I arrived to a very interesting area in the city of Holyoke, MA. This neighbourhood could best be described as “worn down”. This is the sort of areas most people have seen on film; boarded windows, derelict buildings, high population of “minorities”. Bluntly put – a “bad neighbourhood”. In one of these buildings lived my host and his family and he showed me a side of America I have never witnessed before. I am happy to have experienced if, for it only shows what I have always been suspecting. Even though the area is “bad” the people living there are very much friendly and supportive. Make no mistake, I would not want to walk around mid-night as per first choice here, but nothing bad happened. People are just trying to get along and get around do
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