Hello, Seattle!

Seattle skyline!

Wow! I made it! It's pretty amazing to think that last week I was in California sitting down to dinner with my mom and brother and friends and this week I have embarked upon an entirely new adventure in Seattle.

We arrived in Seattle yesterday afternoon (was it only yesterday?) and -- wow, what a house! Mercy House is absolutely adorable, and I am completely in love with my community and the house we are going to share this year.  I'm completely exhausted and my head is still reeling, but I'm having a blast.

This past week at Camp Adams was really fun, exhausting and inspirational.  It already feels like so long ago that I was sitting in the Hyatt, writing my past blog post.  All of the JVs from the entire Northwest were at the retreat center together, and it's the only time we are going to be together throughout this whole year.  It was crazy talking to the communities who were going to Alaska! (I couldn't do what they were doing!)  I lived in a cabin with about 20 other girls - we had a room of 10, with each of us having our own bunk.  It was the longest week of my life.  I don't think I had quite thought about what I was embarking upon, and this gave me a good chance to think.  Since I've been so cut off with technology, I've had the chance to be in my own head a lot, which I guess is the point.  Right now I'm rushing through this post at a local cafe, trying to get it off before 6 when they close!

We went for a 5am hike to see the sunrise! It was too cloudy to see the sun, but it was fun nonetheless!

We headed into Seattle yesterday, and immediately were bombarded with a ton of information.  We're living in what is called an 'intentional community', which is basically a fancy way of saying that we all have a say in everything that happens in the house.  We have to discuss every decision, since we're sharing a community budget for the year.  (We also have separate allowances for ourselves, which we can do whatever we want with, but food is a group decision.)  The first thing we had to do was our rooms -- and I got the single! It basically came down to everyone wanting to share a room but two of us, so my housemate Matt and I get our own rooms, which I'm pretty pumped about.

Today we went on a group tour of the city and the JVs from last year to see where we all work.  My job is only a 20 minute bus ride from my house, which is really exciting and easy! I'm so excited to spend time downtown :)  We also got to see the Seattle waterfront, which was GORGEOUS.

Mercy House in front of the Seattle skyline.

Oh, and did I mention the view from our porch?  That's right - our house has not one, but TWO decks, and we overlook the entire Puget Sound and Seattle skyline.  People pay big money for these views, folks, and guess what, I'm doing it for free! It's absolutely beautiful.

Matt, Karin and Jen on our backyard patio.

Okay, well, I'm running out of time.  I'll take a bunch of pictures for a virtual tour later!  Sorry for the hurried post - I promise I'll get some better ones soon.

 Is anybody reading this, anyway?  Leave a message if you are!

Love you lots!

Always
K