July 4th

"So did you celebrate July 4th?"

I looked at the guy asking the question to see if he was being funny.

"What?"

"Did you celebrate July 4th?"

Now the question is only strange when you consider that I am an Englishman that has been in the US for about 3 months. Again I considered the person asking. He says:-

"Don't you celebrate July 4th in England?"

When I answered to the negative I still had to ask was this guy having fun with me. So this is how the rest of the conversation went.

"They celebrate July 4th in Canada"

"No they don't"

"Yes they do"

"What is July 4th?"

"Its when we have barbecue and fireworks"

"Why?"

"Coz its July 4th"

"What about independence day?"

"When's that?"

It was at this time that I realised that the meaning of July 4th was completely lost in this conversation. I could not believe that I was about to give an American history lesson.

"Independence day is when Americans celebrate independence from the British in 1776"

"Well we just celebrate July 4th with barbecue and fireworks"

I have now been working with this guy for 10 years. I understand him a lot better and consider him one of the good guys.

I recall this conversation as my family and I are now naturalised citizens of the US. It was an interesting process that began a long time prior to the ceremony. I had to come to terms with being English and becoming an American and it had nothing to do with opinion but everything to do with history. Along with all of the declarations came the requirement of learning facts about American history.

"Who was the first President?"
"What is Congress?"
"What are the three branches of government"

There was a lot to learn in short space of time. In order to help in the process we searched the internet and developed a list of questions. We did 'Q&A' sessions with our friends and work colleagues. Some of the results where kind of frightening!

I ask my kids as they learn American history what they understand and what it means having parents from England. It is important that they are aware of their heritage and understand where they are from!

So I was walking through work the other day and this guy says to me:-

"Do they celebrate Presidents Day in England?"

Finally Started to Swim

This is my first blog ever!
I am currently training for a local sprint triathlon in Washington. This will be my second sprint triathlon.
So far it has been a busy year for my triathlon training.
In April I ran my first half marathon and surprised myself at how well I did. Finishing time was 2hrs 11 min. I would have done better except at mile 6-8 I was just busting for a pee! Have you ever ran two miles with a bladder fit to burst?? Last month I purchased my first road bike and I really like it (Trek 1.2) My backside is getting used to the saddle slowly but surely. Earlier in the year I took a 6 week swimming lesson at the YMCA. I needed to learn how to swim freestyle.
After these events this year I ask myself how I completed my first traithlon last year? I could not swim freestyle so swam the 500 yards doing my version of the breastroke. I did the bike leg in the pouring rain on my Walmart mountain bike which made the 5K run at the end the easiest part of the event.....but I felt great!
So I set my goal for this years triathlon to be better than the last. My running is good, my cycling is okay but I swim like a rock!!
Today is the 4th June 2008 a historic day where I swam my first 100 yards freestyle without stopping and gasping for air.
I have been going to the pool between 2 and 4 times per week for the last couple of months. I finally managed to learn how to breathe on alternate sides after every 3 strokes. I started by swimming 25 yards each time the first week, then 50, then 75 and now I am doing 4 sets of 100 yards.
Okay only another 400 yards left to swim....