PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

I think when the founding fathers of the US decided to sign a declaration of Independence, they picked the wrong time of the month. The 4th day? They got it all wrong. In Belize, their Independence Day is September 21. It also happened to fall on a Monday this year, which naturally means that all weekend is full of festivities and other fun times.

Dont be so dense as to think people here only party for the weekend. Being that there are 30 days in the month of September, Belizeans tend to party for the first 21 days of the month to celebrate their Independence.
Im not sure if we have lost some of our senses in terms of how important independence can be being that we have been independent for 233 years and all, but Belize has only been a country for 28 years of today. This means that many who celebrate remember being a British Colony and know how important being Belizean is.
The amount of flags and the number of times I've heard the national anthem here is ridiculous. Every car has a minimum of 10 flags on it, houses are often decorated with flags, streamers and other festive things. Somehow in the states, we get by and call ourselves patriotic by only putting a flag up in the yard. Here, they take it to a whole new level.
So while we may claim stake to beer, barbeque, hot dogs, cornhole and fireworks... We still have a lot to learn. Or we probably have learned these things, but somewhere in the past 233 years we forgot. So I guess what Im trying to say is that we have some work to do in the states and I think that upon my return, I will celebrate the 4th of July with a fervor that I will have learned from being fortunate enough to celebrate 3 Independence Days with Belize.

Happy Birthday Belize