A Fourth of July in India

As I write this early on the morning of July 5th, most of you are oooohing and ahhing over fireworks from a grassy hill, the end of a dock, or on a boat in the middle of a lake (sigh). And, contrary to popular belief, they still have the fourth of July in India. Do they celebrate? or care? no, not really. And quite honestly....we didn't realize or care either :)

How did I celebrate, you ask? Well, I picked berries with the girls, read about the negative consequences of the market economy, and spent a lot of time working on my capstone requirements for school.

But the best part of the day was when Melissa, another intern, stopped on the way in from town and picked up ice cream and chocolate. After dinner, we snuck into the kitchen and made us some ice cream sundaes, wishing each other a happy independence day. Then we snuggled up in my room to watch Ever After, which is most definitely the greatest Cinderella story of all time. I hadn't seen it for years, so it even had a surprise ending for me! We stayed up SO late talking, and I was up past midnight for the first time since being here. I crashed the moment my head hit my pillow, but it was a great night of good old "American" fun and bonding with my colleagues.

So I hope the fireworks were beautiful, the corn on the cob was the sweetest it's ever been, and that you got to "shred it up" behind the boat (that was for you, Jammin). and....can't wait to celebrate with you next year :)