Meet....

Pippa!  I know many of you know already, but we got a new dog.  After some serious consideration, Doug and I decided that the best thing for us deal with the pain of losing Yeppi was to open our hearts to a new dog.  We will always miss Yeppi and she we always hold a very special place in our hearts, but we needed something else to love to distract us from the emptiness that we felt.  We ended up going to a shelter in Pyeongtaek, which is about twenty minutes north of us on the subway.  

When we got to the shelter, a woman took us to a room with about 30 available dogs.  They were all small dogs and there were several Yorkies, Malteses, black Poodles, and mixed breeds.  We weren't able to get any of the dogs out and play with them before making our decision, so we took some time trying to get to know the dogs through the cages.  We both knew that we wanted a dog that didn't bark, so we narrowed it down to the two cages that had quiet dogs.  I was trying to decide between Pippa and the little Yorkie or Maltese in the pictures below.  I asked Doug what he thought and he said he wanted Pippa. Since Doug was the first one to see a spark in Yeppi, I knew he knew what he was doing when picking out a sweet, lovable, amazing dog. 

Disclaimer: The pics for this post aren't that great because they were taken on our phones and the dogs were moving so fast :) 

She got Pippa out for us and brought her into the shed/office where she worked.  We filled out some paperwork and that was that.  We didn't even have to pay a fee to take her home.  I was shocked at how simple it was.  We basically pointed to the dog we wanted and took her home.  She wouldn't stop moving; she was so excited to get out of that cage and come home with us!

She was a little fidgety on the subway.  Doug and I joked that she is like a baby because we couldn't sit down but instead had to stand up and gently rock to keep her settled!  Now, she is much calmer so it must have been all the excitement of that day.  She is settling in so nicely after spending a little over a week with us.  She is so curious and loves just watching our every movement. Also, she is a great snuggler.

  

I think we are going to need to work on her "acting like a lady" skills since this is her favorite was to relax :) I think she would've gotten along good with her sister, she liked to lay like that too...

Puppy Cafe!

This past Tuesday, Doug, Jessica and I decided to go out for an after work treat since Wednesday was a national holiday and we were off from work.  So after work, we decided to try out a place called "Play Dog".  Basically, it is a cafe where you can go and play with dogs, hang out, drink coffee, and order dog treats to give to the dogs.

I have heard of these cafes becoming popular in Seoul, but wasn't sure there were any in Cheonan.  Being a dog lover, I knew I would have to try out one of these places before coming home to the States where a dog cafe would never pass the sanitary requirements to become a legitimate business.  Luckily, I noticed one in downtown Yawoori (a block or two away from where we live) and we thought that with Yeppi's passing it would be the perfect time to get some therapeutic doggie time in.

When we first walked in, we where greeted by fifteen or so barking dogs and the strong smell of ammonia from dog urine.  Yes, this wasn't the most appetizing smell that I would want to sip my coffee to, but we'll only be in Korea once!  I was actually lucky to even get Doug to go with me, since when I mentioned going before he was completely appalled by the idea of having a cafe and  multiple dogs in the same room.  I think he also was missing having a dog around the house.

Although the place smelt like dog pee, it was surprisingly clean (for being a dog cafe).  The dog wrangler, as I like to call him, constantly wiped down tables and cleaned up fur or any messes on the floor. (We later found out that he was the owner of ALL the dogs - and it was he clear he was their pack leader by the way he managed the dogs!)  The room was empty in the center for the dogs to play and roam, with table along the walls of the cafe.  It was pretty empty, being a Tuesday night, so we sat down and ordered a couple of lattes.  Jessica immediately took a liking to a sweet and snuggable little Pomeranian.  I was like a kid in a candy store for the first fifteen minutes or so trying to pet any and every dog there.  A big shepherd-like dog quickly laid under our table and all the dogs followed him and laid down around us.

The bigger dogs kept trying to steal my umbrella!

Pretty soon after we got there, a group of Korean girls left and put down the little brown toy Poodle puppy they were hoarding over at there table.  I scooped her up right away and spent the next half hour or so letting her nap in my lap and snuggling with her.  She was so precious and so tiny.  Jessica was trying to get me to sneak her in my purse on my way out, but I knew I couldn't steal a dog.  That's got to be a crime, right?  Even if the dog wrangler has so many dogs he may not realize one is missing...

She was like a little ball of fur.  Look at that face!

 This big guy was precious.  It definitely made us miss hanging out with bigger dogs.

The Basset Hound was hilarious.  She didn't realize how heavy she was, so she was constantly trying to snuggle up in your lap.

Jess took this picture of the Golden Retriever.  She asked the dog wrangler if we could play with it, so he let it out of her cage for us.  We couldn't resist those eyes.

The poor Basset Hound.  All the bigger dogs would play fight with her.  I think she liked it, but she looked like a chubby walrus trying to keep up with the other dogs.

I think Doug enjoyed his time there even though he was skeptical :) 

We ended up staying for about an hour or an hour and a half just chatting and playing with the pups.   Even though the dogs could be a bit rambunctious at times, it was surprisingly relaxing and definitely an experience I won't forget.  I'm pretty sure I'll go back when I need my next dog fix!  

Sweet Yeppi.

As you know, Doug and I have had a rough week with Yeppi unexpectedly passing away on April 6th.  I think we will always be left wondering what exactly happened to her that made her go from appearing perfectly healthy when we went to bed to being violently ill and fighting for life. What we do know though, was that she was such a fighter throughout her tough life and even in her death.  She was the sweetest little dog and brought such joy to every moment that we spent with her.  Everyone who met her and spent time with her fell in love with her instantly and I know Yeppi would have loved all of our family back home.  She was such a gift in our lives and gave us a beautiful five months together of never-ending snuggles, kisses, and adorable "welcome home" dances.  In honor of little Yepps, I wanted to share a few of my favorite memories with her so those of you back home can get to know her like we did.

 It was love at first sight.  We couldn't stop thinking about her after our first volunteer trip to the shelter.

Bringing Yeppi home and finding out that she loves running around the apartment after a bath.

Celebrating Doug's birthday after our first week with Yeppi. 

Taking many winter walks together.

Finding Yeppi trying to stowaway in our bags the night before we left for Busan.

Doug and I realizing that Yeppi doesn't like her winter boots.

 Waking up to this little face all wrapped up in the blankets patiently waiting for us to get up.

Settling into the new apartment and Yeppi peeking out from under the coffee table.

Coming home from work and scratching her belly on what turned out to be our last day together.

We love you Yeppi and miss you!

This week's recap and homemade ricotta!

Doug and I have been keeping busy these past few weeks with the start of the new school year and settling back into our routine.  Last weekend, Jessica and I went to a "Girls Night Out", which was an dinner event planned by a professional Canadian boxer living in Korea.  She has her own "boxercise" class (I just went to my first class today and am already hooked!!) and she plans things for foreign women in Cheonan.  The restaurant was beautiful and it was tons of fun.  I'll post more pictures about that later this week!

This Saturday, Doug and I went to Seoul with some friends and had an amazing time.  First, we went to Insadong, a street well-known for traditional Korean souvenirs, and got some gifts for some lucky family members!  Then we made our way to Itaewon, which is basically the foreigner district and has tons of pubs, restaurants, an English bookstore, and shopping.  Jessica found a restaurant called Tomatillo in Itaewon that is the same idea as Chipotle.  You walk up and choose your meat/vegetables and if you want a burrito, taco, tostado, quesadilla, etc.  It was pretty amazing.  We got a side of guacamole and it was the best gaucamole we have had in Korean yet.  Needless to say, Doug was in heaven and wanted to get second burrito before getting back on the train!

Today, we had a relaxing morning, took Yeppi on a nice walk, and got some grocery shopping out of the way.  I was super excited because this week I found a recipe online for ricotta cheese and wanted to give it a try since I was able to find the ingredients here.  I made some this afternoon and was shocked by how easy it was.  It honestly took me maybe 15-20 minutes and tasted way better than store bought ricotta.  It was super light and fresh tasting and was great in penne pasta mixed with some fresh tomato sauce.  I was so excited that I decided to document the ricotta making process:

 First, I prepped the straining bowl.

Then, I boiled the milk and cream mixture until the curds separate from the whey.

After, I spooned the curds over into the strainer.

 Here's the ricotta straining for a few minutes.

Ta-da! The finished product.

Here's where I got the recipe: http://www.framedcooks.com/2011/08/how-to-make-fresh-ricotta.html

New schedule (finally!)

I finally got my class schedule for this semester!!  I was told earlier that I was going to be teaching the first grade (equivalent to 6th grade), however now I am teaching the all of the second grade and intermediate-high level third graders.  Initially, I was really looking forward to teaching first grade since they are so small and fresh to the middle school experience.  But now, I am super excited to be teaching the second and third grade for a couple of reasons.  First, I'll be teaching a group of second grade boys that I got close to last year in an after school class and during the winter camp.  They are really sweet, intelligent, and silly boys and they are so fun to be around and really value learning English.  It was really amazing seeing them open up last year and go from kids that are nervous and shy to speak English to kids that are playing jokes on one another and speaking English non-stop.  Second, in third grade, I'll have girl students that I got to know from an English lunch club that I helped with last semester.  They are also really sweet and good girls so I know I'll have fun getting to teach them.  So, all in all, I realized that if I taught first grade all the students would be fresh faces to me, but by teaching second and third grade I get to continue to get to know some of the students that I really enjoyed last year.

I have no picture related to today's post, so I thought I'd post a picture of Yeppi in a sweater that we got for her while we were in Busan.  It has a hood with bunny ears and a little puff ball tail at the end.  The dog sweaters that you can find in this country are ridiculous, but I love them!  Originally, the sweater went around her two back legs, but it was a little bit too short for her body when we got home and tried it on her.  I just cut of the back legs and now it fits her fine!

Thoughts on winter.

Let me tell you something about winter here: it is absolutely freezing.  Before going outside, you need to put on layers upon layers.  Sometimes, even that is not enough.  To make the matter worse, we have to walk everywhere here.  So, it's not like it is back home where it's cold until your car heats up.  It's cold on your walk to school, it's cold at school, it's cold waiting for the bus, it's cold on the bus, it's cold at the subway station, it is just really cold!

I think winter is why I haven't been blogging much.  I just don't have much to blog about since going outside is dreadful.  To make up for my lack of blogging, I thought I'd show a few things Doug and I have been up to these past few months!

We went to Independence Hall and learned about South Korea's past.  I thought I could get away without wearing a heavy coat.  I was wrong! 

I said "goodbye" to my first set of students as they graduated from middle school.  It's sad knowing that I won't have them in the classroom next year.  The student in the second picture is one of my favorites.  She picked her English name as "Paris"!

 We snuggled and played endlessly with Yeppi (and fell in love with her over and over again each day!).

 One day, Yeppi got her bone stuck in her collar and searched the apartment frantically for it.  It was adorable. 

Lastly, I turned 23 and had a great time celebrating with my friends.  

So, to sum it up, it has been a long, cold, but really great winter.  We have made some really great friends here in Korea and have had the best addition to our family (little Yeppi!).  Now, I'm counting down the days till warm weather and can't wait to be back in California for summer.

Asan shelter trip.

This past Sunday, Doug and I volunteered at the animal shelter in Asan, which is the city bordering Cheonan.  Asan is much more rural and has many traditional villages still in place.  We met up with other volunteers from Animal Rescue Korea at the Cheonan/Asan train station and took a taxi together to the shelter.  The shelter was up on top of a small mountain.  The road to get to it was really steep (I can't imagine how they get to the shelter during the winter!).

The shelter definitely isn't up to the standards of an American pound, as many of the dogs never get a chance to walk and leave their cage.  At the entrance, there was about 50 small dogs in cages as well as three mom dogs and their puppies.  The shelter continued up onto the slope of the mountain.  I was shocked when I walked up to the enclosures at the top of the mountain to see that many of these dogs were so wild that it would be impossible to ever adopt them out into a family.  The dogs on the mountain were grouped by breed.  There was an enclosure with about ten Cocker Spaniels, one with maybe seven poodle looking mix breeds, another with some terriers, etc.  The bigger dogs got their own pen because I'm guessing that they do not get along with other dogs.  Many of the dogs up on the hill are not even walkable because they cannot be trusted with humans.

It was so sad to see these dogs up on the hill because you could tell that they really were completely wild.  Many of them had open wounds on their bodies from fighting each other.  It was so sad to see that these beautiful dogs - many of them purebred - would never be able to live outside a cage.

Ok, so on a happier note, Doug and I were able to walk dogs for five hours straight!!!  I had the best time there loving the dogs and getting to know them.  It was so nice to be outside all day up on the mountain getting to play around with these dogs.  We were absolutely exhausted by the time we got home!  Sadly, the dogs only get walked every Sunday (if they are lucky), so you can imagine how much energy each of them had.

This was the first dog I walked.  A little black male poodle with lots of energy.  I fell in love with him!

This poor German Shepard never is allowed to leave his cage.  He doesn't get along with other dogs and I'm guessing maybe he is not too friendly with humans either.  We had to pass him each time to take the other dogs for walks...it must of been torture for the poor guy!

This little girl is April.  Typically, I am not the biggest fan of Chihuahuas, but she was so gentle and so loveable. All she wanted was to snuggle in your lap and get to know you.

 I was in heaven with all these cuties!

 One of the puppies :)

 Here is a picture of the bottom kennels.  The dogs kept here are the ones most likely to get adopted and get to leave their cage maybe once a week for a walk. 

 Here is a picture of the enclosures on the side of the mountain.

 The crazy cockers.  I would not want to be left alone in that cage with them.

 So many dogs.

This is Jasmin.  She is a Jindo, which is a Korean breed.  These dogs are typically raised in meat farms and eaten. 

She is so beautiful!