American life 1
◆Satonobo's life in America part 1
Today I would like to take a little break from Koginzashi and talk about my life in America, where I have been living since the end of September. This was my first time entering the United States and I never thought I would come in my life, so I have almost no knowledge. I'll give you a sense of what it feels like, along with instant search information.
(I participated in an event held in the plaza of Amazon's headquarters)
◆King County, Washington I currently live in Seattle , but I plan to move to a slightly more suburban area. If you look up ``King County, Washington'' on Google, you can find the area, but Japan and Washington state are located diagonally across the Pacific Ocean, as if they were looking at each other diagonally . It took about 9 hours by plane (direct flight), so I was hardly tired from the journey. However, due to the 16-hour time difference due to daylight saving time, the whole family was jet-lagged. My second son, who is 3 years old, adapted within a few days, followed by my eldest son, and after about a week, we adults also adapted. It's nice to be young. (lol)
The latitude of Seattle is 47 degrees north, my hometown (Namioka, Aomori City) is 40 degrees, and Olomouc in the Czech Republic, where I studied abroad as a student, is 49 degrees north, so it seems that I have ties to latitudes around 40 degrees north. However, Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, where Utsunomiya University is located, where I spent my student days, is at a latitude of 36 degrees north, and Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where I spent my adult years, is at a latitude of 35 degrees north, so it seems that I moved a little further south. This process of checking the latitudes of areas you have connections with may seem trivial, but it was surprisingly interesting, so if you'd like, please try checking the latitudes of areas you have connections with.
(At my eldest son's request, I went to see the HOKUSAI exhibition being held at the Seattle Art Museum.)
The climate seems to be cold in winter like that of northern Japan, but the amount of snow varies from year to year (according to an Uber driver who has lived in the US for 10 years). In late October, there were days when the temperature was in the single digits (minimum temperature 1 degree). Due to the average temperature in July and August being 22 degrees Celsius, there were many homes without air conditioning, but now that temperatures are rising in the summer, the number of homes with air conditioning is increasing. This summer, temperatures in Aomori reached unprecedented levels, and the climate may be similar to Aomori.
(A park in Bellevue, a city representative of the East Side)
◆People connected to Japan I met near Seattle
In Seattle, I live in the business district, so I only get to go out with my kids on weekdays in a fairly limited area, but I still had many fun encounters as a result of being Japanese. Those whose grandmothers were from Kyushu, those who studied Japanese at university (I heard that you can study Japanese at the University of Washington), and those who are studying Japanese on their own (mostly because of anime) etc. You may feel joy and surprise because English has become the language you hear and see.
The East Side, where I plan to move later, is home to Japanese companies, a Japanese supermarket, and a supplementary Japanese language school, so the number of Japanese and Asian residents is rapidly increasing. So, the month and a half I lived in Seattle is going to become even more memorable.
◆Difference in units
I was confused by the different units used in daily life, such as temperature (Celsius and Fahrenheit) and weight (grams and pounds), so at first I tried my best to convert them to the units used in Japan. Depending on the item, both units are listed. However, in addition to never being able to memorize calculation formulas, I realized that there was little point in converting units as my sensory values developed, and I am now able to live a rough life. Even in Japan, I think I lived my life with an image of 0 degrees or 1 kilometer, rather than a sense of meaning in units. I'm sure there will be many more opportunities to reaffirm things that are deeply rooted in me, so I hope to enjoy discovering them.
We talked about latitude for a long time today (lol), but that's about it.
(I have curry and rice once a week, and rice balls every day. Thanks to that, I have gotten used to hot pot rice and American wraps.)
The top image of the article is of Seattle's famous building (Space Needle) and the full moon seen on a morning at the end of October.
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Satonobou