Anchorage population more diverse than you might think

Omima Adam, 38, who came to Anchorage as a refugee from Sudan five years ago, now runs a food truck called “Sultan Shawarma” in the city’s Mountain View area, hailed as the most diverse neighbhorhood in the U.S., according to 2010 census data.Modern Anchorage enjoys a surprising amount of ethnic diversity, posing a challenge to the city’s culture, identity and services.

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest but somehow never made it to Alaska until last week. And like many in the “Lower 48,” my knowledge of this vast place was limited to some crude stereotypes: moose, snow and dog sleds.

I did not associate this state — launched into my generation’s popular imagination by Sarah…