Independence Day Celebrations

Ok, so it was July 6th and not July 4th; but we still had our “4th of July” party.


A really good party.

And it was my last night in Romania. So despite my stories being a bit out of sequence (since I just wrote about Chennai Restaurants, I’m going to backup and share this one anyway).

Party Entrance

The American Embassy and American Chamber of Commerce in Bucharest held a July 4th Party on Friday July 6th. Our company, along with a few hundred other Ex-Pat souls in and around Bucharest, was invited to attend. I was hoping the party would be at the Embassy, but it was held in a park in Bucharest, instead.



Yum!

 We still had to present our invitations and undergo the usual security checks with metal detectors, wands, and some really big, non military security dudes (sorry Elise, no Marines tonight). The park was cordoned off and Security “Sentries” posted all around the perimeter. But once inside, the ambiance was that of a street festival. The theme was a good old fashioned  BBQ. The air was filled with the aroma from large grills cooking sausages, hams, BBQ Ribs, Brats, etc and all kinds of vegetables, breads, deserts and other goodies. There were soft drinks, juices, beer wine and the all important Jack Daniels booth.

The NBA Needn't Worry

We had games for the kids. Well, two games; a basketball shooting station and Ring Toss station along with face painting, balloons, inflatable bounce rooms and some characters dressed like Minnie Mouse, Batman, and Cinderella.

For the adults there were raffles for vacation getaways and dinners at various Bucharestian Restaurants (OK, so I made up that term).

All the tables were setup under tents forming a semi circle around a fairly big stage with really large sound system for the band that was to play.



3 Grills, Lots of Smoke



Mitchell, Simona, Jim, and Nona



 And it was hot! So we tried to stay cool with the local brew (or Jacky-D if that was your choice) while we enjoyed the terrific BBQ foods.



I remember attending an American Chamber of Commerce party in Chengdu one year (2008?) and all I remember was how everybody in attendance was trying to impress everybody else with how important they were in the world of international business. But not tonight. Tonight everybody sat around, milled around, walked around just striking up random conversations with random people about their families, their kids, the hot weather, the food and how much fun this was … anything but work. As a result, the atmosphere was fun, relaxed, and very family oriented.



The Singers



And the Band Played On

The band started play around 08:00 (“I’ll have the time of my liiiiife”) and some lady I each independently saw each other begin laugh at the lameness of that old song and we discussed that if this was the “genre of the evening” this party wouldn’t last long. But we need not worry. As the evening progressed, the band really branched out to Oldies (Elvis, Chubby Checker) to the Beatles, more progressive rock, a touch of jazz and some songs I have never heard of. So they turned out to be really good. They brought their own “Fly Girls” who kept changing clothes (from Daisy Mae with checkered shirts and cut off jeans, to Disco to Sequins) whose sole job it was to run out into the crowds and grab people to get them dancing. Before long, everybody was up. Minnie Mouse even formed the requisite conga line with the kids.



Happy Tour Waifs
Seriously - the company name is really Happy Tours



Late in the evening, they raffled off the prizes and, no, I didn’t win which was a disappointment because I had tried so very hard to talk the Happy Tour Company waifs into letting me enter more than once!



"Ooooohhhhh"



Around 11:00 PM, the fireworks started. It was a good long show. I’m sure most of Bucharest enjoyed it with us. As the fireworks boomed overhead, the sound system was blaring out the music. I found it interesting it was not the usual “Star and Stripes Forever” or our “Star Spangled Banner” or other National music, but instead rock-n-roll songs. I imagined that whoever was selecting this music had a very wry sense of humor because the “finale” song was Kelly Clarkson belting “My Life Would {be less than desirable} Without You”. So did the music selection mean to imply my life as a human would be poor if there was no USA, or, that Romanian life would be poor without the USA (we were a major factor in the fall of communism, were we not)?

"Aaaahhhhhh"

I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t intended at all.  And yet, as I stood in this Romanian Park full of Ex-Pats from all over the world watching an American Fireworks display to celebrate our 236th Birthday, I found myself thinking this exact thought and if anybody else would get the metaphor?
I did.

Happy Birthday America, I’ll see you in a week!

Back to Back World War Champs!