I Tried Making Friends in the Hood

neighborhood = hood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsWv351Y0Is&t=22s

无作者

Right now I’m in Canada’s most dangerous neighborhood, Jane and Finch.>> Breaking news,two men, >> Shots were fired [music] >> Three separate, shootings near Jane and Finch, >> Jane and Finch >> We’re near, Jane and Finch >> And I have, just one impossible mission to, get a random stranger here to, hang out with me.But it’s going to be harder than expected.Tell us a little bit about life here in Jane and Finch.>> It’s the trenches.>> Most dangerous, [music] most trench in Canada.>> Content creators get shot in the head over here.>> I don’t know how to feel about this video.Maybe let’s warm up a little bit and grab something to eat first.That’s a good idea.It’s not because I’m scared or trying to stall, I just I’m hungry.>> Stop the cap.>> I decided to grab a little, drink to give me a bit more time, to rethink my life decisions.I’m really hoping today is not my last day on Earth.I still haven’t [music] tried In-N-Out yet,so hopefully I can do that before I die.Now before entering the neighborhood,

I figured it’d be a good idea to get some advice from a local.So I walked around and it didn’t take me long to run into someone interesting.>> Hi my friend, you want to buy a coffee?>> Sorry, I don’t have I mean I have a coffee here.You want it?>> Thank you very much.>> Of course.>> Thank you.>> Of course.Do you live around the Jane and Finch area?>> Yes.Yes.>> I’m trying to make a friend here.>> Oh, okay.>> I was wondering, do you have any advice for me?Do you know anything about this area?>> This area is dangerous.>> It’s dangerous?>> Yes.There’s a lot selling cocaine.>> Oh, okay.>> Yes.I was in that building and in that building they were from Jamaica,they tried to kill me.>> They tried to what?Oh my goodness.I’m so sorry to hear that.>> But I watched the police and then they stopped it.>> So you’re okay?>> Yes.>> I’m glad to hear that.Wow.>> Be careful.Be careful.>> Okay.Okay.Well, thank you so much.Have a great day.Wish you the best.Enjoy the drink.Of course, take care.

Did I hear that correctly?>> I mean, my ass is kind of nice,but >> hopefully they don’t see me as a target.>> After that interaction, I not only lost my drink,but I also lost any little amount of courage I had before arriving here.I then tried starting a conversation with another guy.Excuse me, sir.Oh, that’s no worries.Have a great day.All right, let’s go.Well, that’s a pretty fitting shirt.Anyways,I was still looking for someone, who could give me actual advice, about the area before entering, the neighborhood,and that’s when I ran into these two guys.>> [music] >> I’m trying to make a friend here.>> A friend?>> A friend, someone who’s willing to hang out with me,get to know each other.>> Careful who you make your friends with here.>> Well, why why should I be careful?>> Half of the people here have mental illnesses.>> Really?>> They’re not stable around, >> You have a better chance of not having any friends.>> [laughter] >> That’s not too great to hear.>> I’ve been here since 1975, bro.

What, 1975?Wow, you look very young.>> I’m 53 years old.>> You’re 53?>> Yeah.>> This man was telling me how he’s been in this neighborhood all his life,and he was kind enough to give me a quick rundown of the area.>> Let me tell you this strip.

Crips refers to a large street-gang network that originated in Los Angeles.

In your sentence:

“That way is all Crips. You know about Crips and Bloods.”

Crips = people who belong to or identify with the Crips gang.

this strip is this is neutral zone.>> Okay.>> That way is all Crips.You know about Crips and Bloods, right?>> I have heard about Crips and Bloods.>> Okay.Anything past Finch is Crips.Anything south of Finch is Bloods.It’s good you guys are wearing these colors.You’re wearing neutral colors.>> Neutral colors, great.Thank god.>> I do this like crossfire zone.You know gangs shooting at each other.Right here in this this mall.>> In this mall?>> Yeah, in the parking lots.And like last summer they had have shootouts in this parking lot.Jane and Finch has the most shootings in the whole of Toronto.You know what you where you landed?This is the place of all the unwanted.Okay?This is where all the unwanted come, bro.

Your family don’t want you, you got kicked to the curb,

(NAmE) (BrE kerb) the edge of the raised path at the side of a road, usually made of long pieces of stone （由条石砌成的）路缘，道牙，马路牙子
The bus mounted the curb (= went onto the sidewalk/ pavement ) and hit a tree.
那辆公交车开上路缘撞到了一棵树上。

you got divorced, whatever problems you got is on you,nobody’s helping you, this is where you end up.This is rock bottom.J Dog Finch, it’s rock bottom,bro.>> After giving me a rough breakdown of the area,we wrapped up our conversation and he left me with one last piece of advice.>> Stay in the common areas.>> Don’t go into the neighborhood?>> Do not go into neighborhoods for your own safety, bro.>> Okay.>> Do not go into neighborhoods for your own safety.>> I am in the neighborhood.Really glad that it’s sunny today cuz if it wasn’t, I’d probably be pissing my pants right now.Although I was told not to go into the neighborhood,I feel like if I didn’t it would ruin the point of the challenge.And so it was finally time to try and make a friend.Okay.All right.Okay, car pulling up.I’m not scared.I’m not nervous.I’m a man.>> Are you sure about that?>> The first thing I noticed was despite it being sunny on a Saturday,

it seemed like there was barely any people outside.But after walking around for a few minutes,I eventually spotted my first person.>> That has nothing to do with that.>> Okay.I I wasn’t asking but I got too scared when I got close.I can’t even lie.Who was she talking to?I have no idea.I may have fumbled that opportunity,but the next person I saw I was definitely going to ask.Excuse me, sir.I’m trying to make a friend, in this area and I was wondering if you’d be down to hang out anytime.>> Nope.>> No?Okay.Have a great day.After running into those two people,I was still struggling to find anyone outside.And then I had a genius idea.Bus stops.Excuse me, sir.I have a really random question for you.I was wondering if you’d be open to hanging out together.>> Nope.>> No?Okay, no worries.Have a good day.Excuse me, sir.I was wondering if you’d be down to hang out.>> Well, right now I’m busy.>> right now?What, another day?>> I might be busy for a while.>> Yeah, no worries.

All right, have a great day,man.Take care.I have a really random question for you.>> I’m sorry, bro.No I speak in English.>> Oh, no English?Okay, okay.No worries.Have a good day.No English, damn it.>> About an hour had passed now, and I was only able to find a few people.So, I decided to switch things up and walk to the other side of the hood.>> I don’t know if you guys can see that, but there’s police officers from afar.We are in an area called Shawn Ham, which the guy was telling me,this is either the Bloods or Crips, I don’t really remember.I also thought that was a Compton thing.I didn’t know they kept the same name in Toronto.But,the fact that there’s police officers just walking around is not a great sign.The neighborhood here definitely looks a little bit more sketch than before.

Here sketch = sketchy = seeming unsafe, suspicious, or questionable.

likely to be bad or dangerous破落的；危险的
a sketchy neighborhood
破落的街区

I feel like everything about this scenery is telling me not to go in there.All right, let’s just go in really quick.Just like I’ll take a few steps in.Test the waters out.

The fact that I have a camera just makes it so much worse.>> At this point, I felt like I was in a ghost town the way nobody was outside.And I genuinely did not know how I was going to make a friend.But, on the bright side,this was the perfect time to film the intro.>> Let’s all film the intro quick.It was Okay.Let’s film the intro really quick.Right now, I’m in the hood.Right now, I’m in Canada’s most dangerous Right now,I’m in Canada’s most dangerous neighborhood.Let’s find out what it’s all about.What I’m scared is like guys are coming this way.We’re cooked.Might as well get my will ready.>> I saw these kids walking up from a distance,and although I considered asking them to hang out,I figured that might be a bit weird.[music] So, instead,I asked them for advice.>> I’m trying to make a friend.Do you guys have any advice for me?Anything to stay away from or >> Don’t say you’re in a gang.Don’t say you’re in a like a gang or that.>> Don’t say you’re in a gang.

Don’t say you’re part of any [music] gang.>> Yeah.Okay.What was the most scary experience you guys have gone through here?Is there anything?>> I got shot like right there in front of my auntie’s house.>> He saw a guy get shot?And was it a random shooting or >> Oh, really?>> Damn.Okay.Well, perfect.[music] Thank you guys so much.I really appreciate it.Have a great day.I had been in the hood for a, few hours now and I was starting, to feel a bit discouraged, about whether I’d actually be able to [music] make a friend.Then, all of a sudden,everything changed.Excuse me, sir.I have a really random question.[music] Would you be potentially down to hang out with me?

be down to do something = be willing/interested in doing something

Examples:

Are you down to grab some food?
→ Do you want to get some food?
I’m down to go.
→ I’m willing to go / Sure, I’d like to go.
She’s not down to hang out tonight.
→ She doesn’t want to hang out tonight

I know.>> Like just get to know each other, make a friend.>> Um right now?>> If you’re not free right now, it could be another day.>> Sure.>> Actually?>> Yeah.>> Wait, what’s your name?>> [music] >> Difference.>> Difference?>> Yeah.>> Psycho, nice to meet you.>> Meet you, man.>> Our hang out would be whatever you want to do.

If you don’t have a preference and like we can figure something out.Are you actually down?>> Yeah, let’s come.Let’s come.>> Thank you, bro.I appreciate you.>> Appreciate you.>> Nice to meet you, bro.>> Yeah, yeah.>> You feeling like any time today may work?>> Uh not today.>> Not today.>> All right.It wouldn’t be today.We can do it another day.>> Another day.Okay.Do you mind if I grab your Instagram and then if anything works out,you can let me know.Appreciate you, bro.Have it going.Take care.Have a great day.All right.Dude was chill as hell.I was kind of stunned the way he said yes so easily.Like it felt almost too good to be true, but I wasn’t going to complain.All that was left to do was set up a day and time for the hang out.Okay.So,I’ve been texting Difference, back and forth and he told me, he is down to play basketball, today.So, I’m about to get ready,drive to the basketball court,and, hopefully we just have a good time, and he actually shows up and does not bail on me

“Bailed on me” means that someone canceled plans, broke a promise, or left you alone at the last minute.

because that would be pretty bad.We have officially arrived at the basketball court.Now, all we got to do is wait for our boy to show up.You know, they used to call me Jeremy Lin in high school.>> [screaming] >> I’ll cut that.Difference text me the night, before that he was going to be, at the court at 3:00.So, I was pretty confident he was going to show up.But, as time went by,I became a bit less confident.It is 3:24 right now.I guess he’s just a little bit late.Hopefully, he uh still shows up though.It is 3:35 right now.I’m genuinely getting a little concerned, on where he’s at because if he doesn’t show up,that means I’m going to have, to go back to the hood and find, another person to hang out with, me.And I really [music] do not want to do that.It was getting later and later,and there wasn’t much else I could do besides wait.Nope, that’s an old lady.Then, just as I was starting to lose hope,I saw someone walking towards the court.I think I see him from a distance.Yes, sir.Okay.Our boy is here.

You know what’s good, bro?I appreciate you for coming, man.It means a lot.Your name is Dif-, Difference, right?Wait, is it spelled like the actual word difference?[music] >> Yeah, yeah.>> That’s That’s That’s really unique.I’ve never heard anyone with that name.>> Thank you.Thank you.Thank you very much.>> I guess you could say it’s pretty different.So, I saw on your Instagram that you play basketball.>> Yes, I do.>> Do you play basketball for a college?>> Yeah, I play at Niagara College.>> Niagara College?>> Yeah, yeah.It’s my second year.>> Okay.>> So, yeah.Not bad.>> We started off by letting Difference warm up for a bit,and bro was straight automatic from the free throw line.So, when I first came up to you,what was the reason you said yes?Cuz I was just like a stranger that walked up to you.>> I seen that you guys were recording [music] something.I was like curious what’s going on.I was going to ask what’s going on.I thought, you know,like why not make new friends, you know?

I don’t have a lot of friends.>> Likewise, I also don’t have many friends.>> Yeah, it’s cool to get to know people,>> Right.>> you know?It’s good.>> Now, it was time to have some fun.We played a game of horse,and I was actually doing pretty good until he pulled out his ultimate move.Hey!Oh my goodness.Wait, so you live in the Jane and Finch area?>> Yeah, I live in that building over there.I came here in 2017.>> And so, you haven’t experienced anything like too crazy,right?>> as you [music] stay out the way, you don’t do nothing crazy,nothing’s going to happen to you, hopefully.I’ve heard like shootings, [music] yeah,you know, I’ve heard I’ve heard a few stuff,but just because of we heard that doesn’t mean this is not a good community.Like, there’s good people here.>> So, you find like there’s a lot of good people here,nice people?>> Yeah, yeah,yeah, yeah.At least like 70, 80% of the people here are pretty nice,pretty chill.They just stay out the way, try to live a life,you know.

Defense was explaining, to me that the reality, of the neighborhood was different from the way the media portrays it to be,and he invited me to walk through it to check it out for myself.>> Did you walk inside?Like, this neighborhood,this specific neighborhood.Like,did you actually walk like Do, you think the little turn right, there and just walk inside?>> I don’t think so.>> You scared?>> No, I’m not scared.I’m a grown ass man.But yeah, maybe let’s not go there.>> [laughter] >> Wait, why?Should should >> No, this is really up to [music] you,like If you want to come with me, like >> Oh,I’ll come with you.>> Okay.>> I’ll come with you.>> Okay, well,let’s check out that neighborhood.>> I honestly did not know what to expect,but as we walked deeper into the neighborhood, I was genuinely shocked.There was just a bunch of people outside having a good time.The adults were talking to each other, kids were playing in the playground,and there [music] were even barbers giving out free haircuts.

You got haircuts over here?>> Very calm, good neighborhood.You can go to the park.People are friendly.>> I feel like in other areas, it’s not like everyone’s houses are all around,and there’s just a park in the middle everyone can come out, >> Exactly.>> hang out.>> Exactly.It’s a family, you know,everybody knows each other.It’s a good neighborhood.It’s a very, very good neighborhood,actually.Hi, how are you doing?>> Those are your neighbors?Do you know them?>> I meet them on YouTube.Sir?>> Hello.>> them on YouTube.>> What’s your channel?>> You want to say hi to YouTube?>> What’s up, YouTube?>> My channel’s called Seko.>> Yeah.>> All right.>> Appreciate it.Thank you for the subscribe, man.Thank you.>> Hey, what’s up,YouTube?>> Do you have any got some money?I’m broke, so I need some.>> [laughter] >> Okay.>> All right, that’s enough camera time.When I made this video, I didn’t really know what to expect,whether it be a negative or positive experience.>> Yeah.

But I feel like so far it’s been very positive.Like I met you, you’re super [music] nice.>> Yeah.>> Showing us the community, which seems like just a bunch of nice people.>> Yeah, it’s a good community.>> To go from feeling pretty scared at the beginning, to then feeling welcomed by the community, [music] and seeing how friendly people were was truly an eye-opening, experience.It reminded me that there’s always another side to a story [music] and sometimes, all it takes is keeping an open mind,being friendly,and treating others with respect because you never know how one conversation, can completely change your perspective on life.