Critter Cafes and Chuseok

So I wrote this about two weeks ago and forgot to post it. So here you go…
So in between all of the madness of building a life in Korea, I have done some exploring. I have to say that my neighborhood, Pungam-dong is quite nice and suits me quite well. It has the necessities like grocery stores and shops along with a giant outlet mall by the World Cup Stadium that I only just had a chance to truly roam around.

Of course, there is something that the downtown area will bring me out of my quaint little neighborhood: the cat cafe and the dog cafe. Yes it is real and it is amazing. Mind you, the cat cafe could probably use a bath in bleach because it is quite obvious that the male cats spray their territory, but they have kittens and it’s worth it. There was a Scottish Fold kitten that just decided my lap was its new home and I would have stolen him if I didn’t have conscience.

The dog cafe was definitely less smelly, but the dogs weren’t all as friendly. I don’t know if they had something against foreigners who couldn’t coo at them in Korean, but they would just tease you as they walked by but wouldn’t commit to any long term relationships. If you’re interested in the pricing of these establishments: the cat cafe has an admission fee of about $5.00 and then drinks are only $2.00 while the dog cafe does not have an admission fee but has higher priced drinks probably around $4.00 and up depending on what you get. Either way these places will be acquiring a good portion of my pay check.

Downtown is also host to about three billion cafes as well as shops and movie theaters. There really is a lot to do in Gwangju and I’m enjoying it so far.

During Chuseok, which is essentially the Korean Thanksgiving we had off three days from school, which is a fantastic thing when you are just moving in and want to get to know the area. I know a lot of people went somewhere, but I opted to stay because of the heavy traffic due to the holiday and a lack of money to do something with. (Note when you come to teach in Korea, you do not get paid immediately and unless you want to pay the international fees of credit/debit cards, the money you bring with you is what you have until you get paid.) So I roamed around and got to know the area a bit more. Basically I nested and tried to get basic necessities and wish lists for a time when money is more available.

My landlord and lady also took me to take photos one day because we share the hobby. My landlord has a fancy giant Canon that puts my little Nikon 5100 to shame. Some day once again I’ll add the photos.