Trying to celebrate an American holiday anywhere other than America is, obviously, not quite the same. But I did my best. We couldn't find any American flags, but there happens to be one red wall in our house, which made a perfect base for some hastily taped together pieces of printer paper and blue streamers. I ran out of patience after cutting out about 20 stars, but I think it worked quite well. We even managed to find some Budweiser and MGD on sale.
As I brought one American tradition to friends in Perth, they returned the favor with a Christmas in July dinner. Apparently some Australians feel they get ripped off trying to eat typical hot Christmas dinners when it's nearly 100 degrees outside, and therefore deserve two Christmases. Snow it did not, but there was Secret Santa and lots of potato dishes.
