Celebrating 4th of July, Slovene Style

Ah... the Fourth of July... the day where we celebrate the birth of our own country by eating jell-o salad decorated like an American flag and watch children AND adults blow things up, safely. The day where only restaurant employees have to work, but nobody comes in because everyone is making sure their neighborhood does not burn down completely. The day where everyone damages their ear drums a little bit, and sings songs like "This land is our land".

For the second time now, I celebrated the 4th of July in Europe. First time, went to an army base, rode on rollercoasters, and ate corn on the cobb and candy apples... nothing could be more American!

This year, Sarah Murphy and I attempted to throw an "American Day" party. We sort of succeeded... with eating American dessert (improvised with homeade quasi-brown sugar) and singing the national anthem. We also listened to Elton John (realized that he may have not been the right choice, but it seemed to fit), drank bad beer (no offense, Slovenia), and ate 7 layer bean dip.

About 7 layer bean dip...
We thought nothing could get more 4th-of-July than this. In fact, it was Roman's special wish, as he remembered it from my dad's pigroast. However, this was no easy task. We had to begin with making refried beans, because you cannot buy them here (not really difficult, mash up some pintos, add oil and onions... fry). We then had to remember what the 7 layers were... beans, guac, salsa, lettuce, olives, tomatoes, onions, cheese (8 layer dip?), and then attempted, fruitlessly, to find yellow cheese. Everyone here thinks that they eat yellow cheese, but they don't. They eat white cheese, and they refuse to accept that it is not yellow. Tilen was there for the assembly process, to which I am sure he thought it was the most disgusting food ever, because 7 layer bean dip is really just taking all of the gross-looking foods and putting them together to make an incredible combination of flavors. After making it, transporting it to the cottage in the woods, and opening it, we then had to defend its name to everyone. Why is it called 7 layer bean dip?! Only one layer is beans!
-Well, the beans are the most important layer
Why not 7 layer cheese dip?!
-That would be something different. And this isn't even cheddar cheese... it should be yellow.
It is yellow cheese!
-No sir, that cheese is white.

Later in the evening, we took the leftover food home and invited some friends over for dessert and coffee. The best part was definitely Sarah burning the coffee. I was hoping we could light some things on fire, but she gave us the legit, home smell without having to sacrifice something that we might need later.

All in all, I would say that American Day was a success. We had all of the essentials:
1. Overeating
2. Burning
3. Red, White, and Blue (Sarah and I both wore handkerchiefs around our necks)
4. Drinking
5. Fun

Thanks Slovenia, for letting us bring a little bit of home here.