So far, so good

I already gained 10 pounds. I have been baking. A lot! Just finished my “extra-curricular” courses at Seattle Central which are the following: Building a Powerful Vocabulary, Technical Writing, Drawing and Sketching (I promise to post some of my artwork). It’s better to be at school learning than get stucked at home eating a lot of cookies right? Well, I am also done with my biometrics and just received my Advance Parole and Work Authorization card from USCIS! Yay! now I can start job hunting.

What else? I have been driving around. Hopefully I can pass my driving exam soon. Going out every weekend with george. Me making more friends. Still in search for the best coffee in Seatle. Been shopping for fall/winter clothes.. and boots. I have been sick for a couple of days now because of the cold weather and Fall is just starting. So what happens when winter comes? I’d probably die of hypothermia.

Well, I am still alive and happy! 🙂 Really hope to write more but gotta jet and pay attention to what I am doing. Follow me at facebook and Flickr too!

Seattle’s Grace

Seattle is a coastal port city and the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the state of Washington between an arm of the Pacific Ocean called Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 96 miles south of the Canada – United States border in King County, of which it is the county seat.

A sequel to my “Living in America” list.

1. The Rain.  Yes, I said it, the rain.
2. Coffee.  What else is Seattle known for – their coffee of course. Coffee shops on every corner that aren’t Starbucks.  I am actually in a treasure hunt right now, finding the best coffee in town.
3. Microsoft. Amazon. Expedia. Starbucks. Boeing.  I’ll leave it at that.
4. Eco-friendly.  Seattle lives up to it’s tree-hugging hippie “green” reputation.
5. The lay of the land.  What makes Seattle particularlybeautifulare its breathtaking views. Four different mountain regions, Mount Baker, the Cascades, Mount Rainier and the Olympics, encircle the city. Seattle is a coastal city and almost completely surrounded by water through a leg of the Pacific Ocean called the Puget Sound and Lake Washington.  THE perfect destination for anyone who enjoys outdoor recreation, including skiing/snowboarding, swimming, boating, hiking, climbing, cycling, golfing, beaching, or just a beautiful view.
6. Pike Place Market.  Opened in 1907, is one of the oldest continually-operated public farmer’s markets in the United States. Such a lively spot everyday of the week. Such a wonderful atmosphere. The flowers are amazing, and people are very nice! Great food and many dining options, too.
7. Fresh air that smells of rain and evergreens.  Sometimes it’s like stepping inside a refrigerator, in refreshing way. The air here is always so silky smooth, just like a cool silk cloth falling on your skin.
8. Birds.  They’re everywhere! Seaguls in downtown, can you imagine that?
9. The View of Downtown from Gas Works Park.
10. Laid back life style. Quiet, relaxed, casual.. and a cup of coffee please. deep breaths.
11. People.  People in Seattle are nice and polite, like living in a small town.
12. Good Schools.  Named one of the Smartest City’s in the nation by MSNBC. The University of Washington is just one of the top schools the Seattle area has to offer.
13. Not only they are intellectually superior, they are also morally superior.  They care about all the important things like saving the planet, stopping global warming, and buying organic.
14. Perfect Summer.  Okay, I know I never been to any other state. yet. but.. so far, summer here is drop-to-your-knees-tears-in-your-eyes gorgeous.

Living in America

I decided to write this article because a lot of people and friends have been asking me about my impressions of this country, about my adjustments and life in general.  Okay, so here it goes…

1. Still remember the military bases in Subic and Clark? (most especially the houses in Cubi Point, Subic) Exactly like that! just imagine it BIGGER and cleaner.
2. There is no pollution. People here really cares about the environment.
3. They treat house pets as members of the family, not a “pet”.
4. Traffic laws and driving rules are strictly enforced.
5. Car is a necessity.  Back in the P.I. whenever I crave for something, I could always just go out the house, cross the street and there’s Mang Pilo’s bbq-han and sari-sari store.  Total opposite here.  I remember one night, I asked george for a Coke. He said we don’t have any. And me wanting an ice cold Coke so bad I told him “alright, let’s go buy some!” .. So we went out the house and to my surprise why do we need to take the car?! He was just quietly laughing and then I realized, we need to drive blocks and blocks just to get that Coke in a Supermarket! geesh 😦
6. Since we only have one car, and I don’t have my driver’s license yet, I learned how to take the metro bus! – buses here are very neat and very organized. And it is REALLY important to be at the bus stop 15minutes earlier coz when you missed the bus, you have to wait for about 30 minutes to an hour. And oh, the bus driver won’t stop or wait for you even if you’re just a second late or beggging for mercy.
7. I learn to live by the clock. No excuse for being late. Time management here is a must.
8. Rules and laws are strictly adhered to. No cash gifts for misdemeanors. People have to tow the line. There is more discipline.
9. People generally mind their own business.  Except of course when you hang out with a Filipino.
10. People here never gets tired of greetings! “Hi/Hello?” “How are you doing today?” “I’m doing good, how are you?” “Good! how are you?” blah blah blah
11. I learned to adapt to different people.
12. Getting what you want here is very easy. You need a car? a house? you can get it very easily, you just need to work HARD.
13. I can wear jewelry and carry a high tech cellphone without the fear of getting snatched.
14. I learn to value money. Everything is expensive. You will work real hard for every penny.
15. Telivision shows suck.
16. Squirrels are everywhere.
17. Strangers are commonly friendly.
18. You can work for a high paying job even if you’re just a high school graduate.
19. Haircuts are ridiculously high priced.  Lucky me I found some Asian salon, a very nice Vietnamese lady cuts my hair.
20. I came here in the states at the beginning of Spring.  Now is summer.  The sun is up until 10pm. ( looks like 530-6pm in the P.I.)
21. According to my family here, when winter comes it will be dark by 4pm.
22. People seldomly use cash.  I learned to purchase things using debit/credit cards and checks.
23. Opportunities are everywhere.
24. I have been taking classes in Seattle Central Community College since June, and these are the things I noticed:
    • Academically, we excell.
    • Students can go to class wearing anything they want (short shorts, slippers, tube top, anything..)
    • You don’t have to stand up during recitations. 
    • Teachers are very patient and their way of teaching = “spoon feeding”. 
    • Discussions in class. You have to love America for allowing students to challenge their professors and engage in heated debates with classmates. In the Philippines, you don’t disagree with the teacher. Ever.
    • Students are very vocal, very liberated inside the classroom.  At one class I remember, a student was really bored and he just outspokenly told the teacher “I need to drop this class, I don’t think I will enjoy learning here”; and another one in my Art class was asked by the teacher to come closer so that she can see the painting (all of us are in front, formed a circle), and she just said to my teacher “I’m sorry I can’t go there”, the teacher asked why, she replied “I can’t. I don’t want to.” And my teacher continued the lecture as if nothing happened.
    • You don’t address the teachers as Sir/Mam, you call them by their first or last name, like “Peter” or “Mr. Herard”.
25. Fast foods give you “bottomless” drinks — without charge.
26. Public restrooms have an endless supply of bathroom tissue and toilet seat covers.
27. I never once did our laundry by handwashing, hello washing machine and dryer.
28. An aisle for EVERYTHING — my first shopping experience at Target was amazing. There was an aisle for practically everything you can imagine. All I needed was a toothpaste, but I was confronted with dozens of options and an enormous shopping cart that just begged to be filled.
29. I developed an idea that any person in the world could be an American. With an understanding of, and a belief in, the Constitution, any foreign-born person adopting those principles could consider themselves American and be accepted as such by the general population. Conversely, an American abroad would likely never be fully accepted as a citizen in any other country.
30. It was so easy to find out how to do things, like get a driving license, getting your Social Security number, file taxes, buy a car, rent an apartment, move to another city, all things that were mired in red tape and piles of paperwork in the Philippines.
31. Living here makes you appreciate your friends and family more.  Americans are not like Filipinos when it comes to family.. American kids move out when they’re 18 with the full support of their parents, while Filipino kids move out when they’re 28, may have saved for that nice house and are a week away from getting married … unless there’s room in the basement for the newlyweds:) American friends or family usually call before they come over to visit (and is usually only on special occassions), Filipinos are not at all fazed when their dads or friends come over, unannounced on a Saturday morning at 8:00, and starts terrorizing the sofa or refrigerator…
32. There are more or less than 11 holidays in America.
33. When you cross the streets or just about to cross the streets, cars will stop.
34. Customer service in most establishments are very poor. The customer rep is either not knowledgeable about the business or just plain grumpy.
35. I am so loving KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Wendy’s.. American fast foods are the best!
36. Talking about food.. American portions — yes, I’m a pig and sometimes, I just want to pig out. In P.I., I’d have to order three servings of cake to satisfy my desire to gorge myself, but here I just have to order one!
37. I love being able to tell a complete stranger that I love her shoes, not so common in P.I. I guess it’s because it seems rather rude to bother people because you may seem nosy. Most people in many parts of Asia would find it weird if you randomly started talking to them, but not in America.
38. Finding clothes and shoes in my size without effort. I wear a size 9 or 10 for shoes and I’m a small size here when it comes to clothes, but in the Philippines I’m large? Yay! 🙂
39. I love the financial opportunities that exist in this country because you can go from being homeless to being a millionaire, from poverty to riches, from prostitute to Wall Street Broker, from a former prisoner to a best selling author of children’s books, and so on.
40. People can disagree with their government officials. This is such a “wow” for me.
41. Entertainment here is great. Movies, music.. great!
42. and this list will go on and on..

Whether good or bad, the American dream remains. Most people all around the world will continue to try their luck in this country. It’s true that living in America is a privelege. And I am thankful.   I don’t know what awaits me here, but so far I am learning to accept and love my second home. America is like a fine wine: It just gets better with age. But while it may taste great, too much of it will have you ranting and raving like a lunatic, dancing on tables, having unprotected sex, puking your guts out, and waking up with a horrific headache.

New Beginnings

The rainbow has long been a good luck sign in the life of humankind, representing balance, beauty and prosperity.  Such is the mysetical, luminous beauty that we have long speculated that rainbows begin and end in spots very fortunate, containing great wealth or the proverbial pot of gold – which leads us to wishes, hopes, and promises. Is it any wonder, then, that the sight of a rainbow in the sky usually gladdens the heart?

The last of April, 25–, An airplane brought me to the ground of Seattle, a new country, new language, new culture, new people and in general, new life. I will not describe how difficult it was to say goodbye to all of my family and friends, because I think that you can image yourself what it would be like to leave everyone and everything you were accustomed of. Indescribable. Not every person can leave everything behind and begin a NEW life from “zero”.  I am scared. Moving forward is irrevocable.

Well after a few days in my evocative state, I realized that my new life did not start from zero at all.  I have George to begin with, plus my two fury children. Here we settled down. I enjoyed my new life very well for a while, considering the beauty of this place and its people, although at times I would think of home and friends far away, and sometimes would weep in secret when I thought of daddy. It was Spring when I arrived, with it came the singing of the birds in the beautiful greenwoods, which was sweet melody to my ears from the time I wake up until the early afternoons. And when Summer came, it was perfect! beautiful and perfect. So far as relocation goes, I am loving this place. That’s a good start I suppose.

Now the married life. It’s different. Aside from saying goodbye to the “Sex and the City” doctrine, being married is the real thing. And it’s BIG. When I moved in with my ex-boyfriend long time ago, we were excited and had a lot of fun.  You know what I mean. The strange thing is, when you’re in the “fun” stage, you’re brain is not in learning mode, it’s in recess mode. In marriage, it’s the opposite. George and I have known each other for nearly 15 years now but we’re surprised how we get “surprised” with each others individualities.  Everyday we learn.  Everyday is a trial and error.  Everyday we learn. And everyday we love and accept each other more. It’s not always “rainbows and butterflies” of course but the thing is, you don’t take a recess.  No retreat. And yes, no surrender. You will and both of you WILL do what it takes to make it work, and make it last for a lifetime. I love that I am in a team with a dependable partner, a forever ally, a true friend. I love the constancy of it, the everyday chance to fulfill our daydreams, whether flirty or serious. I love that someone at home needs me. I love that marriage keeps me whole. I love that I am connected. I love the never-being-alone feeling. I love waking up beside God’s gift to me. I hate waking up and seeing my husband’s dirty clothes on the floor—but that’s part of the package.

From the old, the new.  What may feel like an end may just be the “darkness before the dawn”, and that dawn may be a new idea, a new possibility, a new challenge, or a new person. I have within me the power to turn my terminations into transitions, and my transitions into new beginnings.  I haven’t seen the end of my rainbow yet… not even a glimpse of what’s in that pot. I just know that I have this rainbow.  It gladdens my heart to see the chance of the reality of my wishes, hopes, and promises.