THE AMERICAN shows Dublin how to do the 4th of July!

The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday (Christmas beats all), and I love it not only for the fireworks and pool-side buffets, but also for the fact that it's a 24 hour period when you're bursting with the pride of being an American.  You feel the importance of the national cause.  You have a history and heritage to uphold.  You take time to thank the men and women who fought and died for your freedom, and you stand in tribute to those continuing to fight for freedom today.  It's a day when I, personally, set aside my critical views of our political and commercial state of being, and I thank my lucky stars for the nationality I was born into.

Given that, yesterday was a hard day for me. It's not a holiday here in Dublin, so I was at the office. I could virtually smell the BBQs warming up back home, the fruit salads being prepared, the red, white and blue desserts popping out of the ovens. In my mind I could see the blankets being laid out for fireworks later in the evening, I could see the old cars lining up for the parade, and I could see my family applying sunscreen and gathering up the babies to go downtown for the festivities. They would all be together, laughing, eating, and having a blast. I sat at my desk working through irritating emails, these thoughts going through my head, and I started to get teary eyed. 

BUT, I whisped the tears away quickly, because my fellow office mates had gone out of their way to wish me a Happy 4th.  Some even wore the colors for the occasion.  A group had invited me to go out for the evening as the local Chamber of Commerce was throwing a 4th of July party, and SanDisk was invited as an American company with presence in Dublin.  I had dressed up for the occasion, wearing my blue dress, black heels, full hair and makeup.  Everyone was very complimentary...apparently i polish up pretty well.

Around 6 in the evening, the group headed out to the club where the party would start.  It was a rooftop terrace, decked out with lighting, food, and plenty of alcohol.  As soon as i walked through the door, we were greeted by the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and I was introduced as "The American".  He was thrilled to have someone from the States in the room, and we started a lively chat about my time in Ireland so far.  As the room filled with people I went around to mingle, and it was a great time.  I met the Mayor and we had a good discussion about the local politics.  I met businessmen and woman from the surrounding
companies, and of course, I spent some time with my office mates as well. Around an hour and a glass and a half of wine in, the President of the Chamber, the Mayor, and the VP of Global Operations at Symantec got up on stage for a toast and speech. "You are all very welcome to be here this evening, and a special welcome to Gina Piccardo, who is visiting us from the States. We hope you enjoy our tribute to your 4th of July celebrations." I was standing towards the middle of the room, so i smiled, waved, and thanked them for having me. After the speeches had finished, I could make my way through the room with everyone knowing who I was, and that made it easy to chat up the place. Most of my time was spent with the Mayor and President of the Chamber.  They were interesting to talk to, and were eager to hear my perspective on their local eccentricities, which i was happy to give them. 
By 8pm the food had been served, most of the wine had been gone through, and there was horrible 80's and 90's American music playing. By the way, the thing I learned about Irish drinking is it isn't necessarily the quantity they're known for, it's the speed at which they drink it. These folks throw it back like pros, and it was awesome to be around people that could keep up ;) We didn't stay at the venue much longer as there were other, more interesting pubs in the area to explore. We made our way downtown, and stopped at an older, traditional pub with plenty of grit and charm. We walked up to the bartender and he asked what I was havin'. I asked for white wine, as that's what I had started the night with. His facial twitch was just noticeable enough that, as he took the drink orders from the guys as well, I ragged on him about the fact that he was obviously unhappy with my choice. "No no" he said, "you'll be that much more fun later." I had to laugh at that. We took up our drinks, had a toast, and commenced with the discussions about random American facts.

The taps at the bar were not only plentiful, they were very big and tall, especially the Heineken taps, and as they were advertised as "Super Cold" under the name, the entire two foot tap pipe was frozen, and had a glimmery layer of ice all around it. One of my guys mused about whether your tongue would get stuck to the tap. I said we should find out. They
looked at me with big eyes, then eagerly encouraged me to do it. "Oh people probably pull that stunt every night," I said. "No one here would do that," was the reply. I gave Karl my phone, waited for the bartender to round the corner, then leaned over and stuck my tongue to the side of the tap. It didn't stick.  I was now their Champion, and I had a great picture to show for it. They had one more round (I had been on water since leaving the first club) and we went in search of new digs.

We landed at a club down the street that was very posh, and reminded me of a nicer club you would find in San Francisco. It was still relatively early, around 10pm, and the place was just starting to fill up. We grabbed a place at the bar and commenced with people watching, commentating, and, for them, drinking. A while in, our friends from the Chamber of Commerce appeared, and we all formed a larger group and kept up with the hob-nobbing. They were all pretty hammered at this point, and I was well near completely sober, so I just had a blast with them. I was now THE young American at the 4th of July party surrounded by influential, drunk Irish folks. Kid + Candy Shop.  I have lunch with the Mayor in a couple weeks and will be helping the Chamber put together their plan to enter into "Sisterhood" with Santa Clara County back home. GREAT FUN!

It was now midnight and the place was hoppin with a much younger crowd. I pulled the guys towards the dance floor, and they went VERY begrudgingly. I was actually a little intimidated. The large room had a big dance floor, lined with a bar on one side, tables on the other. The room had a high ceiling, a great light show, and Top 40s American music was blaring. This was my scene, but there were a bunch of attractive people dancing full out, and I was starting to feel a little timid, I'm not gonna lie. I stayed off to the side with the guys for a bit, watching the crowds do their thing. I think it was Ne-Yo featuring Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" that had be putting my glass down, saying "I'll be right back" to the boys, and I made my way into the middle of the dance floor just as the song hit.

10 minutes and 2 songs later, I was in the center of a circle of people, all eagerly watching my feet as I pulled out my one real dance trick....most of you have seen it (my go-to Lady Gaga move). The crowd LOVED it, and there were people all around me looking at my feet, trying to emulate what it was I was doing. They girls were going absolutely mental, all pulling me into their respective groups, and the guys were kind of standing back watching with smirks on their faces. Once in a while a brave one would make his way into the group to dance with me. I was over the moon having a blast. Back home people kinda just look at me like I'm weird. Here, they were all RIGHT WITH ME, and it felt like a mob dance scene out of a feel good 90's movie.

After watching the spectacle of "me" on the dance floor for a bit, the guys from the office meandered onto the sidelines of the dance floor and started swaying in a "cool" fashion. To my absolute surprise, though, just as a new song was starting to hit, one of them burst into the circle, swept me up and started twirling me around the room in a mix of ballroom dancing meets club craze. People gave us a BIG circle to dance within, really because they had to, but it was probably also something hilarious to watch. I had the biggest smile on my face as we danced our way through a set. It was absolutely brilliant. We took a break after that, sitting down at the table for a quick drink, but it wasn't long before another favorite song came on, and I was back out. This time a different member of the crew joined me, and he was a great dancer as well, more in-place and synchronized though, so a completely different feel. After his set, I stayed out and continued to dance with the groups around me, all very inclusive and friendly. It was an amazing atmosphere and so very different from home.

We didn't leave the club until 2 in the morning, and even then I had energy to spare. It had been a better night than I could have ever imagined. WHAT a way to celebrate the 4th of July. I do love home, and nothing beats a good old family BBQ....but being THE American at THIS 4th of July party is going to be hard to top....EVER.