By Philip Michael Segal

Today was our first full day in California. We made it from coast to coast! In the morning, after breakfast, we made our way to South Central Los Angeles. It is one of the rougher parts of the city. We got off the bus where the Rodney King riots occurred 20 years ago. We heard the story of the riots and what South Central is like from someone who experienced it first hand, our bus driver, Carlton. We spoke about what it means that the city just makes the area of South Central look nice but does not help change the real problems of the community. The neighborhoods did not look that bad to us, but as we learned, this is part of the problem.

Carlton, our bus driver, speaking to the teens about his experiences living in South Central LA

We then made our way to Beverly Hills, which was a very different setting than what we just saw. We walked down the famous Rodeo Drive and made our way to a park. We discussed what we saw and didn’t see in South Central as opposed to what we saw and didn’t see in Beverly Hills. For example, there are nice restaurants and grocery stores in Beverly Hills, while in South Central all we saw were fast food restaurants, liquor stores, and bail bond/check cashing shops.

Beverly Hills

After lunch, we met with the organization Hunger LA, to discuss food issues in America, and why it is important to start thinking about how to make access to food fair, and to help make it local. After the meeting we went to a small, but incredible, local farmers market. We all liked trying new and different fruits as well as talking directly with the people who grew the fruits and vegetables. We ate a lot!

Discussing issues presented by "Food Inc."		Meeting the farmers of the food we were eating at a local Farmers Market

Our next stop was Venice Beach. The theme of our time in Los Angeles is power. Billy said that our stop in Venice Beach isn’t really related to the theme, but I saw the power of freedom.

On Venice Beach

We made it to the Pacific Ocean!

After a lot of fun and craziness at the beach, we made our way to Beit T’shuvah, a Jewish based addiction recovery center. A few of the residents told us their very deep and personal stories. I personally couldn’t relate to all the stories, but they touched me in a way. They opened my eyes to make me more aware of the consequences of life choices and how careful I need to be.

Listening to speakers at Beit T'shuvah
Having dinner with some of the residents of Beit T'shuvah