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| Source - The Graphics Fairy |
Sometimes, I forget what day of the week it is. That sort of thing will happen to you when you don't have a regular job that you have to go to Monday through Friday. The days kind of blur into each other with no real difference between weekdays and weekends. One day is much like the other.
When I was working, weekends were something to look forward to. I always knew when it was a Saturday or a Sunday. No need for the snooze button, dealing with project plans and trying to frantically get the printer to spit out enough double-sided copies of your project status report for a meeting with your boss before it runs out of toner. Trust me, there's nothing worse than having to change the toner cartridge. It gets everywhere. Bosses tend to look unfavorably on you when you rush in late to a meeting with black powder all over your face and clothes, clutching double-sided project reports.
Those are the days when you really look forward to a three day weekend. When you're working, you always know when the next long weekend is. You live for it. It's what gets you through those tedious project meetings.
Not being a worker bee in corporate la-la land anymore, I'm kind of fuzzy on whether it's a long weekend. Last night, I heard some firecrackers go off. That kind of clued me in that something was up. Then, I got an email from a friend in New Zealand wishing me a happy 4th of July. Even my non-American friends are more on top of these things than I am.
To make up for my complete ignorance of not knowing that today was the 4th of July until kind of late in the game, I thought I should do something American to celebrate the holiday weekend. I did go to a pool party/barbecue on Saturday and I guess that kind of qualifies as a typical 4th of July weekend celebration, but I thought I could go one step further. So, I did. I took a US citizenship test.
Everyone who wants to become a naturalized US citizen has to pass a test on American history, geography, government etc. Fortunately, I knew that Independence Day is celebrated on the 4th of July, but I was a little fuzzy on how many amendments there are to the Constitution and the Federalist Papers are kind of a mystery to me.
Good news. I passed (95%). I guess I must have paid more attention in school than I thought. Phew. I guess I can keep my passport.
I don't have any plans to see fireworks tonight, but I am going to visit a friend. Maybe we'll talk politics and the upcoming election. You can't get more American than that.
What nationality are you? What's your favorite national holiday? Could you pass a citizenship test for your country?
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Woo hoo! 98%! I didn't know when the constitution was written or how many amendments there are, but I still think my high school government teacher would be proud. It's amazing how many of the answers I knew automatically. I guess it just goes to show you how good of a job they used to do hammering dates and facts into innocent young minds. Lol.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th of July!
Stephanie @ SV CAMBRIA
Well done!!! It is amazing how many facts seeped in despite me resisting learning anything about American history when I was in school.
DeleteI so remember long weekends when I was working. Being off and extra day was way cool.
ReplyDeleteI think Christmas is my favorite holiday, but I don't care for winter. Go figure.
Have a fabulous day and a very happy Independence Day. ☺
Christmas on a beach someplace wearm is kind of fun - you still get all the festivities but without the cold weather.
DeleteMy Canadian friend took a citizenship test here recently - we had a good laugh at some of the questions, ridiculous stuff that no-one needs to know. She got to be a Britsih citizen though, so she did take it with seriously.
ReplyDeleteI don't notice the holidays much either. John doesn't always get the standard ones which confuses me more. When working, I used to like Easter because it was the first and heralded two more in May, one in July then usually my summer vacation before the final one of the summer in September. Then the long grind till Christmas......
On the whole, I thought the questions on the US citizenship test made sense. Things people probably should know and things probably a a lot of natural born Americans don't know. Glad your friend got her British citizenship.
DeleteHappy 4th!
ReplyDeleteI'm Canadian, and I probably couldn't pass our citizenship test. I was impressed (and embarrassed) when I visited Zimbabwe and realized the children there knew more about Canadian history than I did.
Favorite national holiday...hmm, definitely not Canada Day, our version of Independence Day. Too much pressure to do something amazing. Since I don't have a regular job either, quite often I have to work on long weekends, which takes a lot of the fun out of it.
I know what you mean - whenever I'm in other countries I'm always impressed how much other people know about American history, current affairs etc. Usually much more than me :-)
DeleteThe US test seems quite fair, if even I can reach a score of more than 75%. I never cared much for the USA, never lived there and have no real clue about what kind of laws you have over there. If someone cares to become a citizen, that test shouldn't pose a problem.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, if you study up, it shouldn't be a problem to pass the US test. I think I read that 91% of people pass it, so it can't be too bad.
DeleteWhen I was teaching in Belgium, I really liked the month of May, because of the long weekends then. Of course, the two month summer vacation was my favorite to go traveling. While cruising on Irie, the days didn't matter too much, except that we hated weekends, because then all the beaches and sites would be more crowded. Now that we live on land and follow a working schedule during the week, I look forward to the weekends and thoroughly enjoy them. Thanks for the citizenship link. Looks like I have some studying to do when I plan to become a citizen in three years. I only had a 74% score. All the political questions threw me off. But, I have only lived here for less than a year, so I have a good excuse. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen you do your test, I think it's an oral one with only ten questions so you should ace it easy :-) How exciting that you have plans to become a citizen. Assume you're waiting because you need to be resident here for a certain period of time first?
DeleteYou got that right, Ellen! :-) It is the reason I applied for a greencard again this time and it is why we plan to be "around" the US for three years. If you are not married to a US citizen, you have to live in the US (for a minimum of 6 months out of each year) for five years before applying for citizenship.
Deletelol. Love that you were going to talk politics for July 4th. You are totally right! Nothing more American than that! Especially during this election period!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to take the citizenship test! Hopefully I pass… ;)