My typical American familyWhat is a typical American? What is generally considered a typical American is that your family has lived here for years and you don't personally know who immigrated here. At the same time, your family has conformed to this typical view, without traditions or “foreign” things. Many people in my class can talk about their relatives who speak another language or who immigrated here. I don't have anything like this, so I'll tell you about mine. According to Blauner: Members of an ethnic group have a set of shared memories that make them feel that their customs, culture, and perspectives are distinct. I'm not passing on stories or anything. No real customs passed down, no immigrant stories. Takaki believes everyone should be educated in all the cultures that make America so diverse. I don't really have any culture. My family more or less assimilated into the traditional American mainstream. As far as I know, I'm Irish, German and Native American. Where and when everyone gathered, I do not know. Randall Bass says: “Individuals derive their sense of identity from their culture, and cultures are belief systems that determine the way people live their lives. Well, I have my own story. I'll start by talking about my mother's side of the family. As far as I know, both of my grandparents grew up and lived in Detroit. They also raised my mother and uncle there. My grandmother stayed home while my grandfather repaired planes. It's pretty cool because he was also in WWII repairing fighter planes. They were quite well off and owned a boat on the river. Their origin is Irish and German. Although they never told me personally about German, I guess the last name (Volkening) sounds really German. My father's side is German and Native American. I was told I had relatives in Germany who had the same last name, even though I never met them and don't know their names. My grandmother also stayed at home and worked in a factory. They, too, lived in Detroit and raised my father and two uncles in a two-bedroom house. My father slept in the laundry room next to the water heater because there wasn't enough room in the other two rooms. My parents both met in Detroit and lived there for about 20 years. Both my parents worked at college to help pay each other's tuition..