4th of July in DC.

Independence Day in Washington D.C. was a splendid day indeed. I’m four days overdue on posting this and it’s midnight, so I’ll let pictures do more of the talking than my usual walls of text.

Passed by the White House on the way to the parade on Constitution ave.

American flags hanging on cranes.

What was great about the parade was that it showcased the various communities within the city, even if they weren’t ethnically White. These were the Chinese Americans that lived in Washington DC. America was founded on immigrants, so this was a very touching sight to me.

After that, we went to the Folklife Festival that had been ongoing for over a week. We danced to some folk songs, watched various performances, walked around and enjoyed the scorching sun age our skin and induce upon us skin cancer.

I then left the group of Berkeley kids to go to a BBQ event I was invited to. The friend who I invited was none other than the Arizona State University/Johns Hopkins-Nanjing alum whom I met at TAP-DC last week. It turns out that the majority of those who attended this BBQ were Berkeley alum! Most of us had mutual friends, and everyone graduated around the years 2009-13. Small world.

To the right is an American dish: whipped cream, peaches, and snickers all mashed together.

A couple of the girls were actually Taiwanese students; one was taking summer school at Hopkins, while the other one was on vacation. Another was also an ASU alum. Many had their masters degrees, while one was attending UPenn Law in fall semester. Lastly, one was a native Taiwanese. Having graduated from National Taiwan University and Oxford for his masters, he was a diplomat for the Taiwanese government and was in his second of six years serving as a foreign service officer in the States.

These guys were all incredible and I felt humbled and intrigued by their presence. I hope to be half the people they are in four years.

I then re-rendezvoused with the Berkeley folks whom I left. I reached Malcolm X Park at 8:45pm and watched the fireworks with them. This was largely a failure as trees blocked our paths to the firework display.

A great day with great people. I’m blessed to be a Taiwanese American.