Happy Independence Day

I may be one of the least patriotic Americans on the planet, but I do so love the 4th of July. In my hometown, it is always a fun time with a parade, cookouts, and fireworks. Of course, we have to make some concessions over here in Korea, but my friends and I were not deterred by being on the other side of the planet. Yesterday, I threw a belated Independence Day party at my newly empty apartment for seven of my friends, mostly Koreans. The menu (all prepared by me) included classic American potato salad, burgers with a special glaze (ketchup, steak sauce, sugar, oil, tabasco, and garlic), and BBQ chicken made with my homemade barbeque sauce. All of this was done without the use of a grill, so it made things a little more difficult. We washed it all down with some Budweisers and MGDs, which taste surprisingly good when one hasn't had American beer in many moons and the Korean variety smells like feet. After sunset, we trekked out to the small lake in Cheonsang and burned some sparklers, our lame stand-in for fireworks. All in all it was a good time, but no substitute for the real thing!