Hi Tara, nice to hear from you. I live on the border of Texas and Mexico, and we’re very bicultural here. The population is about 80% Hispanic. Because I live here, I am bilingual, I’m often invited to quincineras, we have the best Mexican food in the country, and when I was teaching, I conducted most parent conferences in Spanish. Mexican music is often played, and the university has a Mariachi band. People cross both sides of the border all the time, and there are very few problems mixing and enjoying each other’s cultures. Catholic masses are held in both languages, and if folks don’t speak English, there are translators everywhere. We also have a large military base here, and we often get people from different parts of the world. We have Oktoberfest, Cinco de Mayo, and American celebrations every year. We make it work every day, and it’s great.

If you go to San Francisco, you can hear a dozen languages spoken in a day. I wish I could afford to live in California, because it seems to be a live and let live kind of place. People seem to take differences in stride there, whether it’s culture, language, sexual orientation, religion, or whatever. At least that’s been my experience and my cousins’ who live in Southern California.

I know that’s not always the case everywhere, but I think it can be. It’s up to us. Thanks for your comment, and blessings.