Seattle Love

Hey Seattle, I love you! I realized that I never wrote about my former-home city. When this lil blog was born three and a half years ago, I was focusing on TRAVEL and my transition to Myanmar. Seattle did get an honorary mention as my road trip and travels began, but I think she deserves her own post; don't you?

As part of my USA visit, I booked two weeks in Seattle (note to self, and friends, please remind me, next visit should be 3+) at the beginning of December. No, that's not the most beautiful weather time to visit, but my friends look just as good in the gray. ;) When the clouds finally parted, as we descended, this was my first glimpse.

Seattle, impressive rain or shine

The first week I stayed at R's lovely home, visited a lot with Y and hit up some favorite spots. Araya's is an old favorite vegan Thai restaurant. My first meal in Seattle was at their Madison valley location; they had one restaurant when I first moved to Seattle (U-District), now they have three!

At Araya's with J, yes, I visited more than once. ;)

One of my favorite things about Seattle is the live music scene. It's also one of my most-missed aspects of living abroad. Seattle has small, medium and giant-sized music venues and there is something interesting happening every single night of the week. While living in Seattle I saw plenty of shows at the Paramount and I was amazed to see that another old favorite, the Pixies, had decided to visit Seattle on their tour at the same time as me. I managed to get a ticket to the sold-out show and they rocked as much as always. La la, love them!

A familiar landmark

As amazing as ever

Plum Bistro is an all-vegan restaurant on Capitol Hill. It's a cute, but tiny spot and they don't take reservations. Their mac n yease recipe is an experience (to die for!) and everything on the menu is delicious, whether you have dietary restrictions or not.

R and I visit Plum

It's an interesting experience to be in the states without a car. I spent a lot of money on taxis, Lyfts, Ubers, walked and got back into the bus system. I enjoy not having to own a vehicle, but that's something that is a lot harder to manage if you live in the US.

Waiting for my bus

In my first week, I also visited my beloved Eastside Prep. It has expanded and the physical layout and campus have changed a lot! Still, after visiting with former students, administrators and teachers, I would say that the soul of the place hasn't changed. Teachers: if you want to work in Seattle, apply here! Parents: if you want your kids to learn and grow in a supportive yet encouraged-to-stretch environment, apply here!

Another very vegetarian, vegan and gluten free friendly restaurant is Cafe Flora in Madison Valley. I love their tofu scrambles and coffee in the morning. Gosh, it's easy to have dietary restrictions and live in Seattle.

R, Y and I caffeinate and prepare for the day at Flora

After a week in the city I was whisked a little farther north for a couple of days to reunite with A and A (elementary school friends!). We chatted, chatted, joked and chatted one morning at the Skagit Valley Co-op in Mt. Vernon. They have a great natural market and lots of deli dishes too. My favorite was the turmeric almond milk latte.

Two old friends and one very new one.

My second week began back in Seattle, but West Seattle this time. Have I mentioned all the sunny days that Seattle shined on me? Maybe she was trying to woo me back... Too bad, during my stay here I signed a contract with would pull me south. 

Seattle skyline from West Seattle

I had my very own room at J and M's, J graciously let me use her car to attend Yoga training in Redmond at Sattva Yoga (I'm very close to finishing my 500-hour cert!), M made the best popcorn, J made the best vegan chilli, Bowie is the cuddliest kitty-company and J and I even had time to do a little touristing, too.

I was in town just in time for a show at the Skylark, featuring many friends and former colleagues playing their music.

One Sunday morning there was a reunion at A and V's new place in West Seattle. Everyone was moving too quickly for me to get any great photos (including the twins!), but here they are!

V oversees the prep

A in position barista!

J and I decided that our favorite spot for breakfast/brunch is Chaco Canyon Cafe. They have kombucha on tap and lots of delicious organic options!

Pike's Place Market, downtown is a not-to-miss spot on any Seattle tour and this trip was no exception.

Required photo shoot!

The last day was a walk along West Seattle with this one and lunch at my new favorite Thai spot outside of Thailand - Buddha Ruksa - before my airport drop. Time went super-fast and I hope I'll have time to see everyone next trip.

Thanks to all my friends for hosting me, treating me and driving (or letting me drive!) around! I've got such great memories of our time together. See you next time! Or, maybe... in Mexico???

Five Fabulous Fotos

Last spring, a colleague and friend suggested that we all bring five photos from our spring break adventures to a happy hour and project our memories onto the wall. Five is enough to get an idea of what your friends did, but not so many to overwhelm the viewers, especially if the gathering fills one of our apartments.

Thus, the 5 Fabulous Foto Fests were born and the tradition has continued. After summer break, we decided on five categories in which to share pictures:

1. Family
2. Food
3. Friends
4. Fun 
5. Fiscellaneous (you get it, right?)

What follows are the five pictures that I selected for the Foto Fest and a few stories about them.

I was fortunate to visit lots of family over my break, but the family member who was most exciting to see was one I had not met before: my niece Jozy! Isn't she adorable?

Jozy n me

Although there were many great meals this summer, the food shot that wins the selection comes to you from Antigua, Guatemala. I spent the last few days of my three week trip to Guatemala in Antigua before flying back to the states. This was my second visit to Guatemala and it proved to be an amazing country once again. Beautiful nature, friendly people and plenty of Spanish!

Gluten free vegan falafel on pita bread in Antigua.

Friends was a hard category for me. There were so many fun moments with dear ones and it was challenging to choose a favorite. I hope your feelings won't be hurt if you aren't here. :) Really this photo was my selection because it was an amazing shot, showing my three new Spanish friends and it gives you a glimpse of the beautiful Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.

This picture won the best all-around photo by popular vote at the Foto Fest!

Sara and Violeta look on as Pablo back-flips into Lake Atitlán, near Santa Laguna

In Seattle, my friend Yasmin was kind enough to allow me to use her house to host an afternoon reunion my second day in town. This was a great chance to see a lot of people in my former home city. I love the light and sense of fun in this picture...and of course all my friends! I deem it runner-up in the friends category.

Like the previous categories, there are plenty of pictures in my library that could be classified as fun. This shot of me (photo credit: Violeta, who has a fancier camera than I do) is another one from the lake, at a jumping spot near San Marcos. I like the way it looks like I'm stepping on a cloud. We spent a weekend in San Marcos and a lovely afternoon in this national park. After jumping and swimming we hiked to the top of the ridge, to take in views of the lake and check out Mayan offering sites. The evening ended with live music at our hostel. It was a pretty perfect day.

Doing something a little bit scary is good for you.

For the Fiscellaneous category, I chose a panorama shot of Lake Atitlán, my home for three weeks this summer. I spent two in Panajachel, living with a host family, attending four hours of language school a day, making new friends and exploring. This photo was taken from a hike out to some Mayan caves on a ridge above the lake. My Spanish teacher and I hiked out here during my last day of class. You can see the lake, the town and one of the volcanoes; these sights filled my view and my mind during my time in Guatemala.

Guatemala, I miss you!

School is well underway at the time of writing this - we are almost finished with first quarter already in Yangon. I took the Foto Fest idea as inspiration and created an assignment for my Spanish 3 and 4 classes in which students brought in pictures from their summer and shared them with the class, describing them in Spanish, of course!

My next Foto Fest with work friends is scheduled for early November. I'll let you know how it goes. 

What camera am I using for all these great photos? This Olympus Tough one.

What I'm Reading:

• Just finished Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, her memoir is fascinating on music, fashion, art and feminism levels.
• Also just finished We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Everyone should read this short essay, especially folks with kids.
• Working on the young adult novel by the author who I obsessed over during my thesis-writing days at UW, Ray Loriga, El bebedor de lágrimas.

What I'm Listening to:

• The Mynabirds, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood
• Sonic Youth (inspired by Kim Gordon's book, mentioned above)
• The New Division - awesome LA-based band that I discovered on a night out in Seattle
• Screens, The Pink Hooded Falcon, another Seattle-discovery (Yes, I miss the live music scene in Seattle A LOT.)
• Desaparecidos, Payola

Some Food I'm Eating:

• Thanks to my sister for these healthy breakfast cookies! Peanut butter vegan and gluten free and protein-packed.
• Another one from my sis, to-die-for-vegan FUDGE.
• Loving the tropical fruits in Yangon: pineapple, mango, papaya, pomelo...

Where I'm going next:

• Bangkok, for a visa renewal, shopping and hanging out!
• Ko Lanta: beach bound for Fall Break!

Stay tuned to hear about these trips!

Saying "see you later" to Seattle

A little intro: I moved to this beautiful city after living in Spain for two years. Seattle seemed like a soft spot to land after being in Europe and as a teen it had always been an alluring city to me. I accepted an offer to teach at UW while completing my own grad degree. My Master's thesis explored the theme of travel in the works of Spanish novelist Ray Loriga...funny to think about that now as I am about to set off on my biggest trip yet...

Seattle skyline (Photo Credit: Dad, 2011)

The last month has been BUSY. I took my state certification teaching exam, sold, donated or gave away most of my possessions (Yay for Craig's List!), cleaned my apartment, practiced Yoga daily (especially loved classes with Liz at the Shala!), kept reading about Burma, got travel injections, threw a "See You in Asia" party and saw as many friends as often as I could. All the while I kept wondering - will everything I want/need actually fit in my car? At the time of writing (in a sparkling apartment accompanied only by this laptop and my wireless router), I am happy to report that, yes, my new life fits into my car! I feel like a turtle, setting off with everything I need inside my shell.

Goodbyes or even see you laters are not easy and I know they are harder for the ones staying. I love my friends and I appreciate that you all have been supportive as I sought international work and so happy for me as I've prepared for this transition. You know how to keep in touch and I expect to hear from you. :) I understand that it's not the same as living in the same city, or state, or country, but we will meet again.

The Last Supper - at Barrio with my besties

For now, I gotta drive.

What I'm listening to: Nacho Vegas, Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountan and Xoel López - Atlántico

Here I go...

This is just my first little post to practice my new blog. Thanks to Nicole for helping me set it up!

A LOT is happening as I prepare to leave Seattle and transition to a new job, life and home in Myanmar. I've re-homed my cat, sifted through years of memories and belongings and said goodbye (though I prefer "see you in Asia!") to amazing colleagues and friends.

Setting Desi up in her new home.

This blog will follow my story and I hope it will help us stay in touch!