Living in America 2
◆Satonobo's life in America part 2
At the end of September, I moved from Yokohama to Seattle. A month and a half later, in mid-November, I moved to a town called Bellevue, about 20 minutes by car from Seattle. Although it is located across the lake, the atmosphere of the town has changed completely, and this will be my base for the time being.
(At Amazon's headquarters, there is a banana stand, and banistas will give you bananas for free)
In Seattle, perhaps because I lived near Amazon's headquarters, the age group I saw around my neighborhood seemed to be in their 20s and 30s, and I didn't see many elderly people or families. Just walking around , you can feel the energy of the city, moving forward and upward! I felt like that. I was a little worried about security, but the Seattle Police office was right nearby and they were constantly patrolling, so generally safety was maintained. I think it's unique to Seattle that I became friends with a police officer whose mother was from Yokohama .
(This is the city of Seattle. It has a good balance between nature and the city.)
◆Living in Bellevue The photos in this article are of the Bellevue Library. A variety of trees are planted, and the delicate bright red autumn leaves are reminiscent of autumn in Japan . There are plenty of large shopping malls and parks, and you often see elderly people and families there. There are offices for Amazon and Microsoft, but the buildings themselves are more integrated into the city than in Seattle, and driving is calmer than in Seattle. By the way, the name of the city comes from the French words "Belle" (beautiful) and "vue" (scenery) .
Perhaps because there are many Asian people in libraries and shopping malls, and the presence of Japanese people suddenly decreases, I no longer get asked, "Are you Japanese?" unlike in Seattle. When your child starts elementary school, your life as a resident will become more involved.
In addition to Japanese novels and manga, the library also had books about Japanese handicrafts and folk crafts . Up until now, I have only been obsessed with Kogin-zashi and have very little knowledge about Japanese handicrafts in general, so I am thinking of reading and studying more so that I can expand my view of Kogin-zashi. Masu.
▶️Materials research blog (will resume as soon as kogin materials arrive from Japan)
▶️Shop (scheduled to be open when you return to Japan temporarily)
▶️Instagram (We show you the simplicity of Koginzashi through videos etc.)
Satonobou