Seattle

THE PIONEER BUILDING

Seattle 6 january 2010 (testing the system!)

Dear family and friends

A few weeks ago I moved from my friend’s house in Kent to a brand new Youth Hostel on King Street In the heart of Chinatown. I left my friends house to avoid the possibility of getting stranded in a flooded Kent Valley.

This Youth Hostel is one of the very best ones that I have ever stayed in. The location (close to Downtown and the King Station) could hardly be any better. I am on an Extended Stay status and I share a room with the son of Indian parents, Pulu. He is doing some work ( software related , naturally!) with the First Avenue’s Starbuck . Not a terribly hot assignment, but all the coffee you can possibly drink!

Pulu and I are a shinning example of how different people can getting along. He, a nite person, me, a day person! Pulu is the fastest “falling asleep in ‘no-time’ person” I have ever met. Our beds are feet away from each other, and yet, I can be talking to him, and by the time I get to my bed, he is already asleep. Staying in this Youth Hostel for an extended time has been a unique experience. I have met some very interesting people in and out of the hostel. Let me introduce you to some of them:

Steps away from the hotel (corner of Fifth and King) is a tavern which is open early in the morning to late at night. The tavern’s customers consists mainly of homeless people and people who work occasionally for a “Temporary Work”agency. This (I guess) is a good place to get warm after spending a nite outside! I met one of the tavern’s manager who is staying in our hostel. He used to work there but took time off occasionally to go gambling in last Vegas. He finally decided to quit this job and to move to Las Vegas. He gave up is apartment and left. A while later, the owner of the tavern asked him to: please, come back! So, he came back and settled in the Hostel. Jimmy is not very tall, weights about 130 pounds and claim he can break any of the fights that occur in the tavern. He looked at me, pulled out a policeman’ baton from his pocket and swung it in front of my face. Thrust me, I would not like to mess with him!

Another interesting character I met in the hostel is a women that had a very interesting story of getting in trouble with the Swiss’ Border Guards. According to her, she left Switzerland, went back in with an expired visa and was arrested when she left the country again. She claims that, because of that, they took all of her money. After she claimed she would make a fuss about it, they told her she would be charged another few thousands dollar??!! I questioned her and she had a ready answer for every question. You can probably guess the rest of the story; she eventually asked me for a loan that she would pay back immediately after she could get hold of some money she had in a bank, but had problem getting access to!! The African Con Game?)

Recently , a group of about 25 South Korean English teachers registered in the hostel. They are here to improve their English teaching skill thru observation and tutoring. They are here until they have to go back to their teaching job in South Korea, in about three weeks. Some of them carry so much luggage that one would thing that they are moving here permanently!

A more moving story is my encounter, on the early morning of Christmas Day, around Pionner Square, of several families that drove down to distribute food to the homeless people. Apparently they do this each year. They collect as much food and gift as they can, and then drive down to the Pionner Square area for distribution. What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas!

Love and Peace - henri

Seattle 6 january 2010 (testing the system!)

Dear family and friends

A few weeks ago I moved from my friend’s house in Kent to a brand new Youth Hostel on King Street In the heart of Chinatown. I left my friends house to avoid the possibility of getting stranded in a flooded Kent Valley.

This Youth Hostel is one of the very best ones that I have ever stayed in. The location (close to Downtown and the King Station) could hardly be any better. I am on an Extended Stay status and I share a room with the son of Indian parents, Pulu. He is doing some work ( software related , naturally!) with the First Avenue’s Starbuck . Not a terribly hot assignment, but all the coffee you can possibly drink!

Pulu and I are a shinning example of how different people can getting along. He, a nite person, me, a day person! Pulu is the fastest “falling asleep in ‘no-time’ person” I have ever met. Our beds are feet away from each other, and yet, I can be talking to him, and by the time I get to my bed, he is already asleep. Staying in this Youth Hostel for an extended time has been a unique experience. I have met some very interesting people in and out of the hostel. Let me introduce you to some of them:

Steps away from the hotel (corner of Fifth and King) is a tavern which is open early in the morning to late at night. The tavern’s customers consists mainly of homeless people and people who work occasionally for a “Temporary Work”agency. This (I guess) is a good place to get warm after spending a nite outside! I met one of the tavern’s manager who is staying in our hostel. He used to work there but took time off occasionally to go gambling in last Vegas. He finally decided to quit this job and to move to Las Vegas. He gave up is apartment and left. A while later, the owner of the tavern asked him to: please, come back! So, he came back and settled in the Hostel. Jimmy is not very tall, weights about 130 pounds and claim he can break any of the fights that occur in the tavern. He looked at me, pulled out a policeman’ baton from his pocket and swung it in front of my face. Thrust me, I would not like to mess with him!

Another interesting character I met in the hostel is a women that had a very interesting story of getting in trouble with the Swiss’ Border Guards. According to her, she left Switzerland, went back in with an expired visa and was arrested when she left the country again. She claims that, because of that, they took all of her money. After she claimed she would make a fuss about it, they told her she would be charged another few thousands dollar??!! I questioned her and she had a ready answer for every question. You can probably guess the rest of the story; she eventually asked me for a loan that she would pay back immediately after she could get hold of some money she had in a bank, but had problem getting access to!! The African Con Game?)

Recently , a group of about 25 South Korean English teachers registered in the hostel. They are here to improve their English teaching skill thru observation and tutoring. They are here until they have to go back to their teaching job in South Korea, in about three weeks. Some of them carry so much luggage that one would thing that they are moving here permanently!

A more moving story is my encounter, on the early morning of Christmas Day, around Pionner Square, of several families that drove down to distribute food to the homeless people. Apparently they do this each year. They collect as much food and gift as they can, and then drive down to the Pionner Square area for distribution. What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas!

Love and Peace - henri

Seattle 6 january 2010 (testing the system!)

Dear family and friends

A few weeks ago I moved from my friend’s house in Kent to a brand new Youth Hostel on King Street In the heart of Chinatown. I left my friends house to avoid the possibility of getting stranded in a flooded Kent Valley.

This Youth Hostel is one of the very best ones that I have ever stayed in. The location (close to Downtown and the King Station) could hardly be any better. I am on an Extended Stay status and I share a room with the son of Indian parents, Pulu. He is doing some work ( software related , naturally!) with the First Avenue’s Starbuck . Not a terribly hot assignment, but all the coffee you can possibly drink!

Pulu and I are a shinning example of how different people can getting along. He, a nite person, me, a day person! Pulu is the fastest “falling asleep in ‘no-time’ person” I have ever met. Our beds are feet away from each other, and yet, I can be talking to him, and by the time I get to my bed, he is already asleep. Staying in this Youth Hostel for an extended time has been a unique experience. I have met some very interesting people in and out of the hostel. Let me introduce you to some of them:

Steps away from the hotel (corner of Fifth and King) is a tavern which is open early in the morning to late at night. The tavern’s customers consists mainly of homeless people and people who work occasionally for a “Temporary Work”agency. This (I guess) is a good place to get warm after spending a nite outside! I met one of the tavern’s manager who is staying in our hostel. He used to work there but took time off occasionally to go gambling in last Vegas. He finally decided to quit this job and to move to Las Vegas. He gave up is apartment and left. A while later, the owner of the tavern asked him to: please, come back! So, he came back and settled in the Hostel. Jimmy is not very tall, weights about 130 pounds and claim he can break any of the fights that occur in the tavern. He looked at me, pulled out a policeman’ baton from his pocket and swung it in front of my face. Thrust me, I would not like to mess with him!

Another interesting character I met in the hostel is a women that had a very interesting story of getting in trouble with the Swiss’ Border Guards. According to her, she left Switzerland, went back in with an expired visa and was arrested when she left the country again. She claims that, because of that, they took all of her money. After she claimed she would make a fuss about it, they told her she would be charged another few thousands dollar??!! I questioned her and she had a ready answer for every question. You can probably guess the rest of the story; she eventually asked me for a loan that she would pay back immediately after she could get hold of some money she had in a bank, but had problem getting access to!! The African Con Game?)

Recently , a group of about 25 South Korean English teachers registered in the hostel. They are here to improve their English teaching skill thru observation and tutoring. They are here until they have to go back to their teaching job in South Korea, in about three weeks. Some of them carry so much luggage that one would thing that they are moving here permanently!

A more moving story is my encounter, on the early morning of Christmas Day, around Pionner Square, of several families that drove down to distribute food to the homeless people. Apparently they do this each year. They collect as much food and gift as they can, and then drive down to the Pionner Square area for distribution. What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas!

Love and Peace - henri