Obama ’08 Yes, We Did!

I stayed up until 5:30am this morning. I just couldn’t sleep. I had to know. It was killing me. I paced most of the day. At 4 :02am GMT the announcement came in. Obama has one. Thank God. I burst into tears. I don’t think I have ever been so proud of my country.

It felt like we where standing at a fork in the road. One was the low road. The same direction that McCains campaign went.   Negative. Fearful. Hateful. Angry. Embarrassing. The whole show was so dirty. So low. So disgusting. It makes a person feel they need a shower. The other road was the high road. The road that was about cooperation. Positive outlook. Dignity. Pride. I am so proud that my country chose to take the high road. The last 8 yrs have been such a low. Its mind blowing anyone would want to stay on that low road to no where.

I cant really put into words what I feel. All I can say is Yep, we did it. As Maya Angelou said so wonderfully, America has grown up. I believe her. The future feels bright. I am very happy and more then a little tired.

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Just to set the record straight.

Just to set the record straight for anyone who is wondering, Americans who live abroad are still Americans. We still care about America. We have the right to vote and we do. I am an American. I live abroad. I love my country and I vote.

I live my life, daily, as a living representative of America. Every time I open my mouth I am no longer a person, but the American. People don’t know my name but know me as the American lady. I am fully aware that I may be the only American the person standing in front of me has ever met, or possibly ever will meet. It was more intense when I first move abroad then it is now. Its still there. I speak, the response is always… you sound American.  Yes, I am an immigrant. I am a foreigner. I am American.

Because I am the living representative of America I have gotten the brunt of the anger from people. It has come as passive aggressive with under toned comments, or plain aggressive. I have had people glare, snarl and tell me to my face that they hate F-ing Americans. I have had people follow me, get excited, and tell me that they love Americans. It evens out. But the anger is there. America has lost its respect from the people who once held it in respect.  The world expects more from us, and frankly, so do I. More so now then ever. Fellow Americans, you may think it doesn’t matter what the world thinks about us, but it does. Very much so.

Right now I am feeling pretty blue about my homeland. This election is a pretty remarkable time. Its fantastic that a black man and a woman are running. Its fantastic that we have progressed. It looks fantastic on the surface. But what I am seeing from way over here, an ocean away isn’t so great. From what I am seeing and hearing are some pretty nasty comments, and disgusting lies.  This election is bringing out the lowest side of us. People are saying and doing things that they would never do. On forums or social sites, they are saying things they would never say to someones face. Its ugly. Its disgusting. Its un-American.

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I love my computer

It amazing how much my life has become dependent on computers. I remember a time, not all that long ago really, that I didn’t even have a computer. Now, most everything in my life has a computer twist to it. I met my husband on line. I got my dog on line. We found our car on line. I met friends on line. I communicate with my family on line. We found the home we want to buy on line. We pay our bills on line. We buy groceries on line. I watch missed TV shows on line. 15 yrs ago… maybe even 10 years ago people would of found this so strange. Futuristic. Not possibly true. Pretty much every aspect of my life has the computer involved in it somehow.

So nothing brings my world to a screeching halt faster then when it goes down. It did over the weekend. Talk about the world coming to an end.  Two days with no on line communities to visit. No blog to write in. NO EMAIL. What is a girl to do? I wont say that it was so bad that I got the shakes and shivers of a withdrawing patient in rehab, but boredom soon over took. The house felt much smaller. The world shrank. I seriously do not know how on earth we existed without this global contact. No one feels that far to me when I am on line. Not my family in the US. Not my friend in South Africa. No one is that far away. Just a click of a switch, a click on the mouse and the world is there at my feet. I guess I would have to say, I love my computer.

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