4th of July in China

Think back 365 days - Rachel and I finished our training in New York on the 4th and were driving back to Michigan. It's been almost a year since we moved here. Crazy!

As for this year, we attended a potluck with the other Americans in town to celebrate the holiday on Saturday. It was a really fun day, and as good an American party as one living abroad could hope for. I grilled up BBQ ribs and chicken, which went well with such Independence Day staples such as baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, peach cobbler, and Muslim fruitcake. (okay, maybe all but that last one)

We also worked in a game of Catan - not our doing, it was demanded by the masses. We have been playing a lot the last few days, which has been fun. We are currently working through the newest additions which we got last month.

But the highlight, as it should be, was the fireworks show. The potluck was at another teacher's top-floor apartment - and all the top floor apartments have access to rooftop gardens. Here's the view from the top:
As we blogged about in January, fireworks are readily available here...in the time up through Chinese New Year's. However, now it is a little more difficult and most shops are not selling them. But this is China, after all - the land that invented fireworks. So we got some. It is quite genius. You buy a box (about half a square yard in size) and the box has a fuse sticking out the side. You set the box on the roof, light the fuse, and voila! A reasonably-safe 1.5 minute fireworks show. Enjoy - listen to hear Rachel screaming in the background!

-alan