the 4th of July

now, as a loyal american having a dirth of social contact, i naturally wondered if anything anywhere was happening for the fourth of july. yes there was, at the US embassy. steve nakashima obtained an invitation for me and i was set to go. it was a lunchtime reception, and business or traditional attire was required. definitely no picnic on the lawn or anything. sophie was also going to represent the UN. any americans could attend but all the ambassadors and politicians were invited too. sophie's office chauffeur drives a nice-looking black car with a little UN flag on the front. it was quite exciting to step out of such an official looking car in the driveway of the US embassy. because of sophie, we didnt even have to show ID. i could have been anyone with any sort of weapon! we walked down a sort of hall and shook hands with the american ambassador and his wife. there were many ambassadors there. as sophie and i were sitting, she kept pointing out people to me: "there's the chinese ambassador and his wife, there's the secretary general of finance," etc. the european commissioner (the rep of the EU) came up to me personally and chatted because he saw me with sophie earlier. it was very exciting. inside the embassy there was a small expo of cameroonian and american businesses and all around the grounds were booths of american foods. i had hot dog, in honor of our traditional independence day. there were a couple booths of california wines. the first bottle i looked at was from woodbridge!!! i forget the brand (maybe something with "jonathan"?) but i thought that was too funny. i had a tiny bit. it was good compared to others that ive had, but really, i dont have a taste for wine and i think it gives me a headache. but as i sipped it, i thought of how the juice of these grapes was made in the fields around where i grew up!. i didnt see the age, but it is quite possible that they were growing when i was in high school! both the wine and i have aged quite a bit since then. i also met an older lady who worked for a bible translation group here, and she had been trained at SIL. she was also from fullerton. small world.

well, i am dissappointed that the germans lost. the italians were always crying on the ground. a french guy here had a good point though. if germany won, then it would be poor form for france to beat them in the finals at their home turf. i had never thought of the diplomatic ramifications of the finals outcome. however, france may not win anyway...heres a question: are the teams tired? they cant make goals to save their life and then they go into ages of overtime. im sorry, but soccer is not my favorite sport to watch. i hope that portugal wins tonight. it would be such an upset! and i love upsets.