Grey, cloudy, overcast and even slightly ominous: this is typical weather for anyone native to many parts of Washington.

After four years at Gonzaga University in Spokane, this was not so unusual. I remember this weather from my first days visiting GU, and these clouds ushered in my first days in Pullman.

My boyfriend, his mother and I had driven the 90 minutes from Spokane to Pullman in a big U-Haul to the concrete building we would call home for the next two years. We went through the usual affair of checking in, signing paperwork, receiving keys, and getting the brief, haphazard tour by the manager. Everything appeared standard: the expensive loads of laundry; the bare white walls of a kitchen, living room, and bedroom; and the two bathtub spiders about to meet the underside of my right shoe.

Yet, even for a college apartment things were less than satisfactory: broken glass all around the outside, cobwebs across the ceiling, and questionable stains on the floors and walls. When we voiced our grievances, the less than savory response was, “It’s a college town.”

Now, some may think my better half and I were spoiled by Spokane. Spokane and the greater metropolitan area include several hundred thousand people. The city benefits from the presence of WSU Riverside, Gonzaga, and Whitworth, but it has cultural and civic life beyond the universities. Yet, even in the college neighborhoods we inhabited for years before Pullman people took better care of things.

“It’s a college town” did not seem like a valid excuse to skip on propriety or pride.

Several days of cleaning, many battles with unwieldy furniture, and a gallon of touchup paint later the place looked much better. Travis and I planted flowers, some lavender bushes, cleaned up glass, sprayed for bugs, and pulled up many trash bags of weeds. Someone lacked so much for spare cash that they rather neatly dug up one of our five-dollar gardenia plants, but overall we made ourselves a nice little home.

Thankfully, the pictures on the brochures and websites show mostly the campus. I must saw, WSU is indeed a pretty campus. Despite climbing, as a friend of mine once said, possibly the largest hill (notice I didn’t say mountain) this side of the Rockies, the first stroll around this fortress of knowledge gave a better impression. In other words, the CUB and French building provide some touchup paint to my rather dismal opinion of Pullman thus far.

The first full weekend we spend in town, Travis and I decided to go out to the Coug and Valhalla to see what the summer nightlife, or lack thereof, entailed. Luckily we had each other, since everyone seemed intent on keeping to themselves or their little social circles. So much for making friends at the bars. At least the Coug had cheap pints between 8 and 9 p.m., and Valhalla it’s Long Islands under five bucks.

On my scheduled afternoon with professors and students from my masters program, I sampled the haute cuisine of College Hill: a Coug burger.

Despite waiting thirty minutes for a burger and fries (I’ll forgive them for lunchtime rush), it was a fairly good burger and beer. Everyone in the program was exceedingly nice, and one of my hosts insightfully labeled WSU as a monastery and Pullman its village. Another touchup brush stroke to my wall of judgment of this town.

Now, I had no idea how much a car would be necessary to truly enjoy the area, including but not limited to the myriad outdoor activities and nearby Moscow. Hopefully they will bring the buses back. Otherwise, the perk of not paying a dollar fifty for every bus ride in Pullman really makes Walmart trips excellent. Yes, Spokane, I am talking to you.

To help things along, I also started summer class. The best way to start feeling part of the learning community: start to learn. The professor delivered a passionate and engaging first lecture, and the weather continued to get sunnier and warmer.

Now, the jury still remains out on how my graduate studies will proceed at WSU. What I can say is that Pullman is not miserable. Being new during the summer, possibly the slowest season in this town, is a challenge. Luckily, summer classes keep campus alive. Last week I had the privilege of trying Ferdinand’s ice cream. I believe that was the best money I have ever spent on diary. I got a job with this publication, so now I have the opportunity to opine for you all. I hope to offend only the right people.

As a parting note, “it’s a college town” describes Pullman well. However, I don’t think most people here use it as an excuse. Most people I’ve encountered since my first day bear it with dignity, and so they should. It’s their home, and for the near future it’s mine too.