A South African 4th of July

The 4^th of July has always been my favorite holiday, and although I’m in a country where it isn’t celebrated, I was bound and determined to honor the day somehow.

Last week we started telling the kids that we were going to have a party to celebrate America’s birthday. We told them that there were going to be games and surprises, and everybody started getting very excited. They asked if they could dress up, and naturally thinking that they would wear red, white or blue, we said yes. However, we pulled up to the house this morning to find all of the kids dressed in costume; some were pirates, others were skeletons, and some simply wore capes. This was certainly not your usual 4^th of July attire – it was even better. When we told them to dress up, they thought we had meant in their best costume, and they wondered where our costumes were. We were happy to see all of the kids as excited about Independence Day as we were.

We started off the morning by explaining the history and significance of the 4^th of July in a PowerPoint that we put together over the weekend. Then we did some American trivia that included questions about the American flag and the President, handing out prizes for the correct responses. In one of the questions we asked, “What is the capitol of the United States?” to which one of the children responded, “U!” and another yelled, “W!” It seems that the only capitols they’ve covered in school thus far are capital letters. We showed them a picture of the White House and asked “Where does the President live?” To which the children responded “In a flat!” I was impressed with their enthusiasm and willingness to participate and know that I couldn’t answer most of these same questions correctly about South Africa.

Next we had them do a word search that we created, asking them to find words like firework, picnic, and July. Then we had an American flag making contest before creating birthday cards for America, all the while listening to songs like “Born in the USA.”(Most of the children said American music hurts their ears.) After we completed these activities it was lunch time, for which we brought a traditional American lunch – hot dogs, baked beans, Doritos, and orange soda. This healthy little meal was followed by a cake that we decorated to resemble an American flag. We all sang happy birthday to America before devouring the cake.

After lunch, we went bobbing for apples, something the children had never done before. We explained the rules before having all the kids line up behind a washtub that we filled with water and apples. The first child completely submerged his head under water and then stuck his feet in the air like he was trying to dive in the bucket. He came up for air with his face and clothes completely drenched in water. All of the other kids laughed hysterically, anxiously awaiting their turn. I’m sure this activity would have been frowned upon had the house mother seen the kids’ soaking wet clothes, but we were laughing too hard to make them stop.

We finished the day’s festivities outside with a ring tossing game and some baseball. I’m not sure that any of the children fully understand the significance of the 4^th of July, but a few of them now know how many stars and stripes are on the flag and who the President of the United States is. It is certainly the most unique 4^th of July celebration I’ve ever had, and maybe even one of the best. I would count the day as a huge success!

Thank you to all those serving our country and happy 4^th of July to everyone back home!

A pirate came to the party

Teaching the kids about the history of the United States, everyone has their cape on

Laura handing out prizes

The word search puzzle I made for the kids

Our example flag and the supplies for the kids to make their own

The cake. It's harder than you think to find the supplies to make this in a South African grocery store.

Amy and I proudly displaying the cake

A good ol' American lunch.

Bobbing for apples

The ring toss