Woke up to a drizzly morning. In Seattle it does not pour with lightning and thunder as it does in Singapore. Rather it's sunshine interspersed with bouts of light rain.
I did not have a good sleep the whole night. It's jet lag time! That kind of worked out ok as I spent my time Google Mapping the area for amenties like groceries, malls, and public transport. I should have done this earlier when assigned to the residence though. While the apartment is great in terms of being very walk-friendly to work, it's terrible when it comes to groceries and shops - malls are out of the question. Because it's next to the highway amenities on the eastern half are completely inaccessible by foot. North of me is Lake Union. That leaves me with western and southern areas.
Wee morning hours here equates to evenings in Singapore. It was very convenient and enjoyable to use the Apple FaceTime to set up video calls back home. To be able to see my kids - and for them to see me back - is immeasurable! There's nothing like a video call back to mom and dad to give them assurance that all is fine.
Venturing Out
By 7 I was getting impatient to get things done. With only half the research done I was out of the building with a windbreaker that has no hood (it's still drizzling), and a phone that has no local SIM card. What naive bravery!
A Transplant I met was very forthcoming with directions to downtown. I'm not sure about Americans in general, but I have found Seattlelites generally to be happy to provide public information such as directions. Singaporeans are not too far off, but they tend to be brief in delivery.
The Streetcar
I walked downslope towards Lake Union where there's a streetcar stop. Along the way I had to stop people to confirm the location, as I was not sure what a streetcar stop looked like. Friendly directions from the people all the way. It's nice to know the people are friendly. Makes the place a little more welcome for an Asian betting his next few years in American soil.
The streetcar is a slow moving but clean electric mini train. The route is not very long: it runs from a little beyond SLU to downtown. That's it. For $2.50 you get like 2 hours to use the train. Can I board buses with this ticket? Good question. Will find out.
Later I've been told the main purpose of this train is to ferry Amazonians from downtown to the SLU campus.
Downtown
Downtown Seattle is not very big. Singapore's CBD is a lot more dense with more skyscrapers. Huge shopping malls are mixed with office buildings. One thing I find about downtown is that it's not easy to figure to where everything is. There is a visitor's center, but it's not quite smack in the center. Maybe the train stop where I alighted isn't the center (does look like one though). Bottom line: do a little homework before venturing downtown.
The best thing about getting around is that the dry, cool weather makes one very open to walking. I literally walked back to my apartment from downtown. Partly because I wanted to get some groceries, also I wanted to save on that $2.50. Until I get my first paycheck every dollar counts.
Evenings
The street lighting at least in the SLU area isn't the best. I wouldn't get out of the apartment after 8pm.
Note to Self
Get a windbreaker with a hood, or get a cap.
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