Blogs from Seattle, Washington, United States, North America - page 92

Mei (TS) It’s been wonderful to see my 6-month year old niece, Mei, for the first time. Even in the two weeks that we have been here she has grown and changed so much. Those who know me well know that I am not a natural baby person (dogs seem easier to me!) but your own family is totally different. Mei is a beautiful little girl, not surprising when you look at her parents. The only problem is she currently seems to like Noel more than she likes me. I say it’s because he’s got a big face, big nose and big ears like a clown. He says it’s because he’s a hit with all the ladies! Mei is now crawling around trying to look at everything and see how it all works. Quite the engineer, ... read more

Getting to know the family was complete so it was time to get to know the local area. We started with a walk to the local pub. It seems that there is a fear of alcohol in this state. Supermarkets can only sell wines and beer; spirits must be bought from a liquor store, which it seems only open Monday-Saturday 10am-7pm. This is typical of the attitude to alcohol here. We got into the pub at around 1.00pm - there were only six people in. It was everything we thought it would be. Bright neon signs advertising ‘Lite Beers’, men on big stools at the bar with lumberjack shirts on and a back room with pinball machines and pool tables. Think of ‘The Accused’. I ordered the beers, Tas got ID’d (she always gets ID’d when ... read more

As with all good journeys - our adventure began with some drama. I somehow managed to leave some vital documents at my parent’s - which I realized at the train station 15 minutes before our train to Gatwick was due to depart. As Noel and I waited for the train my dear old Father nearly sent himself to an early grave by driving home at 70 MPH, grabbing it, driving back and arriving just as our train was leaving the platform. The first we knew he’d succeeded in this mission was when I was called to first class over the tannoy (after the train had left), where I was greeted by a beaming train crew and driver who were very excited to give me my package which they had been handed to them by a well-spoken ... read more

After talking about Everett, Tacoma, Olympia and Portland (refer to my previous 3 posts), now I'm going to talk about Seattle! Seattle is a bustling city full of vibrancy and energy. It's also the home of several important corporations, such as Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com, and Starbucks (Ok, Boeing is not exactly in Seattle. It's in Everett, a small city about 50km north of Seattle.) Although I spent a very short time in Seattle, I had a wonderful time. On the first night of my trip, I visited the Seattle Central Library and several bookstores (refer to my first blog). On the second night, after I returned to Seattle from Tacoma, I went to the Seattle Center. To reach there, I took the Seattle Monorail from Westlake Center. The monorail was built in 1962 as a part ... read more

“We are about people-to-people, our twenty Americans paired up with twenty Nigerians.” Susan Partnow, founder and director of Seattle-based Global Citizen Journey (GCJ), stood at the head of the room. She overlooked an audience; they overlooked her. “This is our grassroots connection.” What endured in bold letters were her last words, grassroots connection. The phrase was powerful, deep, strumming a chord within my system, a system slapped, pressed, and molded into the thought-processes of Western culture. But now, with a community of individuals devoted to the workings of peace and international teamwork, I began to grow from the old imprints and immerge from an isolated locale within the mind. I began to form my own contemporary consciousness, one joined with interconnection, birthing from within a presence of unified devotion. And now I had this; grassroots... read more