in the afternoon).

But not all was lost. If you want to celebrate the 4th in England, in fact, the Ambassador has a party at his house. There was a jazz group playing, the Ambassador made a welcoming speech, there was a presentation of the colors for the U.S. and the U.K., and there was an a cappella rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “My Country ’Tis of Thee” (although they sang the latter with funny words).

This guy was wandering around, speaking with a sort-of-American accent and adding atmosphere:


And then we saw this person! And if you’ve known me for a while, you understand how excited I was when Irina pointed him out. So for this, I am suspending my no-photos-of-me policy (especially unflattering ones) and engaging in full-scale star-gazing. Wow!!


And in soccer news...
Now that the only teams left are in western Europe, I’ve decided to adopt a purely cuisine-based rooting strategy. So for last night, hooray for Italy! And for tonight, go France!!