It's recording now.

Yeah, it's recording.

Okay. My name's Edith, I'm from [muffled] Crawford High School, and I'm a senior there, and I've been living in City Heights since, well, for seven years now, since 2008.

That's a very long time. What was it like moving to your new neighborhood?

It was challenging because I had all these stereotypes behind, and so like I was expecting this dangerous place, where I was like ahhh. 

But then it didn't?

Yeah, yeah, you grow into City Heights.

What kind of vibe do you get out of this neighborhood?

I get a very great sense of community here, and diversity within different cultures here. 

How safe do you feel in your neighborhood?

Um, I feel pretty safe, because I feel like in City Heights with all the immigrants and people who moved here to leave their country and everything, we all have the same common goal, so I don't feel like anyone's out here to like, get me. People are here to get education, a better life, so I feel pretty safe knowing that we all have the same goal.

How do you stick to your cultural roots when you move to a new place?

Just, I don't know, it's a part of you, you know? When you go home you just practice and when you're out there, or when you're like with people from the same back ground, it just happens. 

So you would describe it like everybody has the same problem so it's not just you, it's easy for everyone to get through it?

Um, yeah. 

How do you experience your cultural identity in your neighborhood? How do you experience cultural identities of others?

I don't necessarily, ah what was the question again?

How do you experience your cultural identity in your neighborhood?

I don't necessarily experience my identity or culture in the neighborhood. I more of experience it in my home, or when I do meet people who kind of are from the same place I was, where its [unintelligible] Also I experience, just other people's identity and cultures just because of the diversity. You know, wherever you go you see the different identities and different cultures people practice. The different way they wear their clothes and stuff. 

Do you think your family accepts different cultures?

For the younger kids it definitely took, it was definitely easier to accept the different cultures, but for my parents it took quite a while for them to get comfortable with the different cultures, but it wasn't too bad because in Africa, it's so diverse, with different tribes and everything, so it wasn't that hard.

To what extent can you be yourself in your neighborhood?

I am totally myself, 100%, wherever I go [laughs]

Where do you hang out with your friends and family?

Most of the time we just spend time at the park with my family when we do have the time. And with my friends, when I get the chance, it's the same, mostly the park here in City Heights.

How would you describe your neighborhood to someone who has never been here?

You can't necessarily describe a neighborhood, or City Heights, I would say. I would, just tell them to be open-minded and come to City Heights fresh and new without all these stereotypes of what other people think about it or say, and just experience it in whole. The diversity in the community, just experience it.

And there's one last question, how does your life story fit into this community of City Heights?

Oh my gosh. Um, how does it fit in City Heights. Whoo. I don't know, like, we all have different cultures, different stories, and different ethnicities, and just putting all that diversity together just makes one whole piece, you know? So like, let's say if it was a big puzzle, you know, from my story of my culture I could fit in one of the puzzle pieces, let's say you're trying to achieve like better education for us or school lunch, stuff like that.

Thank you.