What We Bring
To The Party
A Journey Through the Cultures Shaping America
About The Author
LJ Ribar
LJ has a resonant love for understanding different cultures. He travels extensively—having visited 49 states and a dozen countries. His traveling allowed him to link with various communities across America. With decades of programming experience—including ten years running his own software company—he leverages his technical background to simplify complicated systems. His extensive travels have also taught him priceless lessons about breaking down cultural impediments.
About The Book
What We Bring To The Party
A Journey Through the Cultures Shaping America
“What We Bring to the Party” is an invitation to experience America through the lens of its diverse cultures. With a storyteller’s warmth and an explorer’s curiosity, LJ Ribar urges readers to venture across the traditions, values, and histories that frame the nation.
Chiefly, this book commends cultural exchange. Every chapter analyzes the distinctive contributions that societies bring to the American background—from the Native American traditions that predate the country’s founding to the immigrant effects that continually revitalize its identity.
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What We Bring To The Party
A Journey Through the Cultures Shaping America
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Testimonial
What People Say About Us
Here is what our precious readers had to say regarding the book. Each review and feedback has made us delighted and motivated to propose more work in the future:
What We Bring To The Party
A Journey Through the Cultures Shaping America
Personal Stories
A Spoonful of Home
“When we moved from Morocco to Minneapolis, I brought exactly three things from my old kitchen: my grandmother’s spice tin, a dented tea kettle, and the memory of her hands folding dough for msemen.
At first, I was embarrassed by how our house smelled after cooking — cumin, preserved lemon, saffron — a far cry from the frozen pizzas and meatloaf my classmates talked about.
But everything changed when I started a small cooking club in college. I brought my tagine; others brought lasagna, lumpia, or cornbread. In those exchanges, we all tasted pieces of each other’s pasts — and found something surprisingly comforting in the unfamiliar.
Food was my passport, my peace offering, and eventually, my pride. Now I know: every recipe carries a story, and every meal can build a bridge.”
Sarah
The Powwow and the Punk Show
“Growing up on the Standing Rock Reservation, my weekends were a mix of two worlds.
Saturday morning? Singing in a powwow circle with my uncles. Saturday night? Playing guitar at a makeshift punk show in a friend’s garage.
For years, I felt I had to pick one: preserve the culture or be part of the world I saw on MTV. But it turned out, the beat of the drum and the thrash of punk weren’t so different. Both were loud. Both were sacred. Both came from a place of survival.
Now I perform songs that weave Dakota chants into punk riffs. It confuses people — and that’s the point. Culture isn’t a costume you wear for certain occasions. It’s everything you carry. Everything you mix.”
Jordan
Grandmother’s Saris in a Southern Church
“When I was 9, my mother asked if I wanted to wear jeans or a sari to my cousin’s baptism. I chose the sari — mostly because it made me feel like a queen.
We walked into the church in rural Georgia. Every head turned. A few smiled. A few whispered. I started to regret it… until an elderly woman came up and asked if she could take a picture. She said the colors reminded her of stained glass.
That moment taught me that sometimes, bringing your culture into unfamiliar spaces doesn’t have to feel like rebellion. It can be revelation.
Since then, I’ve worn saris to graduation, to vote, even to job interviews. Every time, I’m reminded: the more we show up as ourselves, the more room there is for others to do the same.”