Great American Rib - July 4, 2013

Independence Day!

Geoffrey liked the 'Merica collage we left on his desk and hung it up on the wall. He pointed out that only an American would misspell their own country.

On July 4 after finishing work, our driver dropped us off at the MRT as usual. Instead of taking the subway home to Lat Prao though, we transferred to the Skytrain to take us downtown.

For Independence Day, Katie invited us to all go out together for dinner at a place where the American teachers always celebrate. Great American Rib is an authentic American barbecue restaurant in Bangkok. It was founded by Americans and primarily caters to American expats. Every year they host a big Independence Day barbecue buffet. Eleven of us went in total, nearly all of the American teachers from my school. All three of us from Mathayom went, the Vocational girls went, and most of the Prathom teachers went as well.  Bangkok is great, and I really love Thailand. The culture is beautiful, and I really like the food. Sometimes however, it feels good to have a taste of home, especially on the 4th of July. I even ate my meal with a fork and knife, the American way! (In Thailand you eat with a fork and spoon. You use the fork to put food on the spoon, and then eat from the spoon. No idea why. It's weird, but you get used to it.) It's really fun living in Lat Prao because there aren't many farangs around and you can really get a feel for everyday life. That being said, it was awesome to be around a ton of Americans for the 4th.

Most "American" food in Thailand is nothing that you would actually want to eat. An "American Breakfast" I ordered once for example was just a slice of white bread and a hot dog ("toast and breakfast sausage"). Generally you're better off sticking with Thai food. Great American Rib is owned by an American though, and the food is authentic. For the 4th they had a huge all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet complete with brisket, pulled pork, ribs, cornbread, corn on the cob, apple pie... even sweet tea! It was just like being home. They even played American oldies!

Thursday is orange day

I hope everyone had a fun and happy Fourth of July! I had a blast with my friends here in Bangkok. Happy birthday, America!