Book 1 Each year thousands of immigrants, students, and business people come to the United States. They come with hope, desire, and anticipation of new opportunities. They all strive to learn the language and the culture in an effort to reach their goals. The essays in this series, One World Many Voices, provide a unique view of the diverse aspects of life in the voices of language learners, from their experience, their knowledge, and their creativity. Discover their efforts, surprises, and frustrations and enjoy their unique perspectives. See into the hearts and minds of these student authors as you join a community of readers, discover yourself in the experiences of others, and expand your understanding of the world. This collection of essays, Our Cultures, about unique cultural, family, religious, and national traditions, is the first book in One World Many Voices. This series of language learner literature stems from an effort to provide easy and interesting extensive reading material for students in the English as a Second Language program at Las Positas College. The essays are edited for length, sentence structure, and vocabulary according to language proficiency. This is the beginning level in a series of five books.