We Heart Seattle

We weren't supposed to fall in love with the city. Seattle was intended to serve as a means to an end. To Dominic and I, moving to Seattle was a haphazard response to some post-Peace Corps decision making. We knew we loved one another -- but we knew it in Armenia. How would things work in our own country? Where could we test out the relationship's strength on "neutral ground"?

I'm from Columbus, Ohio. Dominic is from Sacramento, California. We were not about to drag one another to our home turf after two years abroad. We needed to date like real Americans and we didn't want to be overwhelmed.*

For Dominic and I love was inevitable. For Sarah, Dominic and Seattle the love came as a surprise.

I'm nostalgic for the city where the sun really does shine and the neighbors know my name. So, here is a list of the loves I have for Seattle:

The views:

• From Kerry Park: I would run from my house to Dominic's house while we were still dating, pausing for a minute to admire the early dawn at Kerry Park. I would stand there, feeling totally defeated by the recession, and pray that God would bless me with work in one of the offices that stand in the skyline from this viewpoint. He did.

• From Pier 66: I didn't have to be leaving on a cruise to admire the view of the Sound (and the city skyline) from this pier. From the top of the stairs it was a perfect place to soak up the sun, admire the water, and peek through the free telescopes.

• From the top of the Needle: Touristy? Definitely. But this landmark was a visit we saved for our last celebration in the city. From above, we could map out our routes to work, pick out our four-story apartment building, and admire the places that had somehow become perfectly familiar.
  

• From the Alaskan Way Viaduct: No matter what your politics on the issue, driving in to downtown from 99-South as the sun sets in the evening is a beautiful scene. I can still remember arriving via the viaduct on my first day in Seattle. I couldn't believe how close I was to the water.
  

Dress Code
When Dominic began working he was teased and called the "office consultant" for wearing dress pants and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I ended up standing out in my office as well where jeans and t-shirts were the norm. Although it took some getting used to, Seattle fashion taught us about comfort (i.e. flats, Velcro if possible), function (i.e. Gortex -- it was often wet) and coordination (the more gray/black you wear to match the weather the better).

Salmon, butternut squash ravioli
It's not just the fish and flavors, it's the fact that the food in abundance here is the food I can't get enough of. Picking fresh berries from neighborhood parks, fishing out of the lakes and rivers, growing container gardens of fresh vegetables. What could be better?

The Institutions

• Dominic and I might not get out a lot, but we built a mighty fine community at Bethany Presbyterian. We fell in love with the strong leadership, opportunities to gather with other Christians, and passionate outreach ministries.
• I don't want to speak for Dom, but I am certain he loved every minute spent playing basketball on his club team last year. He would come home tired and frustrated but always pining to get back on the court the next week.
• The Seattle Center: From outdoor plays and big screen movies to concerts, festivals and dance classes, living within walking distance of the Seattle Center was like having a free fairground in our backyard. Without a doubt we'll find plenty to keep us occupied in NY, but this space in Seattle was familiar, local, and a great meeting spot for mid-week lunch dates.

I think I'll skip the people we fell in love with or I might drip tears on my keyboard. To our friends and family in Seattle, we love you. Thank you for everything!

Without a doubt, Dominic and I will be loving New York City in no time. We will build our community, discover our favorite outings, and dine like royalty on the diverse ethnic cuisine of the city. According to Forbes.com, we're moving up from No. 3 to number one in the America's Coolest Cities ranking. Pretty soon you'll hear me singing "I heart NY".


*Interestingly enough, NYC was eliminated from the moving short list. Too expensive...

Birth-week

I'll be traveling to Ohio on my birthday this year so Dominic decided to plan a birthday celebration one week early. I was OK with this so long as I could keep celebrating for the duration of the week. Having been born on December 26th, he's not much for creating a big to-do over birthdays, but I'm hoping to change this in him the longer we're together.

He came over early yesterday and brought Cranberry Almond Crunch (the best cereal ever) with him. We had some breakfast and then he surprised me with a new (to me) older bicycle. This would be our mode of transportation for our "Seeing Seattle" themed day.

The seeing began with a trip down the hill to a nearby neighborhood, Fremont. Each year this community throws a big festival for the summer solstice. We enjoyed looking at a collection of decorated cars, riding the European Super Slide and watching a solstice parade.

The Fremont Solstice parade only has three rules: 1. No printed words or logos, 2. No motor vehicles, 3. No animals. You can imagine (and I'll show you below) what we saw.

The parade, as interesting as it is, had a new addition this year. Just before the costumed dancers, musicians and stilt-walkers emerge there's a large parade of people on their bicycles. People riding bikes alone may not seem like much, but very few of these bikers wear more than their helmets. Don't worry, there's decorative paint. For the record, Dominic and I did not bike in this portion of the parade.

That's a lot of dentures!

The European Super Slide--It's really fast!


There were probably ten women dressed up in these elaborate costumes. Something related to ice... They were beautiful.

Dominic...under the parade... can you see him?


If someone would have made me judge over the parade, this group would have won my award for most creative costume/messaging combination. Their outfits were made out of plastic bags and they were chanting something about reduce, reuse recycle so that bags don't end up in the ocean. There was a man dressed up like a big fish somewhere towards the back of the pack.

It's a bull, and smoke blows out of its nostrils!

This man (a tree) was my favorite stilt walker.

From Fremont we biked to the base of the space needle and, much to my surprise, boarded the most thrilling form of tourism that exists: The Ducks! For those who live or work on the Duck route, I apologize. I'm sure it's a quite a nuisance to have to listen to a car/boat load of people singing the YMCA and shrieking at every Starbucks they pass, but for those inside the Duck it's a blast. I learned all kinds of interesting facts about the city like: The space needle was originally orange, where the Sleepless in Seattle house is located on Lake Union and how much the owners tried to sell it for last year (more than $2 million), how many times a day the Fremont bridge goes up and down (35) and that Seattle is the largest ferry system in the U.S. It was so exciting my face hurt from smiling all day long.



We returned to Queen Anne for a little rest and then took a picnic dinner to my favorite park in the whole city: The SAM sculpture park.

I crawled, exhausted, in to bed-- loving this city and my dear fiance for letting me see it with him.

Farewell 2008

I like making resolutions and I enjoy starting fresh much more than I tend to reflect on the past.  It seems reasonable, however, to take a moment on the last day of the year to give thanks for the experiences and people that empowered me in 2008, before I start writing about 2009.

This year began in a cold, snowy village half a world away around a table of pork, rice and beef-stuffed grape leaves, deserts, fresh fruit and fried crepes.  My Armenian host family and I exchanged gifts and I thankfully dawned a brand new lime green sweater before everyone ran outside into the dark night-no street lights- to set off homemade fireworks and greet the new year with screams and whistles.  

Life after Armenia has been less festive, but certainly as challenging as I remember my first months in a new country.  Moving to Seattle this fall has brought back memories of introducing myself, learning about the local culture and trying to find my place in Armenia in 2006.  The anxiety today is similar to what I felt as I figured out how my primary assignment, teaching healthy life skills in a secondary school, would utilize my professional background, training and personal passions in that little village.

In fact, there are great similarities between my integration approach in Surenavan in 2006 and in Seattle in 2008.  Informational interviews today involve my invitation to coffee at a local cafe, a strict 30-minute time limit, planned questions, direct objectives and exchange of business cards.  In Surenavan, the interviews took place in a stranger's home, were rarely scheduled, lasted several hours, included excessive eating, personal discussions about my family and exchange of telephone numbers for future text messaging.  Regardless of the approach, or the information exchanged, my objective is identical today to what I hoped for then: to develop a network.  It was more important than ever in Armenia to meet those who would respect my opinions and trust my advice in the community.  I desperately needed to know the right people connected to the mayor's office, leading the community youth group or gardening spinach in their backyard.  Sure, life was different, specifically Armenian coffee and Starbucks lattes, but people are the same worldwide.  

Another similarity is language learning.  In Armenia, would sit in staff meetings and write lists of words I heard the director say.  Afterwards, I would call on the only English speaking woman in the village for reference and translation.  She and I would write out the Armenian and the correct pronunciation and I'd study the new vocabulary from flash cards.  In Seattle, it's not such a process to understand what people are saying to me and how to handle responsibilities in a professional setting.  Regardless, I had a lot of catching up to do in August.  I needed to be able to recognize and define Drupal, Long Tail, News Feeds and Social Graphs.  Thank you, Lara, for your mentorship in all things social media and to PRSA for providing me with seminars and panels to learn more about how the PR industry is embracing Web 2.0.  

Finally, I learned the value of family from Surenavan and give thanks every day for my real one in Ohio.  It was my Armenian host family that celebrated my successes, cared during difficulties and taught survival skills for life in a small community.  My Ohio family took over in 2008 by celebrating my completion of service, understanding when I decided to leave home again and preparing me with survival skills for life in a new city (i.e. a AAA membership).

When I started 2008, I had no idea where it would end.  Some people don't prefer uncertainty, but if there's one thing I learned in the Peace Corps it's resilience.  Oh what a transfer of skills!