“Surviving in Seattle” part 1
written Oct. 22, 2008

I’ve been wanting to update you all, my close friends and family, about my new life on the West coast. This blog is more of just a free-write of my thoughts, observations, reactions, questions, etc. than anything planned or with an overall purpose. Perhaps the only purpose is to get what’s inside of me out and, at the same time, to keep you updated.

I’ve been here for about 5 weeks now and I must say that Seattle has its own culture. I find myself in the role of cultural observer just as I was in Slovakia, but never thought I’d be an ‘observer’ in my own country! People here are very ‘EXtreme’ as my Slovak friends would say. They take their dogs with them (on leashes) inside the university and inside shops, they don’t use umbrellas when it is downright raining, they are determined to bicycle or jog in ANY weather—in fact, many bike or jog to work wearing their athletic clothes (one guy even wears a literal gas mask to filter the car fumes out as he bikes on the roads) while carrying their work clothes in a small backpack on their back which also has a tube running from a waterbottle inside the bag to their mouth in case they get thirsty on the road. Also, everyone buys somewhat expensive coffee daily despite the recent economic crisis. There’s even a coffee language—“drip coffee” refers to regular brewed coffee which runs about $1.50 a cup, while espresso-machine coffee made by the barista? runs about $2.20 a cup. If you want there to be room for milk/cream in your coffee you ask for “coffee with room.”

The other observation is that pedestrians RULE this city. I’m still recovering from the Slovak mindset where I was a constant and very literal target for cars as I walked and even, gasp!, jogged the streets of my Eastern Slovak city. One of the more common Slovak mentalities among drivers is that if a pedestrian is walking across the street (even in a ‘zebra’ or crosswalk), the driver has the prerogative to speed up and even almost hit the pedestrian in order to ‘teach him a lesson.’ So you can imagine the near-death experiences I’ve repeatedly faced in Eastern Europe. Now imagine me suddenly ‘inserted’ into Seattle. Ha!

I think I’m the only pedestrian in the city tentatively crossing the street, even jogging across the crosswalk to not inconvenience the driver. I’ve even stood on the side of the street NOT at a crosswalk and have had cars stop their driving in the middle of the road for ME to cross. Usually I look around at who or what they’re stopping for! Cyclists even cycle in the center of the traffic lane (not on the side) ahead of cars and stop at traffic lights as cars do. The problem is, if you’re driving here, you are SUPREMELY liable for ANY abrogation of pedestrian right of way ethics and therefore you really can’t drive above 30 mph unless you’re on the interstate.

What I’ve lacked in confidence as a pedestrian I’ve more than made up for as a bus passenger, though! Again, my Slovak experience taught me to position myself while waiting at the bus stop to be assured a spot on the bus, which means being a bit aggressive in the line to get on the bus. That also has translated to Seattle as I practically jump onto city buses, forgetting to wait for the onboard passengers to get off, and I’ve thus been scolded at least twice by bus drivers here. The people on buses here are much more colorful (literally and figuratively) than the passengers in SK. Everyone from homeless persons to businessmen with briefcases ride the bus.