Independence Day Weekend

Here we are, enjoying the end of a lovely three-day weekend. On Thursday, we had a local internet company come to install a direct hi-speed internet line at the house because our wireless has been less than dependable. Stephanie found the installation to be quite funny and MacGuyver-esque.

Apparently, when the guy arrived, he didn't have anything to cut the cable with so he asked to borrow our kitchen knives. Then, he needed a match to melt the end of the cable and finally, scotch tape to hold everything together. Despite the apparent patch-job, the internet has been working fine so far.

On Friday evening, we held the 'official' 4th of July event at the Ambassador's residence. This was the culmination of months of planning and it was much more of a work event than a fun event. As GSO, I spent most of the time running around making sure everything went ok. For example, one of the foreign minister's representatives asked as to the where abouts of the Tajik flag as the party was starting. We don't usually feature the host country flag at these sort of events, but there's nothing against doing so, so in the name of good diplomatic relations, we got one set up before the speeches.

The party was quite nice - there was a string quartet from the opera's orchestra, and we decorated the place by hanging all 50 state flags in the order that they joined the union. Some tasteful bunting and some red, white, and blue oriental lanterns set off the overall design. Inside, we showed a presentation of various iconic sites in the U.S. as well as pictures from last year's fireworks show in Washington that I took from my cousin, Helen's, balcony.

All in all, it was a success. I have to say, my favorite part was listening to our national anthem. There's something about hearing it in a foreign country that seems to give it even more meaning than usual. I was also thankful for the ice cream bars that were passed around, which helped a great deal with the heat.

On Saturday, we went out to brunch with some friends, but otherwise took it easy. We also harvested a huge zucchini from our garden.

The other plants are coming along, so hopefully we'll have some more vegetables on our plates soon.

The unofficial embassy celebration for the 4th of July was held Sunday on the embassy compound. We had a good time eating hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, etc... They capped off the event with several rounds of roman candles, which was a nice touch and gave the kids a thrill - especially when the flaming embers sometimes fell around them.

Aside from a trip to the bazaar, which happened to be closed for cleaning, we just enjoyed our day off today and stayed out of the heat. Now, just a quick four day work week between us and our trip to Madrid, where Stephanie will run some trainings and I'll tag along for a nice little vacation!