By RAMESH SANTANAM, Associated Press
CentreDaily.com: PITTSBURGH - Archana Patel celebrates Hindu religious festivals, cooks Indian vegetarian food, watches Bollywood movies with friends and knows her marriage will be arranged.
Chandrasiri Jayakody and Ananda Gunawardena join fellow Sri Lankans at monthly alms-giving ceremonies at a new Buddhist temple and cultural center just outside of Pittsburgh.
And architect Mimi Jong, who plays an ancient Chinese musical instrument known as the erhu, founded a musical group to nurture crosscultural understanding through art.
She and the others are all American citizens and part of a growing number of Asians who have settled in western Pennsylvania. And while they've adapted to living in America, many still find ways to maintain and promote their cultural heritage.
"I am very adamant about my Indian identity. It's a big part of me and it stays with me all the time," said Patel, 25, a University of Pittsburgh law student who has lived in the U.S. for 18 years.
Patel has sought out Indian friends at Pitt and believes it's important for her to do so.
"We are a lost generation of Indian-Americans. We are Indian and American and we fit into neither completely," Patel said. "We try to figure out which culture to fit into our lifestyles and identity."
In the past two decades, Asians have made up half of the immigrants coming to western Pennsylvania. Lured here by the region's growing high-tech and medical industries or to be educated at one of the universities, many make sure they pass their cultural traditions on to their children.
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