Turns out there's a Lenin statue not just in New York, but also in Seattle. They brought it here from Czechoslovakia right after the Soviet Union collapsed. It still stands near downtown and regularly becomes the subject of various protests.

Seattle turned out to be a really nice city. But there's a stereotype about the locals—they're extremely polite, but it's practically impossible to befriend them. People born here prefer to stick with their own kind. And those who move here hang out with other transplants. This peculiarity even has a special name: Seattle freeze.

Speaking of the cold: even though it's early June, the daytime temperature is noticeably below 20 degrees Celsius. I managed to catch a sunny day, but mostly it's overcast and rainy. Living in a climate like this can be pretty depressing.

PS. You've probably heard the joke about "whoever's last at the airport, turn off the lights." It probably originated in Seattle. Boeing's headquarters has been located right here for many decades. In the 1970s, the company laid off tens of thousands of people. At the time, it was the largest local employer (now Amazon, Microsoft, and other Starbucks locations have joined the mix). And on the way out of the city, there was literally a sign that said "Will the last person leaving Seattle - Turn out the lights" (here you can see the picture and read more on this topic).