Like most of the world I watched Obama's inauguration live on CNN, wishing I was among the frozen masses on the Mall in DC. The inauguration was at 6pm Swedish time and the local Democrats Abroad outfit (If there's a Republicans Abroad group here it's VERY hush-hush) organized a watch-the-inauguration-with-fellow-Americans evening at a place called Stars 'n Bars in Gothenburg.Like most American-inspired places around the world (and I'm having very bad memories of a place I waitressed in Munich called Ralph's right about now) Stars 'n Bars fails miserably at actually feeling American. Maybe it's the nachos served with cold fake cheese dip and weird garlic aioli and the burgers served with tarragon mayo, or maybe it's the Swedish waitresses. But the vibe is certainly not any America I know, and no amount of stars 'n bars pinned up around the place will fix that. Sorry people. Rant over.
But really, who cares about the surroundings once Obama starts speaking? That man can speak, and the feeling of relief, of hope and of pride was palpable in the room ... until the weird Swedish band called Gumbo started playing Chubby Checker. Here's my friend Deidre getting interviewed by a very sweet Swedish TV reporter about what it's like to be watching the inauguration from Sweden. Since Deidre's main goal in life is to leave Sweden and swears she has learned Swedish "despite herself," she's always good for a quote or two:
In some ways there's a barrier to really enjoying and relishing the moment of this inauguration from 3,000 miles away, surrounded by Swedes who are sympathetic but don't really feel the momentousness of this election. On the other hand, distance plays no role, and this inauguration has reached out and plucked the heartstrings of Americans all over Gothenburg and the world, making us ask ourselves what we're doing HERE when there's so much work to be done THERE.
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