Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!! I know I haven't posted much lately but that is because not much has been happening. Class and rain mostly. But today is July 4th, and although I am not going out to celebrate I thought I might just reflect a little bit on here.

I am not going to reflect on the important of American freedom or how glad I am the USA was born on this day in 1776. I am going to reflect on the relationship between the mother country and the US today. Before this trip my understanding of feelings of the UK people towards Americans was that they hate us, or at least think we are stupid and pathetic. Well that may be true in England but it certainly isn't here (for the most part). I have been so surprised with how common American references and merchandise is over here. All the music on the radio is American. All the movies in the theaters are American. Most of the tv shows everyone watches are American!

It gets even more intense than that! When my flatmates and I went shopping in Glasgow last week there were many stores that sold shirts with American flags on them. One store had compression shorts, dresses, t-shirts, leggins, bathing suits, and bandanas all American flags, and that was a pretty common site in various clothing stores. I have seen plenty of people wearing New York hoodies and there are American style diners everywhere. 

Again, I do not know if this is just Scotland, but it surprised me. The people here are so nice to Americans when I expected them to be affronted by us. Maybe the Scottish are just a friendly and helpful people in general. They find our accents as funny as we find ours. I spent about a half hour talking back and forth with two Scottish guys where they would have us try to mimic their accent and they would try to mimic ours.

All in all I have learned that the United States is a MASSIVE presence over here, much larger than I initially expected. I would love to see if this holds true in England, where all the anti-American hostility I have ever witnessed from the UK has come from, but I am not going to get the chance in the near future.

But forget England, SCOTLAND IS WHERE IT IS AT! I only hope, if it what is best for the country, that Scotland can be celebrating their own Independence day one day in the near future :D