10 July 2013

  • Celebrating Independence Day in Bangkok

    Each year, the Thailand American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) hosts an Independence Day celebration in Bangkok. This year it was Saturday, July 6 and was again hosted by the KIS International School. Each year, I volunteer at the raffle ticket sales booth. Proceeds go to help Thai public schools upcountry and it is a fun time to sit and chat with other volunteers, engage with the varied crowd, and soak in some Americana.

    When the Marines post the colors and the American national anthem is sung (preceded by the Thai national anthem, as they are our host country), it is hard not to get emotional. For all the failures of American policy makers, especially on the international stage, the principles on which America is founded and the people themselves, are very decent and worth being proud of.

    Of course, being a July 4th celebration (albeit two days late!), I couldn’t resist some tastes of home. A friend and I participated in the Chili Tasting Contest, trying eight different bowls of red. We both voted for what turned out to be the third-place chili. I also had a slice of apple pie, which was surprisingly good. Flaky crust, not cloyingly sweet, with lots of crisp but tender apple slices. The Dairy Queen booth (DQ is big in Thailand) offered free servings of “ice cream” to go with your pie.

    Can you get more American than that? Only if Mom was standing there, too!

      

Comments (10)

  • damn. if you had not explained that it was held in bangkok, i would have thought it was held in the USA, solely based on the food pic. i mean, the pair alone is worth the reason to be at the event. belated happy 4th, by the way. hope there were fire works.

  • This is lovely. I would have never dreamed that somewhere else helped America celebrate like such.I’m glad you were able to attend. Chili and apple pie and ice-cream. Yum.

  • Did you get to play with fireworks too? Probably none of that nanny state “safe and sane” fireworks.

  • Only thing missing was a little wedge of sharp cheddar cheese – apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze!

  • my brother was in the marines and that is why he feel in love with Asia.apple pie and ice cream!

  • @LostSock21 - @rudyhou - No fireworks, unfortunately. We were at an International School that is located in a largely residential area. Nobody seemed to keen to having us shoot off fireworks.@Crystalinne - The event was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, which is celebrating the 180th anniversary of relations between our two nations. Pretty incredible, I think.@murisopsis - Well, you are right about the missing cheese…@armnatmom - It was a lot of fun and a good reminder of home.@Texasjillcarmel - Serving in the military really gives a lot of young people a chance to see much more of the world than they otherwise would.

  • Apple Pie and Ice Cream – truly American. Yes, we did not do well with some of the countries we “helped”.

  • yes, my son was in the army for 8 yrs and got to see the world and then go to college when he got out. He said,”I had a rich Uncle(Sam) to pay my way.”

  • It’s really cool that they do that! I’ve been to Thailand a few times and have thought about living there at some point. This brought to mind the fun of trying a corn ice cream sundae from KFC while watching Elvis impersonators at Seacon Square.

Post a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *