I come from Gaza City, the occupied territories, which is a very troubled area with war going on years before I was even born. Gaza is southwest of Jerusalem and the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. Living here in Louisville, in such a beautiful city, is very hard while your family in Gaza is under fire and enduring a shortage of basic needs such as gas, power and food.

In 2004, the foreign-born share of Louisville metropolitan area's population (4.5%) was 53,000, which was well below the national average (12%). However, the metropolitan area's immigrant population is quickly increasing, having experienced a 93% increase between 2000 and 2004.

Louisville's immigrants are diverse in their origins, with more immigrants coming from different parts of the world than is the national norm. In 2000, at least 77 languages were spoken in Louisville homes.

Gergana Dinkova has lived in various cities in both Europe and South America. Three years ago, the 30-year-old native of Bulgaria and her Ghanaian boyfriend were living in New York City when they decided to move to a less hectic environment. Dinkova's boyfriend suggested Louisville because he'd visited once and found it beautiful. Dinkova agreed, but with one condition—they had to live downtown.