One of advantages of living in the United States is the daily contact with cultural diversity. Only during one walking I heard recently Slavic, Asian and, judging by the traditional attire, other Far Eastern languages.
Nearby streets are full of Vietnamese cosmetic salons. I still remember their clear overrepresentation from my student holidays in New York. Let me add here, that I’ve never seen before a man professionally delivering nails services!
In the Seattle Times newspaper ‘s column I read that the diversity index , which measures the probability of two people in a random place will differ based on race and ethnicity – is in Bellevue very high at 58% (58 out of 100 point scale). It’s even a couple of points higher than in the neighboring and much larger Seattle.
In our vicinity there are especially a lot of Russians and Asians. Just a few days ago I met a young immigrant, coming from far Siberian Irkutsk. Many of them came to work for thriving IT sector. But not only. The only close small grocery store is run by a couple of older Chinese people.
It was also nice to participate in the baby shower, which was attended by friends from Mexico. I also took part in classes exercises with a friendly and hardworking Indian.
Diversity heritage may be also spotted next to Bellevue’s public library. It is demonstrated in Ghandi’s monument, being a result of the cooperation between local authorities and official associations representing India.
Ethnic minorities have always been a intrinsic part of American society. From my observations , the multi – culti model works here without serious problems.
I have already discussed the fact that in the U.S. it is unlawful to discriminate against lack of English language knowledge. In labor law, there are strict rules prohibiting discrimination on grounds of race.
This week American media commented broadly on the racist remarks made a well-known basketball team owner. Public opinion criticism and the consequences of the scandalous statements proved devastating for him.
Meanwhile, as I way of nourishing cultural diversity and my Polish identity, I am beginning this week volunteering at the Seattle Polish Association.