Morgantown, WV
"You can like anyplace, if you put your mind to it" (excerpt from Comfort me with Apples by Ruth Reichl)

I've spent a summer at Morgantown, WV, working as a research student. It was a great opportunity to travel, something I always loved. During my short stay at WV, however, I very much looking forward to leaving. Not that I have a bad life here. The research funding that I got supported my accomodation, and I could always turn the air-con on without hesitation, so I was in fact financially more comfortable than in vancouver. But this place was just plain boring to me. Morgantown has its one-of-the-kind mountain scenery and its "raw-ness" is unique when compare to other states. It is just me who failed to appreciate such beauty. I like to live in places where there are plenty of Starbucks, easy access to major upperclass shopping malls, and WholeFood/Wild Oats/Trader Joes nearby. The nearest FreshFields from Morgantown is at Maryland, which is 3 hours away.

Having said that, I found myself getting used to living in Morgantown. I have gotten used to the hilly freeways, unplanned narrow streets, crappy local malls, ugly butiques and such. I started appreciating the fact that Kroger's stocked Laura's Lean Beef. Besides, I found out that location(me, pittsburgh):- happy(me), and that's where I always am during weekends.

Perhaps I could like this place. It is just me who refuse to put my mind to it.

Pittsburgh PA

Pittsburgh is the nearest civilization from Morgantown. It is 1.5 hours away. I went there almost every weekend for a breath of its cultured air.

There were Andy Warhol museum, Saks Fifth, Starbucks, and BN at downtown Pittsburgh. Driving around downtown was okay, better than Chicago, at least. I wasn't fond of Andy Warhol, but still I paid a visit to his museum.

I went to Pittsburgh to visit their University and the Carnigie Museum for a weekend. As a part of the University, there is a landmark building named "Cathedral Learning", in which some of the classrooms are decorated in different cultural style. As I looked at different classrooms, all I thought about was that people here must have too much time and money and no where to spend. The Carnigie Museum was good, too. There were a few interesting stores around the area, and I had fun browsing through the stores.