The Seattle dream
Numerous come here for the "fresh" air. People are forward-looking, hard-working, and progressive. As it seems, many also hold a healthy lifestyle, biking even on a rainy day and buying their local organic grocery.
(Sustainability everywhere in town)
The Seattle rain
To enjoy the lush green and the scenic view, or perhaps the NW signature salmon, you gotta bear the rain.
It's fairly unbearable for a subtropical girl like me. I am used to humidity. Despite the constant rain Seattle, it is still dry enough to cause my dry-eye syndrome that I need an eye ointment to keep them moist. Not that I hate dry air. It'll be more desirable if the rain comes as thunderstorm that just leaves in half an hour, as dynamic as you can feel the vibration of mother earth.
(You don't wait for a sunny day to do field work in lush woods)
The Seattle Freeze
Say you're satisfied and adjusted to the weather, and consider that fresh salmon, a Mariners game, or freshly-brewed IPA is definitely worth the rain in Seattle.
Next you would need friends to make your NW experience more enjoyable.
If you're lucky, you make friends with the locals, or hang out with people you've known from out of town. You can also join the online dating/meetup or any partner-finding or friend-making website to expand your social circle.
That is what I used to have in Taiwan where I have different friend groups that share different interests and values. But like myself, a lot of them are traveling and experiencing different jobs/towns.
In general, people don't invest friendship unless they know you enough and you share their activities. The locals stick to their "core" -family or partner, or old friends, and barely reach out when they meet new folks.
This is nothing to blame, but it was a cultural shock to me coming from Taiwan, where people are inviting, welcoming, and nice to you for no reason. Especially when you're new to the place and interested in the local wonders, they often can't wait to show you around and make you love the place as much as they do.
Most of the Northwesterners aren't like that. I love the American West and some parts of American culture, especially the outdoors lifestyle, but few would appreciate that and consider it's their business to reach out to you.
My connection to this land is mostly built through reading, traveling, and some good friends. Unlike my connection and travel experiences in Thailand or rural Taiwan, it's almost all built on peer travelers and local friendships.
Ongoing cultural shock
The culture is making me more closed-off because people are usually only genuinely friendly when they are close to you. If I were to be more friendly and inviting, I am exposing myself to a weird situation where with guys they'll think you're hitting on them, and with girls, they'll respond in a friendly but distant way.
(NW lady friends)
What if I just want to make friends?
There is no such thing because my new roommate says guys only gets two messages from single girls 1. She likes me. 2. She doesn't like me.
This means you can either hang out and potentially start dating, or not be friends. There is no such thing like my friendship with guys in Taiwan. It seems awkward for people to think about the idea of making friends with an opposite sex when you are single. Cuz you don't make friends with new single guys/girls, or you date.
I met a Japanese dude my age in the National Taiwan Museum for a native Taiwanese exhibition two years ago. He was interested in Taiwanese culture and history, so I toured him around my home town and took him to my grandparents' place and let them talk in Japanese. He kept in touch with my grandma for a year and came back to Taiwan again and stayed in my grandparents' place.
That was the level of friendliness in Taiwan, and it was normal and wonderful.
My Seattle Jobs
It's been frustrating and unsatisfying, and I wonder how much longer can I stand.
I am a writer, but I'm just a cheap labor. The fact is I love my two unpaid writing jobs, one is with the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, and the other with the Seattle Chinese Times.
I go to free movies and theaters and write reviews, and even a restaurant to write a review for the Chinese Times. I also have four of my travel journals published with them and two OP-EDs, For the most part I write in English because the Chinese community in Seattle speak and write English better than Chinese, I guess. Though I wrote the travel journals and a review in Chinese to fully express my feelings in words.
My boss at the Coalition is a 26 year old young man. He is cute,smart, and friendly so I first thought he's gay, but it turned out that he's not. He assigned me writing tasks including newsletter, newspaper articles, and even edittting a letter to the governor/county official regarding local conservation and recreation projects.
These are great opportunities for me to build on my strengths and passion, but not something that pays my bills.
When your passion doesn't pay you
I have two paid part-time jobs now, so with the two unpaid ones, I have four.
To make money and see a different world I served in an Asian restaurant downtown. Downtown, meaning big tips and potential networking. But I also see a different world in America that many, especially the middle class in the country wouldn't realize.
The sushi chef is a 22 year old young man from China. He got here on a student VISA, but like me, got a work permission to stay for a period of time. However, he did not graduate. He dropped off UCLA because he bought his TOEFL(Test Of English as a Foreign Language ) score from a Chinese agency and cannot speak English at all. He is also not interested in studying so he went to San Francisco and started working with a Chinese buffet restaurant.
Unlike me, he was able to go home despite that his status is highly debatable (student VISA work permission only accepts jobs in your field and need to be either enrolled in school or graduated). He paid an American lawyer for his status, so he is able to travel.
Now he is super nice to our bartender-a 23 year old Greek girl. She grew up in a first generation immigration family, but has citizenship. The Chinese guy's plan is to marry her and get Greencard.
My other part-time jobs is to research Seattle Time's archive and collect all the NW dam-removal related news for a phD student from UC Santa Cruz.
Seattle Life VS American Dream
I have not gone home for 14 months. I am extremely homesick and have no idea what can potentially be a cure.
Maybe a full-time job that allows me to apply what I learn from school to environmental conservation, and I'll keep freelance writing just cuz I like it.
But I am ready to move on and experience other places outside of Seattle. After my epic trip to the wild West this summer, I am so reluctant to return and constantly felt out of place wandering on the streets in Seattle. My heart has flown away.
Finding jobs out of state is hard, unless you are an engineer, doctor or lawyer that seem to be welcome anywhere in the world. The employers look for in-state candidates first. I am also building my professional connections in the NW. Seattle also gives me my chances to do writings from an Asian perspective, and for the environment though I just started my writing path.
The only thing I know now is that I am not happy, and it's been 3 months that I am constantly going through ups and downs. Fortunately I have friends that keep in touch and encourage me to stay strong and positive.
I have come to believe that perhaps if America is not giving me a chance for a full-time job, or a chance to experience places outside of Seattle, I might as well go home, or just wherever I can stay happy and healthy.
Culture matters, and this is something that I didn't realize two years ago when I believe with friendliness and sensitivity you overcome cultural barrier. Because culture shapes you too, and I don't like it.
Take me away, or take me home; whatever that gets me.
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