Several people of different backgrounds spoke of the difficulty of fitting into a new culture in Southwest Washington. Longview's Kim Le, a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant, said she initially had trouble understanding why she should get involved in her children's' schoolwork. You trust the school and it does a good job. She regrets not becoming involved in her kids' education. Her adult children have said they did not feel loved when they were growing up, said Le, who works with immigrants in the New Americans Social and Cultural Assistance program in Vancouver.
Teens live in a culture that is completely unknown to their parents.
This country puts a lot of stress on individualism, and their parents know nothing about that. Small towns are where it's at. He said that in the future, racial differences will not be as pronounced. The world is going to be brown, and we have to learn how to deal with it. Gwen Butts, another black Kelso resident, said she knows black people are feared because of their skin color.