I have had a very exciting week.
I arrived in Washington state on Saturday morning without too much difficulty, and even slept a few winks. My friend, A met me at the airport and rode with me back to her home on Vashon island. There, her 6 dogs and 2 cats greeted us enthusiastically and I was able to fill up on plenty of high quality dog love.

Communication issues abounded during my week and to keep these issues private lets just say I have learned when moving country to be aware of the different ways people are comfortable communicating. Contacting people by email AND phone is advisable. And give extra options for contacts if possible.

I loved staying on Whidbey Island. The setting is absolutely gorgeous. No traffic. No commuting faculty. No chain stores. Great food and coffee. Just brilliant. Mostly very low key people and everything moves slowly. The children there are lovely and welcomed me into their classrooms graciously. The walks I took with the Kinder children deep into the woods filled me with awe and joy. The weather was misty and I venture, not cold.

Bellevue, Washington is largely suburban with long not so appealing strips of congested areas like most wealthy towns in the US. The school is lovely, with a hidden, wooded area in the back perfect for young children. The school also abuts a botanic garden and large park. The people are gregarious and mostly fit my age group so seem to be more "like me". The children here surprised me with their lack of "rich kid" mentality. The older children and the younger were respectful and interested. The weather was crazy- raining hard, misting, sunny with a wave of warmth, a fat rainbow all in one day.

I have no sense of how things will unfold because there are situations at both schools which require patience on my part. Another lesson.

Last night there was a wind storm that knocked out the electricity on Vashon. The ferry ride over was very dramatic with sea spray covering my windshield in agressive bursts.
And I am now watching the news and trying to keep updated on the events in Japan,namely a tsunami, which may effect my travel plans returning home because my stop-over is Narita airport outside of Tokyo.



I plan to visit with my old school-mate this afternoon in Seattle and have lunch with my aunt tomorrow back here on Vashon.