Last week in Seattle

Hi there!

A lot of Christmas things are already going on in Seattle. You can see lights and decorated houses everywhere, ‘Santa-cabins’: to have the opportunity to make pictures with Santa, and the Christmas-shopping started with amazing discounts. Moreover, there is a Christmas tree on the Space Needle. Last week I went to the Christmas Caroling Competition, a big event in Seattle downtown. For this event, groups of people (f.e. employees of the Starbucks or students of the UW) can subscribe. These groups raise money for charity and compete with each other by dressing up in Christmas-costumes and singing Christmas-songs on this event.

The Christmas-atmosphere officially starts after Thanksgiving with the Tree Lightening Ceremony. Thanksgiving is an American tradition with a lot of food involved. We had two extra days off before the weekend and most of the students fly home to celebrate this tradition with their families. I also had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, cranberries, beans, and pumpkin pie and apple pie for dessert.

In the mean while, there is only one week left for me in Seattle. Yesterday I had my last lecture and my first final exam. Next week, I have my two other final exams and I will fly home on December 17. I really look forward to see my family and friends in the Netherlands; on the other hand I don’t like to leave the beautiful UW campus with its traditions and the country with so many possibilities and friendly people.

For now, I’m going to enjoy my last week in Seattle! Bye!!