Visiting the ghetto

I spent 4 days in Los Angeles this past weekend.  I was looking for a humble abode to call home and doing interviews for a new job.  While I was in town, my friend that was with me wanted to visit some relatives.  When she told me that they lived in south central LA, I was like no...I can't hang there.  But, she had been so great in helping me through this moving process that I decided I would take her to visit her relatives. 

Her family was great, very welcoming and warm hearted.  The street they lived on looked very out of place in that area.  It was nice to meet some great people...I have been a bit of a social butterfly lately.  Anyway, the trouble started when we went for a little drive.

About 6 blocks away was a little area you all may have heard of...Watts.  So my friend and I drive into Watts and I got a little turned around because I ended up right in the middle of the projects.  To make matters worse, no one looked happy to see us driving around.  So asking for directions was out.  Then a car tries to block us in on the street.  Luckily we made it out after driving like mad women. 

I learned two things from this experience.  First, it is incredibly sad that the projects still exist.  I feel bad that those people are stuck in a vicious circle of poverty and hardship.  Second, white mid-western girls like myself should not venture into the ghetto as we are not welcome there.  So while I find it disappointing that racism is still alive and well, I am smart enough to realize that it is a part of the world we live in and I will try not to make a wrong turn in the ghetto again.