![\"silicon_valley\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2016\/01\/silicon_valley.jpg\")
<\/a>As a college student, one of the biggest choices I\u2019ve had to make was where to work after I graduate. \u00a0Last year, I was lucky enough to land an internship with a technology company in Silicon Valley, California<\/a> and get a taste of work life. \u00a0I was excited to be in the heart of technological innovation, but I didn\u2019t realize was how different the community would be.<\/p>\nThe first time it really hit me that Silicon Valley is very different from my home state of Texas was at a company party. \u00a0The party was \u201ccountry\u201d themed and I was extremely excited to two-step the night away. \u00a0Once I got to the party, I realized that this \u201ccountry\u201d themed party was not what I expected at all. \u00a0People were wearing comical combinations of plaid and animal print, the barbecue had pineapples in it, the cornbread was dry, and nobody sang when the band played \u201cSweet Home Alabama\u201d. \u00a0My coworkers, most of whom were from Asia, California, or the North-Eastern United States, asked me if that was what Texas is actually like. I couldn\u2019t say no fast enough.<\/p>\n
One thing that really stuck with me was that nobody seemed to have even recognized any of the country music, not even the pop-country artists like Carrie Underwood<\/a> or Lady Antebellum<\/a>. \u00a0In fact, many of the Americans seemed to actively avoid country music. \u00a0To them, country music is associated with ultra-conservative hillbillies who spend their days drinking beer and cleaning guns which is definitely not the type of person a liberal California techie can identify with. \u00a0My other coworkers, who hailed from Korea, Japan, India and China, had never even been exposed to country music before. \u00a0Even after showing them some of my favorite country songs, they weren\u2019t keen to start listening to country music because the songs weren\u2019t relatable for them. \u00a0There are almost no Asian country artists and many of the subjects of country music like big trucks, football, small towns, and American patriotism did not resonate with them.<\/p>\n After the party I was feeling very homesick. How could I live and work in a place where so few people share the love of the music I\u2019ve grown up with? \u00a0Eventually I came to realize that there were many people from different cultures at my workplace who also wanted to share their own favorite music. \u00a0Even though nobody else could name a George Strait<\/a> song, we were all able to bond over our universal love for music and appreciation for each other’s cultures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a college student, one of the biggest choices I\u2019ve had to make was where to work after I graduate. \u00a0Last year, I was lucky enough to land an internship with a technology company in Silicon Valley, California and … Continue reading