4 July, 2012

Being abroad for the Fourth of July (or 4 July, as they would write it here), I feel almost obligated to write about my Independence Day experience. Typically, back at home, I do not go crazy with patriotism; I definitely enjoy the holiday's festivities, but aside from that, I don't feel especially American, a proud citizen, or anything to that extent. Yesterday, though, there were a few moments when I actually felt patriotic, amazingly. 

To start the day, we grabbed one of the few buses that was running (did I mention that the official bus strike began yesterday? we had to cancel classes for the day) and traveled to ABA, Associação Brasil América, to give a short presentation abut American history. This week, ABA was hosting an American immersion program for a large group of high school students from all over northern Brazil. Annelise took the lead on this presentation, designing it around American music and how it reflects changes in culture throughout history, but regionally and nationally. We each spoke about some very distinctly American genres of music, like Motown, Bluegrass, and Blues.  

Afterwards, we fielded questions from the students, which was probably my favorite part. These students, though most of them were self-taught English speakers, had an amazing command of the language; it was almost like teaching a class of fluent speakers. The students asked questions about music, American culture, and our views on Brazil. One student, though, was far more forward than the rest. Many times, he kept prodding until he got a complete, in-depth answer to his questions. Near the end of our time, he asked us how much we knew about Brazil's independence day. We were stumped. Since being in Brazil, we had heard about this day, but not enough to spout information. The student continued on, pointing out that in the United States, most people probably know nothing about Brazil's independence. Granted, he was totally right, making Annelise and I gradually more uncomfortable standing in front of the class. In fact, I think the entire room tensed up a bit. Finally, the student wrapped up his point by saying that here in Brazil, the Fourth of July is well known and often times even celebrated, but for the reason that once the United States did become an independent nation, a change was made in the world. By no means is the U.S. perfect, but other countries needed to see such a bold move, and in consequent years the U.S. has continued to impact the world in incredible ways. My, at this time I did feel proud to be a citizen of the U.S. Yes, I still do feel fed up with the selfish tendencies of our country, but there are definitely so many redeeming qualities about the U.S. that I never stopped to consider. Here again the importance of outside perspectives is brought to light. 

After the class, we joined the students for their Fourth of July celebration, which included national anthem singing (both American and Brazilian), listening to a few words from Heidi Arola, a foreign service worker at the American consulate, meeting American Morman tourists, and eating Brazil's version of hot dogs and hamburgers. The celebration was definitely different than those in the U.S. but fun was had all the same.

We took it easy for the rest of the afternoon and later headed out for an American-style dinner with our students. We dined at a burger join called "Saturday's," where every item on the menu was named after a state. Delicious! Again, the burgers were different (they seemed to have some slight breading cooked on?), but they were still very yummy and reminiscent of the U.S. The best part was easily the milkshakes, of course. French fries dipped in a chocolate milkshake is one of my favorite summer meals. 

Following dinner, we made a pit stop at the beach front to see the moon over the water. The breeze made the temperature perfect, and the view was gorgeous, naturally. Upon returning home, I watched the end of an exciting soccer game between Brazil and Argentina. Because of Brazil's victory, there were indeed fireworks that evening, but not for July Fourth. Either way, there was much national pride to be felt, which was beautiful.