A walk through Star City

Giving in to popular demand once again (I'm starting to wonder where this might lead me eventually), I am, as of this week, the (proud?) owner of a digital camera. Now I am really badly trained (and minimally gifted) at taking pictures but you've asked for it (well, some of you have, anyway). I have no illusions as to capturing the West Virginian or Appalachian spirit in a series of 2D representations, but let's see what we can do. As a warm-up, I'll guide you on a walk to the "local" shop. ("Local" being defined as the closest one reachable on foot. This doesn't mean it's nearby.)

This first picture shows our living room and kitchen. You're currently standing with your back to my room and on the far side you can just see the front door. Notice the collection of empty bottles - notwithstanding my housemates being either just 21 or still younger, they've already made their parents proud...


Next we have the outside view of the complex. My room is on the far corner of the second building, top floor. In the background you can just see some hilltops which are quite representative for this region. On the right edge of the image you can see one of the greatest things about Morgantown: the trail. It's this trail which brings me straight to uni - without any encounters with cars or anything like that. In fact, things I did encounter so far include loads of runners (yes, I'll start training soon), even more birds and a single raccoon (if that's what it was, but I'm pretty sure.) No really, it's a pretty trail and I hope to get you some stunnig pictures once spring colours everything nicely green.

Next one... yeah, see what I mean about me taking pictures? I never even noticed that yellow bar running right across everything, I honestly only notice that now. Anyway, I guess you'll have to live with it.

So this picture shows you a couple of things again. Firstly, on the right, a bank. Pretty fancy, though I wonder about their credit rating. On the left is another typical American thing which I - being born and raised in densely crowded Flanders - cannot get my head around. It's a drive-in ATM. Now there are a couple of reasons I cannot figure this one out. Partly it's probably because I haven't got a car myself, but beyond that, there's the simple fact that cash doesn't seem to be of too much relevance in American society since pretty much everything can be payed for electronically. And even if you do use cash occasionally, any supermarket gives you the option to get cash out as you pay your groceries. Besides, there are walk-up ATMs at pretty much every shop anyway. Finally, I don't see why one would put all the money into building this drive-in thing and sacrifice the land - surely you're not gaining quite as much as it costs, or are you?

After half an hour's walk, we have arrived! (As with any of the pictures, click the image to get a larger view.) "Kroger" is the supermarket I'm headed for - the only complete supermarket that I can reach by bike and/or foot. (There's a smaller one in town, but they don't even sell fruit.) Right above Kroger, a green-roofed building pokes out - this is the university's sports centre. Sadly, membership costs way too much to be useful (unless you're student in which case it's free), so I won't go there. Don't get carried away by the "book exchange" - it only deals in second hand books that are on the curriculum lists. Anything else (even if it's on the same subject) doesn't seem to be present. Do notice the advertisement on the left end of the picture, though: "Get Free Incoming Calls". Apparently that's something worth advertising. Initially I though this was about some quite obscure top-level sort of service - like some blackberry carriable internet or whatever. Turns out I was wrong. In the land of the free, you pay for receiving calls. You apparently even pay for receiving sms's. Call me crazy, but I would never have thought of that.

This picture, I'll admit, doesn't really show much of interest. However, it has a huge pole with loudspeakers. This is the town's warning system. Whenever there is a storm, a fire, a cat caught up a tree, it sounds. To be perfectly honest, I don't know why it sounds, I only know that it does so, often. At least once a week and sometimes several times a day, raising the average to probably close to daily. And it's loud. I can easily hear it through the television (windows closed) even though it must be about a kilometer -if not more- away. I personally don't see the point, unless this invention dates back to pre-telephone days, when the fire brigade needed to be called to duty without current technological gadgets. However, this is the 21^st century. I would imagine they would have done away with it by now.

The second thing the picture shows (if you know what you're looking at), is the cleared hiltop across the river, on top of which the actual closest shops lie. They're probably about half as far as Kroger, as the bird flies. However, since I cannot fly, I cannot reach them. Well, not within an hour and without using a bus or a taxi, that is.

We're nearly back home, so let me close off with a quite typical view. Again, the hills in the background - do you notice the swath of treas that are cleared for a power line? Coal - and, consequently, electricity - are the main business of WV. It should therefore not be too surprising that the WV senators and representatives in DC are amongst the foremost people to oppose any anti-coal plans any administration might have. The first time I saw a number plate saying something like "we love coal", I thought I had misread. Sadly, it's a reality...

A final thing to notice, before I leave you and get dinner, is the front yards we're looking at: there are no divides. Of course, in some streets there are divides - keeping dogs and little children inside - but surprisingly few of these divides are at shoulder height or higher: they tend to be at a height that you can see your neighbour and could even have a chat. Totally unlike Belgium, that is. (Dare I say "Europe"? It probably holds for large parts if not all of Australia as well, I think.) To me, that is an interesting and slightly puzzling idea to come from the land that has pioneered individualism and capitalism for more than 60 years now. Clearly there are still plenty of sides to the American psychology that I haven't figured out - yet?