Independence Day in London

From day one of being in London, I've been getting a whirlwind of shit from everyone here about being American. At work, they make fun of me for calling our boss 'gaffer' instead of 'gaffah'. At rugby, they make fun of me for shouting out directions, and when they mimic me, they sound like fucking cowboys.

So July 4th comes around, and the American bar (and I use the term 'American' loosely. The burgers are mediocre, the buffalo wings aren't spicy, and the nachos are nothing more than melted cheese on Doritos) is having a Independence Day party. Allright, I think, a night out with Americans!

I arrive at the bar at 10:30pm, and I couldn't believe what I saw.


The bar was packed. To the brim. Red, white, and blue balloons everywhere. American flags hanging from all the rafters. Streamers and confetti and Uncle Sam hats on everyone's heads. The Yankees and Red Sox were playing on tv, and Aretha Franklin was blaring from the speakers. Sounds awesome right? Well it was. But here's the funny thing -

No one there was American.

I mean, there were a couple. Maybe eight Americans out of the 80 people in the bar. But all these Brits, parading around, on MY Independence Day, having themselves a grand ol' time. They were singing American songs, eating American food, and watching American baseball.

Oh, and they drank all the Budweiser. That's right - by the time I got there, the Budweiser was completely tapped.

See, I think Independence Day to the Brits is like what St. Patrick's Day is to Americans. It's just an excuse to go out and drink. Whether or not you have any Irish heritage doesn't matter - we all go out wearing green to get absolutely plastered. Well, that's what the Brits were doing last night, but instead of wearing green, they were wrapping themselves in American flags and drinking Bud by the pitcher. This holiday, that actually means something to us Americans, is a novelty holiday to them.

The penultimate moment of the night? The entire bar, Brits and Americans alike,singing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer' at the top of their lungs. I swear to God. I couldn't make this stuff up. It was like being in a frat house when a Journey song comes on - everyone just stops what they are doing and joins the song. The 'Grease' soundtrack followed. Then MC Hammer. Then Vanilla Ice. The bar kept singing and dancing for the next hour. It was unreal.

And before I knew it, the night was over.

Just another Independence Day for us.

Just another Friday night to them.