America....Yeah!!

4th of July weekend over here is quite a big deal. Families make the effort to see each other, people have barbecues, and fireworks at the end of the night are a certainty. Yells of America and freedom can be heard and a true patriotic sense is felt everywhere you go.
It also made me think about my own nation and how proud i am of it but how little we as 'Englishman' can celebrate it. St George's day seems to be a public holiday which is kept behind closed doors, restricted to pubs and a few select bars. It's a shame because we are a proud nation, but it seems that we can't celebrate this as much due to the way minorities react or the feeling of distancing foreigners that reside in our country.

So i have had a few crazy days over here, hence a late blog entry! Thursday night, Jon and Kim left for Las Vegas for the 4th of July weekend celebrations. Dave and Evan, a couple guys that i have met out here came round. After a while of watching TV, Dave came up with the great idea of driving into downtown East LA to find a taco truck. Now I'm not the smartest at the best of times, but i was definitely quizzative to the whereabouts of this so called 'taco truck'. It turns out that this is typical of white American youths to visit a Hispanic community in central La at 10pm in search of their prized taco's....
Well i have to say, the taco's were incredible, better than any Mexican food i had ever tasted. They also sold Mexican Coca Cola, which is made with real sugar cane. A must if you have the chance!!

So you could say, Oli how do you top that?!?! well on Friday i went to a beach house in Newport, Orange County for the day. Weather in the 80's, BBQ, Beach, Sea, Banter....it was an incredible day!
I have to say, the way the Americans embrace you over here is something we as Britons need to learn from. It doesn't matter who you are, what your background is and even how old you are, they will want to get to know you and see who you are. And i think if it wasn't for the way they have embraced me then i would be struggling right now. Its obviously testament to the groundwork Jon has layed before my arrival as well, which i am incredibly grateful for.

Yesterday was in fact 4th of July and the main day of celebration's over here. I got invited out for a BBQ in a place called Rancho Cucamonga, which i think is the best name for a town ever! The BBQ was at a Miguel and Lilly's house. A brother and sister from Grace Church. The food was really good and they had some really nice homemade Mexican dips and salsas. I still hold onto what i have said for many years now which is that its not what you know but who you know. And if you know these guys then you will taste some incredible food!! Later on i went to their uncle's house with a couple others. His house was amazing! it had a pool with a slide, jacuzzi, pool table, a bar, humongous TV etc. etc. So even though i might have been the only one there who didn't speak Spanish i still had a fantastic time, playing pool with their grandad whilst he spoke to me in Spanish and singing along to the karaoke on the TV (although i left them to it when the Mexican songs were on!)

Tonight is Company122 and a guest speaker is in which should be interesting as he has some interesting methods for remembering and learning about the bible.