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.

Christmas Season Wrap Up

This past year as November and then December rolled in, I approached the holiday season with trepidation.


After all, when you're a person so close-knit to your family, it's hard to know how you're supposed to act and react to the holidays when you're spending it in a land that is your residence, yet is not your home.


Enter Causes Greater Than Thyself.


First up, finding great gifts for family back home. We took a strategic approach and did half of our shopping online, and half from here. You may not know it, but Korea is a shopper's sanctuary, with everything from giant stationary shops to luxurious department stores to guys selling stuff off the back of a truck parked in front of your workplace. After some careful post office guesswork, mission accomplished.


Cause number two, kindergarten Christmas Concert. Christmas Concerts are serious business here, meant mostly to show off our academy's swagger. I remember kindergarten concerts as a "one song per class, some hand gestures" type of cute thing. This was not one of those concerts; it was full on, each class performing a fully choreographed dance routine and an eight minute play, including costume changes. Teachers began writing scripts in October and classes started rehearsing in November. In the end, the parents were very impressed, and the teachers relieved.

Shane's class waiting patiently for their turn.

One of UPenn classes most talented class clowns. Heart him.

Next, my role as Santa's helper at school, trying to convince the students that it really was Santa, not Shane Teacher, even though this Santa has earrings just like Shane. The kids are too smart for me, and I got tangled in my web of lies.

Our school was very kind to us, not only treating the teachers to a Korean BBQ dinner after the Christmas Concert, but also holding the first ever all-staff end of year party. Dinner included soju and makkeoli (rice wine). Boss man asked us to take a shot with him, and when I replied that I shouldn't drink too much because I had to work the next day, he told me that he doesn't want to think of me as an old lady, so drink up. I love Korean hospitality.


The finale to our Christmas was both the best and most difficult, and it left me marked with many mixed emotions, mostly the feeling that I needed to educate myself much more about social systems here. Shane and I were invited to join others in volunteer on Christmas day at local orphanages. 

We put on an abridged Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We had a minor role at the beginning and ending of the extravaganzas, and spent only a little time with the children themselves, as we had to travel across town in between performances to get to the second location. At the first orphanage, a young boy started crying the moment he saw Shane, a huge, strange blonde-headed man with green facepaint. Making orphans cry was NOT the gift we wanted to give these children. After a rough start, though, the rest of the performance went well, with Yuni narrating in Korean, and boys and girls laughing intermittently. 

I still cannot articulate well how this made me feel. I felt sad for the children, but felt patronizing for feeling that. The orphanages didn't feel like sad places: they were warm and bright and colorful and cozy, not a scene from a Charles Dickens novel. I wished I could do more than show up for 15 minutes one day a year and pretend it was some great act. Sure, it was nice, and the kids really did have lots of fun. But I can't even pretend to start to understand what their lives are like. I wanted to give them more affection, more love.... This brief experience has left me marked in ways I don't yet fully understand, yet, it was not about me or any of the other volunteers, it was about those children, who are each other's family.


As for our families in Wisconsin, we were able to arrange a late night Skype session to spend Christmas morning with them. It wasn't the same as being there, of course, but it was a little of home from far away. 

Christmas Lights Festival in Nampo-dong.
After all, nothing says Christmas like flags
and dolphins.