Last Trip of the Year- Hello Pittsburgh

I don't really know how to describe Pittsburgh except that it's a mish-mash of sorts. My friends were telling me that you can drive from one end to the other end of the city, and pass through alternating wealthier and ghetto neighborhoods. Unlike Columbus where one section of the city is a definite "do not go there," Pittsburgh weaves the good and bad together. But I guess that's what makes this city so unique. I visited the city over Christmas break to visit my best friend and her husband, and it was a really fun trip. Here are a few of the highlights:

The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh- not only is it GORGEOUS, it literally is a cathedral that has rooms and auditoriums for classes. Anyone who goes to Pittsburgh should definitely check this place out.

L-R: The Cathedral, inside view from the 2nd/3rd floor, view from 36th floor

This gothic-style building was built in the 1920s and is the second tallest university building in the world (42 stories).What is even more unique is that the 1st and 3rd floors have classrooms decorated according to various themes, e.g. Hungarian room, African heritage room, Armenian room, etc. You can purchase tickets to take a tour, but be warned that tickets sell out fast (I arrived for the 1:30pm tour, only to find out that tickets for the rest of the day were already sold out. Maybe it's the holidays?). No worries if you don't make it on the tour though- you can still visit the main hall and classrooms on the 3rd floor, and take the elevators to the top of the building for a breathtaking view of the city. 

*I think the tour takes you into the classrooms on the 1st floor, and gives better explanations for the decorative motifs in the rooms.

Heinz Memorial Chapel - right next to the Cathedral of Learning. Why does OSU not have similar gorgeous buildings on campus :(

I so wanted to go inside, but sadly it was closed for the holidays. Super bummed, because if the exterior is anything to go by, the interior would have been magnificent! 

Primanti Bros.: When in Rome, eat like the Romans do-- and Primanti Bros. is one such establishment in Pittsburgh.The eatery is famous for its sandwiches that come with meat, cheese, fries and coleslaw squeezed between sliced soft bread. I tried the pastrami "burger" with provolone cheese and all offered toppings, and it was an experience. Doesn't look like much but it was one gigantic monster that I stuffed into my mouth (as seen from the picture). The sandwich was delicious, but I still prefer my fries on the side, and I haven't made up my mind if I like coleslaw in my sandwich or not.

Mt. Washington: What a treat! Mt. Washington is actually a neighborhood on a hill across a river, but there is a lookout that provides a gorgeous view over the rest of the city. We were fortunate to witness the sunset, and I wish my phone was better able to capture its beauty.

Snapshots of the Mt. Washington neighborhood

Carnegie Mellon University

My best friend's husband is attending Carnegie Mellon, and I was thus fortunate to be taken on a tour of the campus and visit his office. The campus was smaller than I expected, but beautiful. Plus, it's Carnegie Mellon so expect some really cool engineering things, such as the tiny 3D printer constructed by a graduate student. Moreover, the recycle bins around campus are solar powered. That's right, solar powered, to press the recycling waste down. Kinda cool.

Others sights around the campus included the "Walking to the Sky" sculpture, the gorgeous architecture building (both on left), and the napping machine created by an alumni. We also visited the rare manuscript collection in the library where we got to see an exhibition of the many editions of "Twas' the Night Before Christmas" (including an edition printed on linen!), and a page of the Gutenberg Bible.

THE FOOD: Oh my word, the food in Pittsburgh was awesome, mostly because my friends can cook. Seriously. They made Hainanese Chicken Rice from scratch!!! Ah ah ah ah ah! I think that's what I miss most about Pittsburgh (other than my friends, of course...).
We also ate delicious food whenever we went out to each, such as at Primanti Bros., a Chinese restaurant Everyday Noodles, and a makeshift Mexican food stall, Las Palmas. We had pork belly buns, hand-made broad noodles and meaty wantons from Everyday Noodles that tasted authentic and brought me back to my mission in Taiwan *tear falling on cheek.* Las Palmas... oh my word, so cheap and SO GOOD, if you don't mind eating in your car since the tacos are sold in front of a Mexican grocery store with no sitting area.

If there's one thing I don't miss, it's the awful parking situation. You either have to pay for it, or there's just nowhere to park. My friends' apartment complex refused to provide visitor parking, so I had to park a street over in a non-permit road in front of some homes. Even then, one home-owner came out a few days later and told me to move my car, even when I told him I was leaving in 2 days. "You've parked there for what, a week? [Uh, no, only 4 days so far] Go bother someone else. Give us a break. " *Grrr* Glad he's not my neighbor. One thing to be grateful for in Columbus- parking isn't too bad, and cheaper meter parking too.

Still, despite the terrible parking situation, Pittsburgh is awesome. Wouldn't mind going back again, especially for the food! Thanks to my bestie and her husband for letting me crush their Christmas celebration :) 

True Spirit of Christmas

Guess where I'm typing this from?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!!!

My best friend and her husband are here for a year for him to complete a Masters at Carnegie Mellon (yup, that smartie), and since it's only a 3 hour drive from Columbus, I decided to brave the weather and drive here. We made this arrangement a few months back, but I kinda invited myself to Christmas... but I really didn't want to spend Christmas in Columbus again (I did that for the past 2 years... enough!), and they were so gracious to agree to my plans. Bwa ha ha ha ha! I've been here 2 days already and it's been nothing but relaxing, fun and GOOD food. I'm telling you, it's awesome to have friends that cook well.

Anyway, while I was here, I ended up going to the hospital on Christmas Day.

Wait, don't freak out. Let me explain. About a week ago, a 10-year-old child from West Virginia developed an ailment in her brain. She was air-flown into Pittsburgh, and remained in the pediatric ICU of the hospital this entire week, while her frantic and very patient parents stayed by her bedside in the hospital.

We found out about them because her parents go to a congregation of my church in West Virginia. Their church leader contacted the church leaders here in Pittsburgh, and coordinated with them to drop off meals for this couple in the hospital (the power of the Relief Society- seriously). My best friend signed up to deliver food to them on Christmas Day, and that's how I ended up in the hospital yesterday.

The visit was like a lightning jolt to me. Not only was I able to witness the Christmas Spirit in action, it was humbling to be reminded of what I have. True, I'm far from home, the weather is super gloomy, school is tough, and life is just... hard. But my parents don't have to be at a hospital bedside on Christmas Day, praying that I'll wake up from a coma.

Truly I have been so blessed.

Everyone's Lives Matter

Slightly over a week ago, when the the Ferguson grand jury decision came down on Monday night, I wrote a blog post expressing my dissent with the decision, and a one-liner on Facebook --"No justice, no peace. RIP Michael Brown." That one line ended up offending a friend so much, he wrote some awful comments on my Facebook wall. Not wanting to get into a pointless Facebook debate (as usually all Facebook debates end up being), I refused to comment back, although another friend came to my rescue... twice (thanks Erin!).

Well, I was ready to put these unpleasant incidents (the indictment decision and the Facebook bullying) behind me and move on, when the grand decision over Eric Garner's death came down yesterday, and split my heart open again.

You can read multiple articles about the case so I will only summarize that on July 17, 2014, a group of police officers surrounded Eric Garner, a black man suspected of selling untaxed loose cigarettes (none were found on him there and then btw). Although Garner was confrontational, he was unarmed and did not assault any cops. When Garner shouted at them to stop harassing him, then swatted their hands away as they tried to take him in, Officer Daniel Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold position, a moved banned by the NY Police Department. The officers then forced Garner to the ground (still in the chokehold), and ignored cries that he couldn't breath, and Pantaleo even held Garner's head to the sidewalk while the latter was handcuffed.

The autopsy report revealed that Garner died a few minutes later from the chokehold that was compounded by his obesity and asthma, and the New York medical examiner ruled it a homicide. Parts of the video filmed by a passerby who recorded the incident can be found on Huffington Post here and CNN here[probably want to watch it asap before it is taken down].

Yesterday, the Stanton Island grand jury decided that no crime had been committed, and that they would not indict Pantaleo.

At first I had written a whole post venting my outrage over the situation, but now, my rage has simply turned into disgust and despair, and even now I'm still struggling to reconcile my emotions with words on this blog. No words can express my disappointment and sorrow for how everything went down. Perhaps if the nation had had time to heal from Ferguson, it wouldn't have been so bad, but coming right at its heels...

In a very sick and twisted way, I can see the "reasons" (read:excuses) why the grand jury did not indict Daniel Pantaleo. The chokehold position that Pantaleo performed on Garner is legal; it's just banned by the NY Police Department. Thus, Pantaleo technically did not break the law. If we want to talk details, technically Garner's swatting of the cops' hands can be counted as resisting arrest, and thus sort-of justify why Pantaleo needed to use a more forceful method (but of all methods, he chose the chokehold- really?!). Finally, Pantaleo didn't maliciously intend to kill Garner -- adrenaline can be a very powerful thing, so once again, technically Garner's death was an accident, and thus technically not a crime. [Please note that Pantaleo apparently has a history of racially-motivated misconduct while on the job.]

But just because something is legal doesn't make it right. I'm still reeling from how Garner's death can be ruled a homicide, and still the grand jury decided there wasn't even probably cause for a crime. A man caused another man to die unnecessarily, and he walked free.

It just makes me sad.