July 6th: Fourth of July??

One funny thing I forgot to mention was the lack of an Independence Day here.

Well, duh, we're not in America. But it was still strange not to celebrate. Many of us had forgotten altogether (myself included), until a quiet ripple began to spread among the students: "hey guys, it's the Fourth of July." Oh yeah, right. Now the question was: what do we do?

The obvious answer was to go to Bloom, the self-proclaimed "foreign bar," order some American drinks, and have our own celebration off in the corner. However, seeing as the opera let out so late, that wasn't a possibility. Or at least not a smart one.

So, on the ride to Cortona that evening, someone started singing "The Star-Spangled Banner," and we half-heartedly joined in. That was it. No fireworks, no more patriotic songs, and no red-white-and-blue. Having never been out of the country before, it was the first big American holiday that I've missed, and it felt strange.

Oh well. Maybe we'll make up for it this Labor Day. I know I'm buying fireworks, at least.

Ciao,

-Al

p.s. (the picture above isn't mine)