By Abe Villarreal

I always wonder why people in our American culture are afraid or find "weird" the customs and habits of our foreign friends. I remember reading in high school American History textbooks the stories of migration and the lines at Ellis Island. The phrase melting pot was a popular one with authors and teachers.

I like that – the melting pot. Like a bowl of soup made by mom, it gives me a sense of comfort. I see all kinds of ingredients mixed together and somehow producing something that tastes so good. What's really good about most soups is that most of the ingredients don't fully melt.

You can point them out and see them floating around. Scoop up just a potato with your spoon and it will taste like a potato even if you pick up the other flavors that have come together. You still want to taste the potato and know it's there.

So why are we afraid to taste a little of everything that has come together into the big bowl of soup we call America today? I still think America has a great flavor to it. I think most people around the world feel that way they too, and many are going to great lengths to get a taste. Some people, in their attempts at just one bite, give their lives. They don't make it all the way. We lose out at getting to know how they would contribute to our soup.

Where I live, most soups are called caldos. They have similar ingredients but they are all different in their own way. What has made them caldos is that they combine ingredients and flavors from the region, and from the people who settled in this region. There are potatoes and zucchini (calavacitas), corn and different kinds of meats. The further into the United States, caldos become stews, and then stews become chowders. All different and all tasty. All made up with a diversity of ingredients.

I like the name of the 15 bean soup and I like just looking at it. In a bowl are beans of all sizes and colors. Like the people of your own family and town, the beans are referred to by their region, color, and size: northern, pinto, large lima, yelloweye, green split, kidney, small white, black bean, and more.

I don't want to be the kind of person that is afraid of tasting something new or learning something new from someone new to my community. Someone that doesn't look like me, speak like me, or behave like me. It doesn't make a difference to me how they got here or even why, although all that can be interesting.

The 15 bean soup tastes good not just because of the variety of beans, their textures and sizes, but also what we add to it. Some of us throw in carrots and onion. Others chile powder or maybe even Old Bay. Some may leave it in the crockpot overnight, knowing that it can take time and the process may be slow for everything to come together in perfect harmony.

Just like life and just like that melting pot. That big melting pot on the back burner that has been simmering for hours. At first, the flavor isn't there yet. The taste doesn't add up. You see veggies and meats of different kinds, powders and spices with strong aromas, and you ask yourself if it makes sense to add this or that.

Somehow it all comes together. As you eat it, you learn something new. You learn that with an open mind and a spirit of discovery, the pot of stew you've been cooking is always better when you mix in a diversity of ingredients that make something new.

You just have to be willing to give it a try.

Abe Villarreal writes about life and culture in America. He can be reached at abevillarreal@hotmail.com.