Happy Fourth of July!!!

Ooooh!! Aaaahhhh!!

Fourth of July is here and I am excited to be leaving my home soon to attend a BBQ and watch fireworks in San Francisco. I haven't really watched an Independence Day celebration in the Bay Area yet, I usually go with my mother to watch fireworks every year, it's been a tradition of sorts. I picked up an intense love of fireworks from my mother, who excitedly took me to any 4th of July fireworks show she could find as I was growing up. My family and I moved often, but regardless, my mother would find those fireworks and she would add her own "ooh, ahhh!!" soundtrack every time the lights burst above us.

I can't..too cute...Mongolian Baby!!

On the Fourth of July, I am reminded of the cultural diversity that the United States encompasses, because to me that is what the United States is about. Yes there is controversy regarding human rights issues found in immigration and in the racial inequities of our criminal justice system; but there are also aspects of hope, beauty and yes freedom within the United States. An example of this was this past Saturday, when I attended a Mongolian Naadam Festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Naadam, as a participant explained to me, is a summer festival that is a big part of Mongolian culture. The day was pretty epic, with people walking around in beautiful, extravagant outfits and a skit taking center stage with masks, dancing and booming music to go along with the action. I took lot of picture of cute babies in traditional clothes, and ate some amazing roasted lamb and traditional fried dumplings called buuz which were ridiculously good.

::gasp:: Get in Ma belly!!

As I watched the festival, I reflected upon how lucky I was to be in a diverse place like the Bay Area, to learn directly about different cultures that I had been unfamiliar with before (seriously, I really didn't know too much about Mongolian culture till that day, so it was great learning experience!).

My days with the Bengali Students Association at Rutgers University, @ our annual cultural show Tigerfest

My old home, the NJ/NYC Metropolitan area was similar in this respect as I learned of so many different cultures through my friends and during my time at Rutgers University, where I would attend cultural events representing many different areas of the world.

Aztec dancers at CA state capital on Immigrant Day 2011

We are lucky to have this in the United States. Here, people can have festivals, wear cultural clothes and dance and worship in the way they choose. Yes it's not perfect, yes there is xenophobia, Islamaphobia and bigotry, but we can still practice and express our cultural identities. That is a wonderful aspect about being an American. There are so many other areas of the world where this kind of expression is unheard of or even illegal. In Saudi Arabia for example, you cannot enter the country if you are Jewish (or ride planes going through the country for that matter), and women cannot move freely outside of their homes. In China, there are severe crackdowns on many different groups whom the government deems as undesirable or culturally subversive.
Mongolian festivals, Burmese Festivals, Bengali cultural dance performances, Aztec dancers and so many other examples of cultural expressions that I have seen and experienced make me feel very connected to my fellow human beings. I cherish this and I cherish that we have the freedom to show off our cultures and integrate into American life as well. It's not always perfect, but it can be there for us to appreciate.

Happy Fourth of July!!