Today, we celebrated the birthday of one of our friends on his boat docked at Fortman Marina in Alameda CA. As we were interacting, I was amused at the energetic exchanges and the many accents. It brought a big smile on my face when I noticed the mix of people:
- Israeli (former Air Force pilot, now an entrepreneur, and the birthday celebrant)
- American Indian/Irish
- Filipino (me)
- Australian
- Myanmar (how do we call folks from Myanmar or Borneo?)
- Portuguese
- Russian
- German/Scottish
- English
Of the people who were there, only 4 were born in the U.S., and 6 are immigrants --- a nice reminder that this country is a real melting pot (or salad bowl depending on your preferred metaphor). Need I mention the different religions also represented at the party? Can you imagine a Jew partying with a Muslim? A Catholic with a Protestant?
There's a website called the Migration Information Source that provides interesting data about immigration in the United States.
The point of this is to underscore awareness and appreciation for, as well as understanding of multi-culturalism and diversity.
And to remind us once again that indeed, we are a nation of immigrants.
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