pet cafe

Ok, so they have one in Seoul, too, but if you are in the Daegu area, you can't go without visiting the Pet Cafe! And no, this is not a cafe where you can bring your OWN pets. Here, you walk in and pay the base fee of 7,000 W (6,000 W for students), and you get your choice of coffee or tea drinks...and then you get to hang out and play with the cats and dogs THERE! The main floor (3rd floor of the building) is the cat room, and the floor above it is the dog room. When you pay for your drink (the 7,000 W includes that), you are given a sheet with pictures of the dogs and cats and their names, too.


So...grab a latte and enjoy the time hanging out with man's best friend! It's especially nice for those days when I'm really missing my puppies back home. ^^

Directions to get to the Pet Cafe: If you are standing in front of the big outdoor stage in downtown Daegu, walk straight behind it (the left of the two streets behind it), and turn right when you see this blue 스프리스 sign. The Pet Cafe will be directly on your left. Look for the sign below.

Looking at it from inside the cat room: This is where you order your drink.

When you order your drink, they will also give you this sheet with all the pets' names!

One of the cats chilling in the lobby.

Cat room!

And here we are in the dog room! You can't see very well here, but this dog even has a Pooh bear costume on!

Look at how BIG that white dog is! Probably unbelievable for Koreans who only ever see/have cute little dogs!

Awww!~ Sooo happy! Look at the cute little guy on the table behind me! He snuck up there and was giving me kisses! Awwwww...

My friend Jeremy and I with the most precious, calm, sweet dog! I want it!

how much is that doggie in the window?

Daegu is such an organized city, really. The more I explore and my friends show me around, it seems that there is a street for everything. "This is cell phone street." "This is Korean restaurant street." "This is tire street." "This is club street." "This is....." ....you name it!


One of my favorite such streets is...."Cute puppies and kittens street!"


You can literally walk down this street and see window after window of cute, adorable little puppies and kittens! It's like heaven! Oh....I am such a sucker. I really wish I could just sit and play with them for hours (but I guess that is what a Pet Cafe is for)! Awwww....


Here are a few different videos/photos I took while walking along the street. Enjoy!

shedding off the layers

**(written 23 Feb 2012)**


Yesterday and today have been some beautiful days. Now, I'm not saying I'm about to walk outside in a short summer dress, but I consider it an accomplishment to NOT have to wear my big, bulky coat when I walk out of a building (or an sitting IN it, for that matter). Isn't it amazing how the weather can totally change your mood? I get a reprieve from the constant cold, wind, and random flurries, and my mood is immediately elevated. On days that you wake up and it is raining and overcast, don't you just want to stay inside and cuddle up with a good book or lounge around? And when it is a dreary day outside, don't you seem to feel a little bit of that dreariness too?


And yet, then....when the sun comes out and there is light, we have more joy and happiness and a lightness of spirit. 


Isn't this a lot like God?... 


"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." ~John 1:1-5


When we are alone and without Him, we are in darkness...and then, when we are in Him--the LIGHT--that light shines through the darkness and cannot be overcome by the darkness any more, we are invited into a life of joy. 


"The thief [Satan] comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT IN ABUNDANCE." ~ John 10:10

a taste of italy

**written on 22 Feb 2012**


For those of you in Gumi...or Daegu...or Korea, for that matter, you MUST check this place out! I heard about this new Italian restaurant near downtown Gumi (between Gumi Station and Geumosan Mountain). We have been trying to go for awhile, and we were finally able to go yesterday. We had planned to go there together as a going away party for Kwame, but unfortunately, there was a mix up and he missed his bus back to Gumi and wouldn't get back until late. Sorry, friend! We still had you there in spirit! ^.~


La Trattoria Delacucina is the name of the restaurant. This small, quaint restaurant has a beautiful interior and nice atmosphere, and the food is cooked by a couple Korean chefs who studied in Italy. It just opened about 6 months ago, the chef told us (and he speaks English as well). For around 13,000-16,000 W (depending on the dish), you get:


*homemade bread
*bruschetta with homemade ricotta cheese and fresh basil
*appetizer
*salad
*main course
*coffee/tea for dessert


~~~> All included into the listed price of your meal. (They also have homemade tiramisu, cheese cake, and ice cream available for dessert for an additional cost.)

creative lighting

homemade bread

bruschetta with homemade ricotta cheese and fresh basil

appetizer

delicious salad

vongole

lasagna

a cream sauce pasta with salmon, I believe

a cream sauce with mushrooms and meat and some other goodies, I'm sure

best pizza, for sure. I'm not a pizza person, and I even enjoyed sneaking a bite!

All of us for Kwame's going away dinner! (Can you spy Kwame in this photo? ^.~)

a dios le pido

I am behind on posting this~~but I just wanted to share some photos from last weekend. Some of my foreigner and Korean friends all gathered at my apartment, and we had our Latin Fiesta part dos (the first one included gallo pinto ~~ thanks, Evelyn, for teaching me so well on it!~~ and salad (by Haley), complimented by a fantastic sangria, only to be topped off by an American classic (with a Korean twist)--s'mores). This past Saturday, I really wanted to have another Latin night and share some traditional food and dancing with my friends before heading to Daegu again to dance the night away at Babalu. Jade was awesome and came and helped me cook again...I had my first experience with de-veining shrimp (which I have now come to find out simply means cleaning out all the poop! yuck!). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but still a lot more work than just pulling off the tails, that's for sure. Thankfully we had two people, so it didn't take too long. Before long, people were showing up, and we were having a great time eating and dancing and sharing fellowship. Below are some pictures from the night. 

To top things off, I also had my first Spanish lesson. So excited to finally be learning it and be able to converse, rather than just merely listening and responding in English. I feel that as I am learning Korean (another second language ~~ because we all know how little French I have retained...sorry, Mme L! I think if I were to live in a French-speaking country, though, it would come back to me)...I am able to better learn another language, too. I have more sounds to my vocabulary, and my mind is in "language-learning" mode. I think my mind is learning how to best store and remember the new languages (even though language learning is definitely NOT my forte...but I still try to work hard!).

strawberry fields

Short, little post, but I just had to tell you about my favorite fruit ahjussi. You see, he is such a sweet man...and he always comes on Sunday evenings with his truck and sells seasonal fruit. Before, I always bought tangerines from him, but then he stopped coming for about a month. I was so sad...I always wanted to support him. But then, a few weeks ago, he came back...this time with his truck full of oranges and strawberries. I asked him why he hadn't come these days, and he told me it was because the tangerines were out of season.

Unlike the USA, winter is the season for strawberries in Korea...and let me tell you, these strawberries ROCK! So sweet and juicy...far better than any of the strawberries I've eaten in the USA. And so now I go every Sunday to get my styrofoam container of strawberries. His fruit truly IS the best in Indong (AND the cheapest! I can get a box of strawberries for 4,000-5,000 W....cheapest yet AND the best taste!). What I love about this ahjussi is that one, he is always so quiet and kind and sincere; two, his fruit has the best taste and quality. It is common in Korea (and accepted by all) that people selling fruits or vegetables will throw in a few bad ones with the good in order for them to get rid of the older produce. It's always so sad to get home and already have to throw away a couple of them. I forgot what the Korean word is for this "practice," but it does happen. UNLIKE this common way of doing things, my ahjussi ALWAYS has the best fruit, and there is never even ONE bad piece in them! (I think I may be a little influenced by a current Kdrama, Bachelor's Vegetable Store, too, where it talks about the experiences in the vegetable selling industry...and these guys on the drama want to always serve the best quality produce at the best price with a warm smile. I think of that drama when I visit my ahjussi...) Always the freshest fruits served with a kind and sincere smile. Another reason I look forward to Sundays. ^.^

And today when I went to get my strawberries, he even gave me another box for free! Wow, I was so thankful. I will eat well!

if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes

If you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes...I thought this saying only applied to the Ozarks. But, you know....It's beginning to feel a lot like home here in the sense of weather. Over this past week, It snows in the mornings, is a warm spring day in the afternoons, and gets really windy and cold at night. I thought it was weird the first day this happened, but now it is Friday, and it seems to be a recurring phenomenon. Ozarks meets Gumi. In fact, I've started to coin the phrase, "only in Korea," to what was previously only applied to "Only in the Ozarks." I was just telling my friends the other night about the true meaning of that phrase when I told them the story of a couple Ozark guys who broke out of prison but only got caught after they were breaking back in! (Seriously, who does that?!?)