Amuuurica

Twice now I've wanted to write a post entitled "America." But not "America"..I want you to hear "A-muuuur-ica" in your head when you say it. As in: "This is a-MUR-i-ca!," said the man defending his right to tailgate. It is a way of saying the name that in itself is American and that drips of pride. This is what we find ourselves saying several times a week.

It is funny how once you leave a place you start to feel an even greater tie to it. For example, I don't ever remember craving raspberries as much as I do now that I don't have a raspberry bush in my backyard. This phenomena is happening to us on a large scale, so while the 4th of July may be months away - Jen has started planning. She's not alone - others here are also planning. "Did you know Maybelline isn't American?" said one co-worker to another in disbelief as she tried to make a list of American companies in Israel. "French...Hmm."

The paradox of this situation is that while you want connect more with American culture while abroad, you are more disconnected from it than ever. I have no clue what songs are on the radio back home, what TV shows are popular, what movies are about to come out...and I haven't heard a word about Brad & Angelina in months (not that I want to, I never followed them). My American pop culture is now informed by YouTube and my little cousins' facebook profiles which is to say uninformed. So I'll stick to the old stuff that I know when planning for the 4th.

As I've said before, few things remind me of America more than summer, grilling and Neil Diamond! (Did you know that he is Jewish? Yeah..I thought the same thing! "Maybe he is doing a concert in Israel sometime while I'm here!" But he's not...so my Neil Diamond album with have to suffice.) So as the 4th of July approaches I will be trying to gather up all of the ingredients for an authentic American party - burgers, corn on the cob, the Birthday dessert my mom makes for me, an American flag, cornhole (a game) and fireworks....that last one might be tricky.