Fourth of July Moldovan Style

Ok so celebrating American Independence while in Moldova was not one of the things I thought I would be doing. But as it turns out the American Chamber of Commerce, yes there apparently is an American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova, throws an annual party in celebration of the Fourth of July and invites anyone who wants to come. There was a 250 lei (22 dollars) admission fee but that granted us access to an unlimited supply of coke, sprite, water, juice, wine and beer. Food was also served but was a lot harder to come by as the Moldovan way for getting food isn't for everyone to stand in line and wait. Instead, everyone crowds the table forming a barrier and as a group they all circle the table until they have what they need and then they fall out of the group and if you are lucky you are able to jump in before someone else does. If not you might go hungry. Luckily the lines died down a little while after the food was served and I was able to get some food without having to fight anybody off. The first thing they served was spicy chicken wings, pasta salad, and some sort of couscous. Spicy food is very hard to come by in Moldova so that was a hot food item for most Americans. Later in the night they introduced more food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, and baked potatoes.

As for as entertainment it seemed like every ten minutes they had some activity planned such as a raffle, a hotdog eating contest, limbo, and a tug of war. (As a sidenote, never challenge Moldovans to a tug of war contest, you will lose.)

In the last hour of the night when all the drinks were completely diminished, and the only thing they had left in any quantity was beer and water, the band, Snails, finally started playing. They were surprisingly amazing and started off their set list with the White Stripes Seven Nation Army. Later they ran a gamut of classic rock music such as Proud Mary, Johnny B. Goode, Shout, Sweet Home Alabama, and finally I Feel Good as the closing number.

All in all it was not at all like any Independence day celebration I have been to but was well worth the 250 lei I paid to get in…oh and as of yet no second round of food poisoning, even from the McDonald's ice cream I ate last night.