Recently, my friend (a first generation Armenian girl) and I went to get sushi in LA. When we arrived, we turned our keys over to the African-American teenager behind the valet stand and walked into the packed sushi house, a Chinese girl dressed in a Japanese kimono took our name and told us it would be an hour wait. We were starving and wanted a snack, so we walked down the street to a vendor to get Helotes (roasted corn with mayo, butter, shredded cheese and chili powder (mine without mayo cause it makes me squeamish)). When we finally got into the restaurant and ordered our sushi, I ordered a Thai iced tea and my friend got an iced latte from the Japanese waiter. A Latino man in checkered chef's pants and an apron brought them out to us. Man, I love LA.
Today over ten million people call Los Angeles County their home, which is more than 42 US states can say. Ethnic and cultural diversity have been it's strengths since inception, the original 44 settlers of were of Filipino, Native American, African, and Spanish ancestry, with two-thirds being mestizo or mulatto. A majority of the settlers had at least partial African ancestry.
Today Los Angeles is known as the most culturally diverse city in the world with immigrants from over 140 different countries: 45 percent of the population is Latino or Chicano and only 46 percent of the city speaks only English at home. Every major world religion is represented in LA (for example, the city is home to the biggest variety of Buddhists in the world), as well as a huge number of New Age religious groups. Living in LA is like seeing globalization materialize right before your eyes.