Whitey.

A few rainy weeks ago I was having a rough time here.
I forgot why I came to Korea. I felt like I had reached a plateau and the winter wasn't ending and I managed to get the flu.
I interruped my yoga because of the fever and the dizziness and the sore throat.
I worked through the whole sniffly, sneezy mess.

I tried to cheer up. I visited Ewha Womans University alone.







Ehwa means pear blossom. 'Womans' is spelled incorrectly intentionally. The University was founded by Mary Scranton - an American missionary who wanted to give Korean women a (Christian) voice. And she did. At first, the university had a few (2)students consisting of a high-ranking concubine and a bright girl with a mother dying of typhus. Now Ehwa is one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea.






Universities have cheered me up since I was very little.

When I was 11 and got to Canada, I remember visiting University of Toronto with my mom. I said I'd go there and study literature. And I did.

Then I wondered through a few pretty shops. (pretty in Korean is "ipo!" eee-poooo. What a beautiful word)


I love finding ICARUS written randomly. He's my favourite piece of antiquity. Him and his wax wings.


and some bookstores...



I bought roses from an old lady at Gangnam station.



So, I cleaned a bit..


and found a spot for them...




then I was in the middle of reading..



when I heard whimpers outside..

I thought it was the wind. It wasn't.
It was a puppy tied up to a pole near the construction site howling with no food or water. He had a dog-house so I thought he just belonged to one of the construction workers.
But it was so cold, and it was raining so I..took him in..*LOUD/BIGsigh*
Of all the crap I've done..I HAD to take in a stray Korean puppy into my home.


Giving him a bath proved challenging.






he dried off after slipping everywhere..



Anyways, I put him back in the morning with a water bowl and some food. I kept returning to see if anyone had taken him or if I made the mistake of taking someone's dog. But..no one seemed to care or notice.
At night after work, I visited him again and saw he had some food...but it was a neighbour lady who was feeding him. And he didn't belong to her.

The construction worker who came to pet him one morning said he didn't even belong to him but that he feeds him sometimes.

So, well..I took him.
I know it's insane. I don't care.

Took him to the vet for his shots.

During walks he's contemplative...


and super snuggly and huggy...


and mornings generally look like this:


So....
I guess my point is I sorta have a normal life here.
I have a job I sometimes hate, sometimes love. I have friends I care for deeply, and now I have a dog I..own? that needs me to come home and feed every night.
And by the time I go home and head for England I'll miss the days when I was roughing it out working 11 hour days in tiny Heungdeok outside of Seoul one lonely year in Asia.