Independence Day

Independence day is not my favorite holiday.  For one thing- it's always sticky hot out, and this day requires being outdoors a bit.  And once you've seen one set of fireworks, aren't they all the same?  The last time I remember being really excited about July 4th was in 1996 when I got to see my crush-of-the-moment on the big screen.  Yes, I'm talking about that action-packed blockbuster hit, Independence Day.  You might assume my crush at the time was Will Smith.  Sorry to disappoint you, but I had a big thing for another star in that movie.

Now that you are thoroughly horrified in my taste in men, I'll move on to talk about this year's Independence day.  As I said, I'm not a big 4th of July gal.  But being out of the country has got me feeling quite patriotic all of the sudden.  As the holiday approached, I found myself thinking back to last year.  We were surrounded by most of our beautiful friends.  It was a casual weekend in Solomon's Island.  We grilled, we crabbed, we drank- it was so relaxing and nice.  That night, we only had to walk half a block outside the house to see the fireworks.  Sure, they weren't the most amazing sparklers ever, but it was great.  I realized that I don't think a single July 4th had gone by where I hadn't eaten grilled food and seen fireworks of some sort.  So this year couldn't be much different- I couldn't let being in Japan affect my American holiday!

My Independence day burger

Of course being in Tokyo has it's limitations.  I thought the American Embassy had a big party for all the Americans, but it turns out that thing is by invite only- figures!  So we took matters into our own hands.  Watermelons cost an arm and a leg around here, but burgers we could afford.  As I'm not much of a beef person, we went with lamb burgers.  Are you gasping in horror?  Shouldn't my all-American holiday burgers be all-American beef?  Maybe.  But I figure a lamb burger is pretty damn American too.  I'm not sure you could get one anywhere else.  My burger may be inspired by Greek flavors (cumin, cinnamon, fresh tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese), but I doubt they are eating these bad boys in Athens. 

They were delicous!  You may have noticed that burger is on a small piece of baguette.  It turns out they don't sell hamburger buns around these parts.  We improvised.  You may also notice that tiny slice of tomato is more greenish pink than juicy red.  Well, they keep their tomatoes in the fridge here.  If you are putting your tomatoes in the fridge back home, please don't ever let me know about it...

Now fireworks are a whole other thing.  I know a guy back home who likes to set them off in his Beltsville backyard...not exactly legal.  But here, anyone can buy fireworks and set them off where they please.  Unless of course, that place has a sign that specifically says "Don't light fireworks here."  So where did a few American friends decide to light off their Japanese fireworks?  Inside a park that had just such a sign.  Hey- we're foreigners, right?  We can't be sure to have understood those signs correctly!  I took a video of each and every one of those 4 fireworks, but unfortunately I can't upload them here for some reason.  No harm though- I'm sure whatever ones you watched back home were much better than these.  What did you do?  National Mall?  Baltimore Harbor?  Laurel Lake?  Do share so I can feel as though I was there too.