My grandparents were the first of their families to be born in the United States. As my grandparents assimilated into the U.S. culture, my family’s Finnish heritage was lost. Unfortunately, my grandfather and grandmother never passed the Finnish language on to my mother because they were embarrassed that they didn’t speak English very well when they were younger. Now, all that is left of our Finnish heritage is a few words that my grandmother taught me before passing on.

The old metaphor about the U.S. being a ‘melting pot’ has given way to a new metaphor about the U.S. being a ’salad bowl’ where ingredients mix together but keep their individual characteristics. The U.S. has truly become a mosaic of distinct cultures where children can maintain their cultural uniqueness while embracing the U.S. culture as appropriate.

I witnessed exactly what this ’salad bowl’ metaphor is all about this weekend just while going to a couple of parties with friends. One party was both a farewell and a celebration of time spent here in the United States. While we were saying our goodbyes to a friend who was headed back to Italy, we were also commemorating another friend’s 10th year here in the U.S. The friend who had been in the states for 10 years spoke about how she managed to stay so long in one place after moving from country to country for most of her life. Essentially, she stayed so long because she could be as close to her culture or as far apart from her culture as she wanted at any given time. She could find others who shared her cultural heritage, or she could share her cultures with others who had diverse backgrounds.

At another dinner party, I heard both the Italian and English language spoken freely. Of the couple hosting the party, one was American while the other was Italian. So, the mixture of friends consisted of individuals from both cultures. It was funny to witness how everyone embraced their own cultural uniqueness while enjoying the other culture’s distinction.

Although I’ve come to realize that I am rather awkward in most social circumstances, I’ve come to enjoy being in social situations where everything is awkward anyways…situations where half a sentence is spoken in one language and half in another. Situations where guests at a dinner party might represent countries on every continent. Situations where people embrace the fact that their differences are exactly what make them feel like they’re at home.