This is Our Dog - Diga

Let me tell you about a little white scruffer that Rose and I call Diga. For the last few years, Rose and I have really wanted to get a dog. At our place in Madison, we couldn't get a dog, and that really sucked. As we were getting ready to leave for Korea, we found out that many expats abroad adopted dogs. This sounded amazing to us, but we weren't sure how easy or practical it would be for us. The rest of this article is the story of Rose and I expanding our family. 
                                                                                                      
After we arrived in Korea, we spent the first six months adjusting to life abroad. If you read our blog in the early stages, you know what we were up to, if not, go back and check the back catalog. We looked around the interwebs to find dog resources in Korea and would be in delight when we crossed a cute dog on our walks down by the stream. We watched Best in Show a number of times when thinking about getting ready get our dog.                                       
                                                                                                                              
We found out about the Busan Abandoned Pet Sancuary, better knows as BAPS. BAPS is operated by a few wonderful people, including Leo and Jin (our expat friend and his lovely Korean wife). They took over the shelter three years ago and it has been getting better and better ever since. They have fully ingrained themselves in the community and get regular volunteers on Saturdays and Sundays to help out at the shelter. They are a shelter that truly cares about the dogs they take in. Their band of strays covers many types of breeds and sizes. They are a no kill shelter and have always been a shelter that does not charge an adoption fee. They have 30 or so dogs there at any one time and 15-20 out in foster care or on their way to adoption. They take in new dogs when they can. One of the more grim ways that dogs end up at BAPS is that they are rescued from the dog meat markets. Dog meat is technically illegal in Korea, but it can still be found in back alley restaurants off the menu. 
                                                                                                      
BAPS is a fantastic organization that helps many dogs and gives many a fantastic volunteering opportunity. If you are living in Korea and you are interested in volunteering for this great organization find them on facebook.com and get involved. They have donation baskets at many popular spots around Busan, please donate and support. If you are living elsewhere in the world and would like to learn more about them, check out their website to see some pictures and learn about the dogs who live there.                                         

                                                                                                                             On our first trip to BAPS we were hoping to take a dog home with us that day, but they wanted us to wait to find a dog that worked well with us and they also wanted to get to know us a little better. Some of the dogs are still there from when Leo and Jin took over three years ago, and one of those dogs was Diga.


Diga was the first dog that Rose came to. We harnessed Diga and another dog that looked just like him up and we started down the road. Diga moved slow, very slowly, and shortly after Rose and I switched dogs, Diga put on the brakes and refused to walk anymore. Something about it was so sweet and endearing. The little pup felt so meek and mild that the three of us (Rose, myself, and the-not-yet-named Diga) formed an instant connection. Little Diga jumped up on our laps and just wanted to sit and be cuddled. He had to come home with us. 
                                                                                                        
The next week we were back at the shelter and we made the decision to take him home with us. But this was just the beginning of the journey. We had to make a stop at the vet's office to get a full check over and haircut. Our shaggy dog became a little pink rat. He needed all his hair taken off because much of it got matted from the winter spent in the greenhouse. Now he would be cold if it weren't for... dog clothes. One of Rose's new favorite things, not my favorite, but useful for such a little dog out in the cold.

                                                                                                       
That vet told us we would need to find another vet in our area to look after Diga's issues. He had some skin problems and a pretty nasty ear fungus. Our coworkers at the hagwon helped us find an English speaking vet only five doors down from the school. Pretty nice!

                                                                                                         
Dr. Pi (pronounced pee, but not spelled that way) is a very kind man, who has taken great care of Diga. They do grooming there as well and have given (at our request) Diga a pretty sweet mohawk. Also, at many vets offices around Korea, they have a dog who lives right at the shop. Dr. Pi's is Meng, an extremely little tea-cup shih-tzu that weighed all of 3.5 lbs. He's Diga's friend, and very funny.

                                                                                                         
We saw Dr. Pi quite often the first few months with Diga, his ear problems took a while to heal up and he had some stomach problems, which were probably mine and Rose's fault. But he's been great for the last few months and we've barely seen Dr. Pi except around the neighborhood. And he always asks how little Diga is doing.


Diga is a constant source of entertainment, both at home and when we are teaching at school. Many of our students have met Diga, and even if they haven't, they are always asking questions about him. When we read stories in class, if there is ever a dog, doesn't matter the size or color, we usually call it Diga. Many of the students have taken to this as well, so I guess it's a good thing that the Clifford books have yet to catch on in SLP.

                                                                                                       
Diga is one happy guy who loves to cuddle and loves to bring happiness into our lives. We miss our families so much, and Diga being here has made it easier. He is a new member of our family, and he fits in great. I never knew how nice it was to be needed, but Diga has made me realize how great it is.

                                                                                          

In a short while, we'll be headed home with our little scruffer. It will be a long flight and hard work, but we couldn't imagine leaving him here. He has become an important part of our lives. As Rose and I grow as a couple, we've been excited to see our family grow. So thanks to Diga. I'm glad he's a part of our lives.

A Year In, A World Away, The Great Adventure Continues....

One year ago today, Shane and I stood, electrified yet somber, optimistic yet intimidated, in the international terminal of O'Hare in Chicago. We'd said our lachrymose farewells to our families and most of our possessions were packed away in storage. We arrived.                                                                                      
And here we are today, living a damn good life. 
                                                                                                              
It's been the most challenging, most rewarding year we've ever had, both in our relationship to each other and in terms of our individual personal growth. 
                                                                                                               
Articulating my feelings now is difficult. A whole year. Here. It's like I'm homesick, sure, but not exactly only that. My idea of home has become confused and jumbled. Here, Yeonje-gu, Busan, Korea is decidedly not home, but what will my home be like? Where will I return to? 
                                                                                                            
Then again, I'm not really concerned about that right now, home is home and will always be. I will be there only six months from now.
                                                                                                           
What really has triggered this chain of thought is that now that we've been here a full year, we've been saying a lot of goodbyes once again. By the end of September, most of the friends we've here (apart from our wonderful co-worker friends) will be returned home, or off on their next great adventure. Goodbyes, but this time with us staying put. It's tough, but inevitable. 
                                                                                                             
That all sounds incredibly despondent, but it's not and we're not. 
                                                                                                                
In truth, my lack of dedication to Soju Cocktail can all be explained away by a summer well-spent. A few intensive projects have fallen on both mine and Shane's laps, and we took a fabulous week-long vacation to the Land of the Rising Sun. I took some time to polish up this article, and we're having a lot of fun with Diga. And beach time. We just can't resist the Sirens' song of Busan's beaches. We're soaking up every minute we can of that. 
                                                                                                                 
A lot remains to explore, to understand, to try to explain with my feeble words.                                                                                               
Thanks for hanging out, Readers. Peace from us to you.

Peace and Love from Busan: Version Shane.0

Homesickness from my point of view.

                                                                                                        
Rose and I are both going through it right now. One of the oddest things about my homesickness is that I find myself missing something that isn't even at home anymore, my Grandma. She's been gone for about 2 years and i still think about her every single day. I get in the elevator to leave my apartment and check my hair, and I think to myself if Grandma would approve or hate it, the latter being the usual since middle school. I also think about how she'd be happy for my weight loss. Her passing let me feel free to get away from home and go on this grand adventure with Rose. I wonder a lot about how she would feel having me on the other side of the world. She's hate it, and I'd love her all the more for it.

                                                                                                        
We are royally set up for homesickness at the moment. My sister is about to give birth to twins any day, we are planning our wedding, many of the friends that we've made here in Busan are heading back their homes, and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Rose's mother and sister on their vacation. All of these things make it difficult for us. I miss making beer. I miss talking sports with my best friend. The other day I low-moaned when my mom mentioned Culver's.

Something I miss the most is being close with so many people. Here, in the land of the morning calm, Rose and I rely on each other and only each other. The newest member of our family, Diga, has been a tremendous source of comfort. I think I now understand why people think of their pets as children, but I know it's not the same thing.

Don't think the wrong things, I am so happy we came to Korea. I don't regret signing on for another 6 months. We've got amazing friends here, but they're not family. Busan is home right now, and that's amazing. I didn't have to deal with snow all winter, besides two days. I can be at an oceanside beach in 20 minutes from my front door. I have lost 40 lbs, so far. I am more in love with Rose than I ever was before. Life is great.

    The bed I make is in Busan. It's home, for now.

Peace and Love from Busan

To my faithful readers:

As you may have noticed, May and June have been rather, err, quiet here on Soju Cocktail. I must first say sorry for all the wasted clicks while you patiently waited for the next dispatch from sunny Busan. Second, let me tell you what's been going on that kept me from sharing all the goodness.

Life has been good for Shane and I in Busan. Summer's in swing and the livin's easy. But despite this, or maybe because of it, I've been battling a serious case of homesickness. I'm pretty tight with my family and with Shane's, and not being with them for the past nine months has worn on me. Each time I packed up my little writer's bag and headed down the street to my favorite coffee shop, I found myself sifting through pictures, answering emails, studying the merits of the barista's fine work on my latte, anything to avoid confronting my sad self. See, for all the great things here in Korea, for all that I've learned and experienced and saw so far, and for how much I am content and happy with life here, this place is not my own. I have not managed to learn much of the language, and so can only speak rudimentarily with my neighbors. I know a lot about the city, but I don't read the daily paper to see about the latests scandals and news. I am a part of this place, but only peripherally so, only temporarily so. 

If this is the Lilliputian cross I must bear from time to time as an expat, well poor me. I wouldn't trade my choices or my deferred reactions to those choices for anything. Life is great. I have nine more months here to soak up all the awesomeness Busan has to offer and I'm going to use every minute of it. The beaches call to me. The mountains beg to be climbed. I'll return home again someday, but today I am present here. Thanks for coming on the journey with me. 

Live from Busan!

One of the most comforting discoveries of living in Busan has been the robust expatriate community here. Coming over, my misguided self thought I wouldn't often run into other English speakers-- how little I knew. The Busan city government estimates that about 1 in 100 residents in Busan is a foreigner, English speaking and otherwise, and this community has cultivated an active expat scene. 

A couple months ago, Shane became part of the community when he became a cast member Busan Night Live's second incarnation. Staged by a combination of Koreans and expats at a local nightclub, the sketch comedy show jabbed at life in Korea and life itself. 

For all you Shane fans, he played a few roles including a beer pong playing, cheap drink buying, dating game contestant; a frustrated waiter who finally lets it all go... in the salad; and a failed magician's on-stage sidekick. He tried his hand at voiceover in a prerecorded sketch called "Shit on a Bus". 

My favorite sketch was the "Ajumma Olympics"-- several guys running around town competing in ajumma's favorite activities. I think we all know how much Shane likes to put on a dress for a role, so of course, here's a sketch featuring cross dressing. I promise hilarity!

The Amazing Race Daegu

Nothing says adventure like an Amazing Race scavenger hunt, so when opportunity knocked on our door in the form of Dianna and Bryan inviting us along, we went with it. Our team of four, Team Amuricah (said with a slow drawl), took on the city of Daegu, the third largest city in Korea, just a bit northwest of Busan. 

Seventeen teams competed, mostly all foreigners with a few native Koreans here and there. About six of us teams had never set foot in Daegu before-- including us. That would prove to be less of a disadvantage than you think it would. 

We were given instructions, rules, and the final checkpoint, should the missions be just too impossible for us. 

Starting Task: Hit the shuttlecock thing hackie sack style five times in a row. The boys ruled it. 

When finished, we were handed our envelope with super secret missions inside. At each location, we had to take a video/pic of the entire team to prove we did all the tasks.  

Mission One: "Holy-Roller Mission: This has been a place in Daegu since 1886". 

Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a far off country, looking for a specific landmark that you don't know the name of or what it looks like, but I will tell you, it's not actually as hard as it seems. Some help of our guidebooks, the tourist information stand conveniently located at the starting point, and our dazzling street smarts got us to just the right place. After stopping at the wrong cathedral first. 

Mission Two: "Park Ji-Sung Mission: On June 6th, 2002 the Red Devil's faced-off against Uncle Sam's Army at this location." Park Ji-Sung is the most famous soccer player in Korea, students rave about him. The goal was the World Cup stadium. It's there in the background.

Mission Three: "Ajima Mecca Mission: This is the largest market in Daegu." Background info: Ajimas are any woman in Korea who is married. Older Ajimas have a very... particularly strong... personality. They are widely known for the following: huge visors that hide their entire face; polyester clothing in bright, floral, and strange prints; being either generally pretty cranky or rarely very nice; short, tight perms; and a complete willingness to give you the stare down or even push or (I have heard cases) hit you. We headed off to Seomun Market, a huge traditional market selling food, clothing, fabric, spices, and all sorts of other treasures. 

Mission Four: "Food Mission: Find and eat either soondae or dong jeep. Racist clause: You can not have a Korean member of your team eat this food." We're still not clear what dong jeep is, but soondae is pig intestine blood sausage filled with noodles and spices. Thankfully, the boys covered this one too. Notice the vendor's face. 

Soondae in Daegu
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Mission Five: Dancing Mission: Record a choreographed dance at one of the following locations: Dongdaegu station, downtown stage by the McDonald's, or a crowded subway car." We took the subway car, and also took the easy way out by using an old standby instead of making our own. Got the ajima stare down for it. 

Mission Six: "Viking Mission: Go to Soosung Lake and ride the most unsafe amusement park ride you can find. Take a video."  This was just plain awful. Super scary. Like I cried scary. Don't make fun of me too much. 

Viking Quest
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Mission Seven: "Speed Game: Your team will receive a sealed letter at the beginning of the race. You must find a random Korean person to read this to you. The letter has a secret word written on it. The Korean person will give you clues and you must guess what they are talking about." This was actually probably the most challenging task. We used our well honed street smarts, and found a random Korean with a western boyfriend. This is a big clue the gal knew English, so even though she pantomimed the words, she was able to confirm when we got the word right.

Mission Eight: "If you live in Daegu you might have been to this park at least once or did a sky jump close by. Find an attractive ajima wearing a visor and get a picture with her." Impossible. we had to hatch a trap, wherein we posed and waited for an ajima to walk by us, and snapped a picture while she was trying to figure out what was going on. 

Mission Nine: "Find Daegu's premier skater boi doing tricks at his hang out downtown." We had no idea about this one, but a phone-a-friend bailed us out. 

                                       

Mission Ten: "Do your best Abbey Road recreation. Be careful." Another scary mission. South Korea has a really high traffic fatality rate. 

In the end, we came in ninth, not bad for strangers to the city. While we were waiting for other teams to come in, we grabbed a juicy, delicious burger and beer at Gorilla Burger. Super amazing tasting. Best onion rings I've ever had. 

After a long day, it was time for the awards ceremony and drinks at Who's Bob Bar. Great drinks, great people, great fun at Amazing Race Daegu!

Hanguk Halloween: The Party Part

Fresh leaves cut from bushes. Check. Ray gun. Check. Two or three pre-party soju cocktails. Done.

Around 10:30 p.m. on October 30th, a beer fairy, Baccus, Leela, and a love triangle jumped in cabs and headed for Kyungsung University. We didn’t know how many people would be reveling, but this is Busan, and there’s a great expat presence here. 

And here's the rest of the story:

At Old '55, I hung with the fabulous Lady Gaga.              

  

While Shane chatted up Audrey Hepburn.

Back on street level, I ran into my animated friend Marge.

Kyungsung’s streets were packed.

So these guys made a ton of money peddlin’ drinks on the street.

We bought a few. Several times. 

Then Shane met this guy...from guess where...Watertown (next to Jefferson, Shane’s hometown). We made a bunch of new friends that night.

And these guys were there too.

... later, there may have been kebabs.

Saturday Night Lights: The Fireworks Festival

When you're an expat, you deliberately surrender the traditions that make home, home. But if you're lucky, you'll have experiences that remind you that although you're a stranger in a strange land, things aren't so different after all.

In late October the Gwangalli beachfront hosted the 7th annual Busan International Fireworks Festival. Like the Fourth of July, but on steroids, and in October.

Thursday night’s warm-up act featured many-a-Korean-superstar musical acts like BoA, Super Junior, and SHINee. Friday showcased short fireworks shows representing China, Italy, and Portugal. Shane and I opted out, saving ourselves for the headliner Saturday night.

Weeks before, we were advised by those in the know to get to Gwangalli hours early to get a spot. Organizers expected 1.5 million spectators crammed on rooftops, in streets, and on the 1.4 kilometer-long stretch of sand-- standing room only if you got there anytime after 6:00.

Our cohort arrived around 3:30. Camping out with other expats, we drank pitchers, ate pizza and street food, and chatted with new friends, comparing notes on our Busan experiences. As the show approached, we found ourselves gridlocked on the beach, defending our blanket territory amidst a sea of Koreans. A simple trip to the bathroom, a mere 50 feet away, turned into a 45 minute debacle including stepping over bodies, finding an officer to stamp your hand as proof that you in fact had a prized spot on the sand, wrestling your way though the crowd, and waiting in line for 20 minutes. Then you had to make it back.

When the sky darkened enough, the Diamond Bridge lit up, outlined by colored lights and spotlights. We were entertained by enthusiastic dancers, giant beach balls, and Korean music blaring over the loudspeakers. As soon as the first of the 100,000 fireworks was shot off, the crowd cheered and then fell into a trance.

It was magnificent. The fireworks lasted an hour, and were timed perfectly to a multimedia presentation that took us around the world. Giant screens perched atop barges played videos of the chosen countries, while music representing those nations played on the loudspeakers. So what songs represented the U.S, you ask? “Under the Sea,” “New York, New York,” and the “Sex and the City” movie theme song. Of course.

After this show I'll probably be spoiled for life. No fireworks show will live up to the BIFF's variety, beauty, and brightness. Except maybe the next time I see Fourth of July fireworks back home.

If you watch the video, watch all the way through- the finale is the best.

Busan Fireworks Festival Uploaded by shane11111. - Discover new destinations and travel videos.