Pets, Shopping and a Cheesecake Update

One of the most disappointing things about my time in Russia was that my host family didn't have a pet. I'm quite an animal lover, and had really hoped to have a pet to play with in my home. Luckily for me, the American Home cat, Gosha, was ever present and able to fill my lack of pet void. (And considering that I was at the AH more than I was at home, it was kind of like having a pet...) Here in Korea, I'm living on my own, and therefore have neither pets nor people to keep me company while home, and I'm considering getting a pet. While I was looking into how one goes about adopting a pet in Korea, I came across the Korean Animal Protection Society (located in Daegu!), which seems to be the closest thing in Korea to what we'd consider an animal shelter. Read the information provided - it's so incredibly heart wrenching. If any of you out there are looking for a worthy cause to donate to, please, donate to KAPS. They're trying to raise money to build a large shelter, as the current location is way too small. I've decided that unless I find a stray animal between now and my first payday (I'm on a tight budget until then, and therefore shouldn't be adding a pet to my expenses), I'm going to adopt an animal from KAPS (which of course will come home with me when I eventually leave Korea). Now the question is, do I want a dog or a cat? What? Jane, the self-professed-cat-lady-in-the-making, might get a dog? Well, after Elphie/Sally I've found myself wanting to have a happy little dog companion. On the other hand, I do love and miss cats... According to the KAPS website, there are 3 times as many cats as there are dogs at the KAPS shelter. Cat products in Korea are scarce and low quality. The first sentence there makes me think I should definitely get a cat, although the second sentence makes me wonder. Apparently KAPS imports its catfood and kitty litter! And if you read this, you'll just want to cry.

Last night, after the sun went down and the temperature dropped to a bearable level, I went out in search of a market near enough to my house to be practical and big enough to be more useful than the mini-mart (named K-Mart, of all things) that's about two minutes from my front door. Before John left he (in addition to telling random dudes with cheesecake how to find me) said to me, "There's a nice mart just up the street." I remember making some sort of noncommittal reply while wondering whether or not he was losing his grasp of the English language. A nice mart? Well, whaddyaknow. Last night I found a large store, kind of like a mini E-mart called NAIS MART. Nice mart. It's only a few blocks away and very well-stocked and affordable. Hooray!

I simply couldn't help myself.

I returned home to discover an email from Gwen, regarding the aforementioned random cheesecake bearing dude:

I read about your visit from Hee Soo... a word to the wise... he'd been asking John how he could get an American girlfriend. I have no idea what kind of a person Hee Soo is, so I can't say if that information is good, bad or neutral. I thought you'd might as well know since he seems to be able to get in your yard without you buzzing him in.... I think we should get you a chain lock. I'm sure Mr. Yu wouldn't abuse his spare key, but still... extra security when you're actually in the house.

Hmmmmm....