I think you and
@AZ_HighCountry have the most interesting American experiences of all the Americans in this forum.
And perhaps I have the most interesting 3+ decades of a Desi life in America, which has straddles the two different cultures with a late Gen X life split about even between the two. Heck, I even used to hang out at the ultimate Redneck bar called 'Bob's Place' way in the hills of South Carolina and that place was featured in Time Magazine's 2000 (?) as G. W. Bush country during the elections! There was even a 'Roadside Kill Grill' for BBQ there!
I miss my days of adventurism!! Crazy, stupid, uninformed, expensive, and risky but I did those!