hooray independence day!

Fireworks, sparklers and booze galore, such is the spirit of Americana. I love it.

Recently, an old friend of mine moved back from a 4 year jaunt to Belgium and we've been filling her in on all things upper middle class Ohio (you know, sweatpants, funnel cake and the occasional sexting scandal) and she's been filling us in on all things classy and European (international cross country meets, skinny girls and legal weed). It's been like. . .the Seventeen Magazine version of that one city mouse/country mouse story.

So last night, when my little city put on its sole city-wide celebration of the year (entitled with the utmost attention to cutesy word association puns--red, rhythm and boom*), we strolled around port-a-potties and  Donatoes pizza stands with our classy little Europeanized-though-still-American waif saying things like "Wow, there is no healthy food here," and "Yeah, there's not that many fat people in Belgium" and "I love Vampire Weekend!" (the latter was just cause she likes Vampire Weekend, which is legit because I love them as well).

Throughout the night, I was left internally comparing the skinny-french-chicks-and-belgian-waffle dusted luster of life outside these United States with my own image of America donning a mullet, clad in an Old Navy American flag shirt (y'all know what I'm talking about) and eating a bag of kettle corn as big as Aretha Franklin's rack. So guess which side of this comparison looked like the Garden of Eden and which side looked like Jessica Simpson's face pre-Proactive?

But I see all you patriotic fellow Americans growing red in the face and itchin for a tussle--alas, this is far from a bashing of this fine country. . .rather it's a cutesy little account of how I grew to recognize the charm of the USA even with the curlicues and chocolate of European wanderlust dangling in my easily-swayed little face.

Cause despite my Pavlovian salivating mouth at the sound of all things dealing with Euro chicness (aka: pubs, walking everywhere, travel to other countries for school trips, girls caring about fashion, swedish accents, waffles), I also love the smell of kettle corn wafting through the air. I also love how we have to mutually face the general disgustingness of port-a-potties. I also love our giant ass fireworks display despite economic recession. I also love seeing incredibly obese babies on the Maury Povich show. I also love people with mullets who wear Old Navy American flag shirts.

I love it because it's a flavor that's inherently American, a flavor that, glamorous or not, my cultural taste buds will always recognize as familiar and thus wonderful (kinda like how I will always like Cheetos). I went on in my last post about my love of diversity, and to not recognize the American culture as a part of cultural diversity would be inherently retarded of me (excuse me, I lack political correctness sometimes).

Love, love, love. I think I might love everything.

Mmk finna eat a hot dog now. Merry fourth of July!

*okay so I play like I'm too cool for cutesy word association puns but bahhh let's not kid ourselves, I love them!

Also, just as a disclaimer type of thing: This post was just based on my own wanderlusty feelings on the spottiest cultural details. There are much greater factors in love of a country than people's stereotypical haircuts and clothing options--I just like stereotypes because they are fun. Also please never take me too seriously cause that would be a fatal flaw on your part. Seriously, fatal flaw.