Edit: Video is now public. Sorry for not catching that before posting. Thanks to Gary for informing me.
It may surprise you to hear that there was a large celebration of July 4th in Bangkok. The American Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual festivities, which bring together not only the disparate American expat community, but also many Thais and people from other countries who have lived or studied in the US, or just appreciate a chance for a taste of real American tradition.
Last year was my first year attending, in the company of several other American expats who had pretty much only negative things to say about the experience. I won’t go into that episode again, suffice it to say I enjoyed it enough to not only show up for a second year, but also to volunteer for almost seven hours of working at the raffle tickets table.
While some expats take the approach of, “I don’t like the United States, that’s why I left”, I look at it from the belief that even if there are aspects of US culture for which I don’t care, it is within my ability to actively participate and influence the changes I want to see. That’s why last year I volunteered at the Democrats Abroad table, registering expats to vote and talking up the need for change in Washington. I’d like to think that my efforts contributed in some small part to moving the world’s perception of America back towards the right track.
This year’s event was held at the American School, a private primary and secondary school that is located just a few blocks from my condo, behind Samitivej Hospital. Their campus has lots of trees and the main basketball court / stage area has a large roof over it, giving celebrants plenty of shaded areas to enjoy the breezy day.
Several thousand people attended, representing every star and stripe of American culture. We had many expat families who are here on temporary work assignments, we had Mormon missionaries and young Peace Corps volunteers, we had a group of “butch” lesbians with lots of piercings and tattoos, plenty of gay couples of all ages, long-term expats who have been here for dozens of years, tourists who just happened to be in town this weekend, and of course the typical hugely overweight American men with their tiny Thai girlfriends/wives who were half their age and one-quarter their size.
Where some might have seen ugly stereotypes, I saw the diversity that is America, for better or for worse.
There were also lots of Thai families there, many of whom have children attending the American School and others of whom were there just for the fun of it. There was a large play area set up for children with all sorts of games, including all the traditional Fourth of July favorites: tug o’ war, bucket relays, three-legged races, potato (or, in this case, rice) sack races, face painting, etc.
Below, a short video look at some of the fun.
On the food side of things, the local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars were grilling hamburgers while the Wives’ Auxiliary were cooking hot dogs and selling the most popular item – Sam Adams beer (which is not sold here and has to be imported through the embassy!). Bourbon Street, Great American Rib Company, Roadhouse Barbecue and Sunrise Tacos were all present, selling their specialties. Another military service group was selling homemade apple pie and at the booth next door, Dairy Queen would put a dollop of vanilla soft serve on top. Of course, what Fourth would be complete without a chili cookoff?
Above, a direct hit at the dunking tank.
Most of my day was spent at the tables by the entrance where I and other volunteers hawked raffle tickets. Fifty baht (about $1.60) a ticket for a chance to win fifty fabulous prizes. First prize was two free tickets to anywhere in the U.S. that United Airlines flies. We had hotel room stays, spa visits, bicycles, car rentals and all sorts of other prizes. Best of all, proceeds went to support the chamber of commerce’s Adopt a School program, which provides support to poor schools in rural Thailand, including the building of playgrounds and providing of supplies. We must have raised at least $4,000 just from the raffle.
So it was a fun day celebrating the 233rd anniversary of America’s declaration of independence. I hope that those of you who were in the U.S. had a chance to enjoy the holiday, too. For those of you outside the U.S., I hope you had a nice weekend!
christao408 
Happy “Belated” Fourth of July, Chris! I spent the weekend in SF. There were hords of tourists as usual. Had a fun time in the wine country too!
I really liked what you said: ” I look at it from the belief that even if there are aspects of US culture for which I don’t care, it is within my ability to actively participate and influence the changes I want to see.” And overall this is a very articulate account–made me wish I was there! I have never been to Thailand, although I love travelling.
Hand cranked ice cream, burgers and dogs, “Safe and Sane” fireworks, lots of friends and family. Missed you and Tawn though.
50 Baht for a ticket? What a bargain! If I’m ever in Bangkok on July 4th, I’ll have to get some tickets and enjoy the celebration.
That’s kind of cool that there is a big enough ex-pat community to have a celebration. Even with all of this country’s ills, it’s still nice to celebrate.
@TheCheshireGrins – Certainly, when you consider the lack of freedoms and level of repression found in many countries, to run away and say “I want no part of the US” while still maintaining your passport and all the privileges of citizenship, is a bit of a slap in the face of all those people who would literally give their lives for a chance to immigrate.
@ElusiveWords – “100 baht doubles your chances. You can’t win if you don’t play. Who wants a date with lady luck?” Repeat for six hours. =)@stebow – Always a fun fourth at your place. Wish we could have made it!@curry69curry – Wine country is a fun way to celebrate, too!
@lil_squirrel4ever – Thanks for the comment. I think citizenship conveys responsibilities as well as privileges, so we should all do our part to make our country the way we want it to be. Happy belated Canada Day!
We used to celebrate the 4th of July also as Independence Day here in the Philippines. Now it is called Philippine-American Friendship Day.
I’ve been in a dunk tank once. They told me the water would be warm. Hah… it wasn’t!
that was fun to see that you celebrate over there too. come see my photo-I just posted one but I took alot. jilly
Glad you held such a good perspective at the event!:)Hope you had a great weekend, and have a good week!
UA tickets!!! I would have fought for those…no, seriously. Ok, not really. I don’t fight…but I give good ‘stink eyes’. Hehe. Hope it was fun! Did you go in the dunk tank? Haven’t seen one of those in years! And Sam Adams is an import? Ew and weird…Love the ratios you give regarding the age and size. Haha. I love how this never applies to gay couples…they’re always either thin-thin or bear-bear. Haha. Opposites definitely do not attract in our department!
Nicely written. Must have been a lot of fun!
@kenpcho – Gosh, here in Thailand there are plenty of those opposite attracts gay relationships. Come to think of it, I recall quite a number of them in the US, too. Maybe it just isn’t an Angelino thing? =)
for sure that’s one of the best ways to celebrate the 4th of JUL….Happy belated Independence Day!
What a great time!!! I am so glad that they had something like that for you to be able to enjoy. And the fact that they chose to give the profits from the raffle to the schools was wonderful!! I have very fond memories of the first 4th of July that we were in Bangkok…we went to a celebration at the US Embassy…nothing as fun and elaborate as what you described…but we did have the usual, hot dogs, fireworks…and I can still remember the thrill I felt as the band played the National Anthem and we all stood at attention as the flag was raised!!! I can still get teary-eyed ……just thinking about it!!! We celebrated with two of our daughters in Lawrence, Ks…typical barbeque and beer…lol. Ruth Ann
I spent July 4 in Long Beach, visited the aquarium, had dinner on the Queen Mary and watched firework. $1.60 for a raffle with top price of 2 free UA tickets to USA, and Adopt a School is a great program. If I were in Bangkok, I would have bought a bundy of raffle tickets from you. 🙂
Happy 4th!
@stevew918 – The aquarium in LB is quite nice. Fun way to spend the holiday!@yang1815 – Thank you.
Hope you had a nice 4th Chris! Mine was spent at a wedding in LA. The US is by no means perfect, but hopefully the 4th can help remind us of some of the good: our independence, our diversity, our capacity for change. Hopefully we will keep moving forward and not back.
Happy belated 4th of July! I really like how you see try to see the good in everything rather than your fellow Americans who have such a negative attitude. There are a lot of things to commend about Americans. Everyone has both a good and bad side…
@Norcani – I wonder when we’ll change American Independence Day to American-British Friendship Day? It has been 233 years already…@ElusiveWords – You didn’t notice the icebergs floating in the tank?@karen_lynn – Thank you!@Dezinerdreams – It sure was fun. Hope you are enjoying your travels.@agmhkg – Thanks!@Redlegsix – You’ll be interested in knowing that the young peace corps volunteer with whom I sold raffle tickets for about three hours is from Lawrence! He’s here for 27 months straight out of college. If I recall, he’s been here about 16 months already. Very impressive person – and his parents, too, who are helping cover his student loans while he does this work abroad.@doiturselfer – Ryan, hope you had a fun time in LA. I’m confident that the US continues to, slowly but surely, fulfill its promise of becomming “a more perfect union”.@brooklyn2028 – Thanks, Sheldon. I see myself as the Mary Sunshine of Xanga… LOL! If I wear rose-colored glasses, I will see only robins and not the crows.
@christao408 – Wow..small world isn’t it??? My daughter ( who just graduated with her Masters from KU ) is seriously thinking about either the Peace Corp or some other sort of volunteer work after she comes back from her year in Spain!!! I wish I had the opportunity to do things like that when I was younger…but then being an Army wife was quite an adventure too!!! Ruth Ann
Looks like a big crowdd and something for everyone! Loved the dunk tank… Bet it was refreshing!
So glad that you do what you do Chris. You are one heck of an ex-pat. Looks you had a great time again this year.
I have never seen a dunk tank except on TV or in movies…
@Wangium – They definitely play to the schadenfreude of the crowd.