I don’t really have too much time, but I wanted to say that I am indeed alive and well in the ROK. 🙂
Last weekend there was a huge party to celebrate the 80’s and 90’s at Kooma in Ssangyong-dong. There were quite a few people who attended, but I, unfortunately, got sick early in the evening and missed a lot of the good stuff. However, it was fun to spend Saturday thrift shopping in the streets of Cheonan with Andrew, Stephanie, and Erica. We made fun of horrible 90’s fashion and donned rediculous clothing because, hey, thrift shops are full of the stuff.
This week I’ve been busy with studying Korean and work, as usual. I haven’t had much time to sit down and enjoy some tv yet. “You’re in Korea! Why watch TV?” I have to say, I’m the kind of person that needs to unwind sometimes. Too much of a good thing can turn into a bad one. I don’t want to burn myself out in the first few months and then be miserable for the rest of my time here.
Originally, I planned to spend my Saturday morning and afternoon at the animal shelter in Asan. It doesn’t look like this Saturday is so good for my friends, so we’ve moved the date to next Saturday, the weekend before Chusok. I’m excited to go back to the shelter because I really want to see the unnamed Malamute again. I’m still undecided on fostering him. On the one hand, dogs are awesome. They provide a comfort and kind of love that I can’t get from anyone in Korea. It would be nice to have someone to come home to and take care of. Also, dogs are just freakin’ sweet. On the other hand, it would limit my ability to travel. I would have to either put him in a kennel (doggy hotel) or at the vet, or maybe get someone to look after him and walk him.
Those are really the only downsides. I don’t mind spending my free time searching for a good home for him. That is the nature of fostering, after all. I want to take him for walks, and spend money on food. If I’m about to leave Korea and he doesn’t yet have a home, then he’s coming home with me. I don’t mind paying to send him to the US if it comes down to it.
I’m also not afraid of watching him die. If his heartworm is as bad as Mr. Park says it is, then I won’t be able to afford to fix it. I’ll try to give him the best life possible before he dies, and then I’ll have to arrange his cremation and etc. I don’t even mind that.
I’ll definitely visit at least once or twice more before making a final decision. I want to spend more time with him and make sure that his behavior is very good. I want to test his abilities. If he is petering on the edge of “shelter fever” then I might not be able to save him, no matter how hard I try. But he is very calm, a perfect walker, and very sweet. He needs a loving person to take care of him for the rest of his life. It might not be much longer, I’m not sure yet. But every day my heart just aches for these dogs, this one especially.
… I just realized that most of this post was about the dogs! Well, it is important to me. It’s one of the non-school related things that I really love being involved in. Until next time…
Roaming in 한국어 