City-Country-City

Recently returned from a long weekend in North Carolina, Chapel Hill to be exact. Visited the campuses of University of North Carolina and Duke University. Found them exquisitely serene and clean. Most of the student body was friendly and open, if approached. Many actually made eye contact with me, accompanied with pleasant smiles. The one observation that stands out in my mind was that I didn't see a single student on either campus chatting away on a cellphone, nor one with an IPOD earphone jammed in his/her ear. Though both are ever present on the UCLA campus. I am an alum of the southern California campus, twice. That gives me some license to be lovingly critical.

What does it mean? Because I saw more students at the North Carolina campuses involved with their studies and/or engaged in conversations with fellow students, I took them to be more serious about their course work and interpersonal relationships. City folk vs. country folk? Does living and attending college in a rural setting as opposed to one in a large urban city make a difference? You tell me. I've already made up my mind, though.