> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # David Pisarra: May Day, immigrants and the cultural variety of Los Angeles - URL: https://www.smdp.com/david-pisarra-send-comments-to-editor-smdp-com-whats-the-point-20070501/ - Published: 2007-05-01T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T00:40:03.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import TODAY IS MAY DAY. A DAY CELEBRATED around the world for a variety of multi-cultural reasons. In America it has been celebrated as a workers rights day, and it is now a day in Los Angeles that marks marches for immigrant rights. Immigrants, whether legal or illegal, add tremendously to the cultural fabric that makes up our country. New people bring new social mores, flavors, likes and dislikes. I’m a man that likes to explore. I am fearless about going into new stores and walking the aisles filled with products of foreign countries, that are labeled in a language I do not read.When it comes to new foods, I’ll try just about anything that looks appetizing. Living in the Los Angeles basin we are blessed with the variety of immigrants that we have, and the shops and cultural awareness that they bring to us. Most of us are not even aware of how lucky we are to have this variety, this access to other worlds, right at our doorstep. We have the ability to get a taste of what the culture of Mexico is, which is not what Taco Bell delivers, but by eating tacos off a cart downtown, or getting homemade tamales in East Los Angeles. When I want a slice of Asian life, I have the option of going for Japanese, which is only a few miles away on Sawtelle Boulevard, or I go a little further to Koreatown for Korean BBQ. When I am working downtown, I love to drop by Chinatown for some Dim Sum and shopping. Thai town is the place for Pad Thai, as are several places in Santa Monica. Care to travel to India? There are a multitude of amazing Indian restaurants just in Santa Monica. If I need to have some Armenian snacks, the valley is the place to be. All of these, and many more, are brought to us courtesy of immigration. Because when people come to America, even though they are here for a better future, they always bring with themselves their homeland. It is one of the things that makes us a strong country. Our ability to adapt, and incorporate other cultures. It allows us to grow in our global understanding. The image of Americans as uninformed, ill-mannered rubes, is not wholly true, just as it is not wholly untrue. There are certainly many of us who have no idea how to behave in other cultures. But that is more a matter of individual ignorance than cultural ignorance. We have the ability to learn about, and the access to, other cultures here. For example, this summer Santa Monica College is offering programs to study a new language. They have Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Korean, Italian, Hebrew, French, German, and American Sign Language. Personally I’m going to be in a Spanish class because I am tired of being unable to speak a second language and that one makes the most sense for living in Santa Monica. As much as I would love to learn Russian, Chinese and Japanese, for their business value, it makes more sense for me to be able to speak the language of what is a large portion of our current population. This summer there are many opportunities for us to travel and learn about other cultures, for example, my friend Kelly Hayes-Raitt is going on a delegation to Syria with the nonprofit Middle East Fellowship. If I could get away for the six weeks of this trip, I’d be there. The trip description is a six-week summer service program in Damascus, Syria, June 24 to Aug. 4\. Participants will live with a host family for three nights, study Arabic at the Berlitz language institute in Damascus, serve the local community through volunteer projects (such as volunteering at a refugee camp) and explore the culture and history of Syria through meetings, discussions and excursions to sites of historical, political or religious significance. A maximum of 12 participants will stay in single and double rooms with private bathrooms near the Old City of Damascus. Cost for the six-week program is $2,000 and includes rooms, homestays, breakfasts, most lunches and dinners, language and cultural courses, airport transportation, and weekend excursions, including in-country transportation. Transportation to Damascus is not included. This is a cultural exchange that is a few steps above going to your local falafel hut. It is the result of immigrants coming to America, and now creating the opportunity for Americans to go and experience life in a host country and learn about their culture and language while there. This May Day is an opportunity for people to try on a different culture. For those of us who live in a multi-cultural city, this is one more chance to expand our world and our understanding of it. Go have a falafel, or try a tikka misala, and think about what you want your summer to be, thanks to immigrants you’ve got options. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 1, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/050107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)