Tanzania County Fair

It was just like any other July 4th, really, except that it was on July 5th.

This year a few friends and I celebrated the 4th of July at the US Embassy. Stepping through the metal detectors and out into the hot air of Dar es Salaam, it felt oddly like we had been transported to our own personal county fair. Concrete planters were painted with American flags, tall pillars were decorated with blue stars, and in the distance a woman announced that she needed more participants over the age of thirteen for the pie-eating contest.

I felt like I had been blown halfway around the world in a matter of seconds.

We rounded the bend. A dunk-tank sat unused. There was a line for overpriced hamburgers which passed a table selling cheap beer. Little flags were handed to visitors as they arrived - my Swiss friend got the last one.

And then: the fireworks. To the tune of "I'm Proud to be an American."

Boom. Pop. Sizzle.

It was good to be in America on the 4th again, even if it wasn't really America, and it wasn't really the 4th.