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"Without faith you can't see a miracle; you just see unexplained events." -- Tim Ward

389--Netherlands: 4th of July in Holland @ CherieSpotting     Jul 04 2007 - 16:11 PST cherie writes: How do you celebrate 4th of July in the Netherlands? With a Chinese flag, of course! A dozen Dutch (and one Belgian) friends gathered in Holland to celebrate 4th of July with two Americans—Cherie and Brian. First Brian and I had to explain to everyone what 4th of July was. America’s Independence Day, of course! Independence from what, our Dutch friends asked. The British! Our international gang celebrated in style with hot dogs (out of a can!), hamburgers, chips, salad (which no one ate because there are vitamins in vegetables) and home-made apple pie. No matter how hard we looked at the grocery store, we couldn’t find any American beer. Brian suggested the American beer was all “sold out” because of the 4th of July, but I think it was because the Dutch know better than to drink that crap. (Side-note: The making-love-in-a-canoe joke was a big success!) The only American flag we could find was a doormat, and I’m not sure what that says about our country. Technically the American flag isn’t supposed to touch the ground, so we were breaking all kinds of rules with a flag on a doormat! And why did a Chinese flag fly outside our 4th of July party in the Netherlands? Because Claudia adopted a little girl named Noa from China! Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (1) | write comment| views: 5115    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   A group of Dutch friends (and one Belgian) celebrate 4th of July with the Americans--Cherie and Brian. When most people think of Holland they think of wooden shoes, tulips and windmills. (Wooden shoes!) Tulips. Rob's car by a Dutch windmill. Brian and Eva with the American flag doormat. Technically the American flag isn't supposed to touch the ground, so we could be in big trouble here. Claudia and her little girl Noa (who just turned 3!) Claudia and Marjo are friends and business partners. Claudia and Marjo in front of their office: CM Personal Finance. 4th of July supplies! The only hot dogs we could find came in a can. Noa helps Marjo bake the brownies. No 4th of July party is complete without a homemade apple pie. (Thanks for baking it, Karen.) The first course is hot dogs. Followed by the second course, hamburgers. The bun isn't quite right, but it's close enough. Americans Cherie and Brian with the Chinese flag. The Chinese flag, a Dutch home and an American holiday. Brian and Eva. Brian and Eva on the flag doormat. Dangerous stuff. Happy 4th of July! Cherie, Brian and Eva. I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Possibly that famous 4th of July dance? Marjo and Claudia. Brian shares some of his hair with Rob. (Notice Rob's USA shirt!) The Dutch ride their bikes everywhere. Here's a 4-story bike rack. Now that's a lot of bicycles.