Obama Chocolate: The (Obligatory?) Elections Post

First Tuesday in November every four years brings so much action via social media. (I'm going to have to stay off Facebook for the rest of the week to maintain any semblance of sanity. The bickering, arguing, debating, and snide remarks drive me nuts.)  That said... here's my "social media" contribution, for those who are wondering what the political climate is like in my international community bubble as of late...

As soon as the election results tipped the scale of electoral votes in Obama's undefeated favor, tallying more than 270 electoral votes and the majority of the popular vote (by a narrow margin, at that point in the ballot count), cheering and screaming for joy (literally) echoed through the halls of AIAN. It's a good day to be a U.S. citizen living abroad.

During my departmental (world language dept) after-school meeting, a mini celebration was thrown by my French-Canadian and Chinese colleagues for the two of us U.S. citizens present (out of eight people). They insisted on CHOCOLATE cake, in honor of Obama's four more years to come. (I've observed that Chinese are not afraid of being overtlyfactual about race and color--much like some latinos I have encountered.)

Celebratory cake at our meeting!

I thanked my international friends for the cake, and they profusely thanked me for the reason to celebrate, and for my vote. It struck me again just how important my vote is not only to have the freedom to "voice" and submit my say that theoretically impacts the direction of our country, but also the impact and influence our U.S. politics have on a large majority of the rest of the world. Not to mention that the WA state elections this year were a doosie, and mighty important to be voting on big hot-topic matters as well: legalizing pot, gay marriage, charter school issues, and many local and state positions up for (re)election.

Reflection time... I've voted via overseas absentee ballottwo presidential elections in a row. How interesting that I have been able to vote (via absentee ballot methods) forthe same man twice now: first from Costa Rica in 2008, (then again during thiselection's primaries when I was living in CR for a second time), and now fromChina! Thanks to technology for making absentee (online/electronic)ballot submission a possibility in this election! Mailing an absentee ballot from China is notas easy as it was from CR (and that's really saying something!).