First Impressions

Living in Bellevue feels a little like I am in Eagleton (the affluent rival city of Pawnee in Parks and Recreation). For one thing, we live three minutes away from a Lotus dealership; downtown Bellevue has a store devoted entirely to privately-owned drones; I've seen at least three Teslas driving around. And everyone's name sounds like it comes from money. For example. there's a city council election featuring hopeful candidates Michelle Hilhorst, Claudia Balducci, and Vandada Slatter.

Downtown Bellevue. Basically a giant, glassy shopping mall.

This is not to say that the people are in any way snooty. Everyone has been extremely nice. I'm surprised that I can't really hear any kind of Washington accent. However (and this is probably just projecting my insecurities), whenever I talk to someone, I'm convinced I see them glance covertly at me as if saying, "Are those really the vowels you are choosing to use to present yourself as a professional member of society?" I was at a technology training this morning, and as I was leaving, the trainer said, "Sarah, you moved here from Michigan, didn't you?" I said, "Yeah, how did you know?" "I could just hear it," was her response. So now I know that my students are going to give me all kinds of grief.

I've noticed a few inconsistencies in terms of what I was expecting the Pacific Northwest to be like. For example, it has been sunny every single day we have been here. I'm talking clear blue skies. One awesome effect this has is that whenever we take the highway (which we do to go almost anywhere), this is one of our views:

I mean, seriously. That's so cool. There have been a handful of occasions when I have asked if something in the distance was a mountain or just a cloud, and I'm not really used to the idea that it might actually be a mountain. 

Another inconsistency is that it has not rained once! Not even a light drizzle! Yes, I know that this month has seen a surprising lack of precipitation, but apparently the it-rains-every-second-of-every-day thing is a bit of an exaggeration. I've brought this up with a few people here, and they all get a little smirk on their face and say, "Yeah, we just let that rumor keep going." 

• Here are a few smaller things that I have noticed about the area:
• There are crows. Everywhere. Why is that?
• Everyone's car is pristine (no snowy/salty winters, I guess)
• One of my favorite quirks is the fact that Seattle has a ton of carpool lanes. But what's funny is that there are signs for a number to call and tattle on someone if they are using the carpool lane without a second person in the car. The number for the tattle hotline is 877-764-HERO.  Come on, guys. Be a hero.
• There are LOTS of spiders and not a ton or mosquitoes (connection?). We have a spider-bro living above our door by the kitchen. He's cool. He can stay. But we have a spider-demon living outside the bedroom window. Mike is convinced this spider is actively trying to kill him (no evidence of this, just a hunch). The spider-demon has to stay too, I guess, but only because we can't kill him and we might even need to surrender our bedroom permanently.