How international is Houston

[totheskies]

There's obviously a lot to be said for numbers when determining who's international, and who's not, but I prefer to look at how well the communities represent themselves. For this, we have to look at factors like commerce, cultural events, and interaction of all of the different levels of people. I am of the opinion that Houston is incredibly diverse, but that opinion is shaped by the fact that I work (and just graduated from) the University of Houston. A college campus can be an unfair representation of cultures, because everyone is frced to interact with one another. As for diversity in the city itself... we have to face facts that many of the international communities that move to the suburbs are assimilating into American culture, and not trying to be diverse. For instance a young kid living in The Woodlands might have little chance to experience the same diversity than someone in southwest Houston. In this respect, Houston is both wildly diverse and wildly suburban, white-wash and colorful.