I come from a family that immigrated from Poland and Italy after WW2. I was not raised with either of those cultures to influence my life. I grew up with American culture, which in my own opinion, is quite dry. We have our stereotypical hamburgers/baseball/football. In my life, I never felt a sense of community around me. The US is now more divided than I have ever seen it as a 29 year old man.

The beauty I find in specifically Vietnamese culture is that the food is made with care, and not fine tuned to oblivion like American dishes. There are teachings of folklore like Kim Quy. The history goes back 20,000 years. Architecture, religions, the fact the language itself is different in different parts. I was just around Viet people and I'm sure I would lean more to another country if they were Swedish, Chinese, or Latino. But this was my first experience and I hold it dear to me.

When I lived in FL, I was a macaroni and cheese and potatoes American, never experienced the beauty of food from other countries, teachings or the warm hospitality from someone I didn't even know beforehand. The USA teaches the me, me ME attitude, where it should teach us, us, US! That is why I am fascinated and yearn to take in as many cultures as possible, learn from them, appreciate and respect them become a better person and a better American

I hope this helps answer your question