Really Nice People

I’ve been really hard on Los Angeles as a city, and I would like to make an apology. Many times I’ve said that I couldn’t imagine living here post-JVC or that I don’t like the obsession with image and celebrities or that the air is gross and the transportation system stinks and there is too big of a gap between rich and poor.  Maybe these things are true, but I’ve realized that I like LA a lot more than I let on. Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I probably won’t come back to live here, but I do want to share what I love about the city…besides the weather.

Exploring:

The list of neighborhoods yet to explore seems to be endless. From East LA to the Westside, from Downtown to Long Beach, and everywhere in between, there’s always another neighborhood we haven’t ventured into with local hotspots. I can’t even imagine the number of times we’ve said “Oh, we should come back here!” about a place or neighborhood because it was so cool. Barney, our beloved 4Runner, is perhaps the biggest blessing of all because he’s allowed us to get to all these cool places.  The people-watching, shopping, sight-seeing, and free/fun/outdoor things to do are endless!

Urban Planning:

Everyone complains about LA traffic. Everyone. However – and I’m no expert in this – I think the city of Los Angeles is a good example of Urban Planning. The streets are numbered sensibly, the freeways (as congested as they may be) are in the most convenient places, and the streets form a grid that makes navigation (generally) a breeze. With a decent sense of direction and acquaintance with the main veins of the city, it’s easy to take local roads to avoid traffic.  Things are where you need them to be – gas stations, Subway, malls, grocery stores, parks, post offices, etc.

But most importantly, People:

The people in MY LA are not the people you see on TV. They don’t live in Beverly Hills or even downtown. They live in South Central or work in Watts or are Jesuit Volunteers.  They work at the grocery store, library, post office, and craft store where I go every week.  They are NICE people, real people. They are hard workers and people who want to help others.  This morning I was at the Compton Food4Less that I frequent, where every single manager say hello, every cashier has been nothing but friendly, and people let me cut in line if I have fewer items than they do.  People are nice to me, and I’m the one who clearly doesn’t belong in their supermarket. I’m the tall really young white girl in the professional clothes buying granola bars and juice.  It doesn’t stop there – the woman at the library, the attendants at the post office, the managers at the other food store I go to, the cashier at Michaels, our neighbors. People are just plain nice. They aren’t caught up in Hollywood or their workout routines or the latest celeb sightings of the super hip cafes where you’re sure to see someone famous.  Sure, their hair might be streaked red to show their gang affiliation. But that doesn’t stop them from treating me – and the people in front of me and behind me in line – with dignity. 

I like LA. I might not want to live here forever, but that’s okay.  It is a wonderful place to do JVC and I am grateful to feel at home in the many parts of South Central that have shaped my time here.