OK this one I really wish I had a picture for. Today I worked on the 4th of July for the first time ever. I knew it was coming but I only realized the date after receiving my bought-incorrectly-on-board train ticket and seeing 4 Jul 08 stamped on it.
I didn’t think of it again until I went down to lunch. This was my first lunch in the Unilever cafeteria (I was at a TV shoot Wednesday and the ad agency Thursday). As I walked downstairs with a couple girls from my group, I saw a sign: “American Barbeque!”. Yep, there they were, Brits celebrating the 4th of July. They had a grill set up on a patio area, serving “Manhattan Burgers”, hot dogs, chicken, and kebabs, along with grilled corn on the cob. It was actually pretty good, even if I did have to go inside to hunt down ketchup packets from the condiment bar.
They had little American flag banners decorating the outside, and the chefs had tall Uncle Sam hats on. There was a woman giving 1oz samples of “American cloudy lemonade”, so you could try before you spent 50p ($1) on a full glass. As a “real live American” I was asked my opinion (always willing to give: it was good but a bit weak for my tastes; I bought a glass anyways – WITH ice).
I thanked my team for setting this up for me (ha ha, in case it wasn’t clear), and scrambled for stories of 4th of Julys past, as for at least the past three I have been out of the country. Now make that 4.
Oh and in case the irony’s not obvious: On my first working Independence Day, I am in the country from which we celebrate … wait for it … our independence. (Glad I could help explain that.)
Must be time to go find a Bud Light.
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