Today and the Dog Cafe

This morning I ran. And it was good.

As I wove in and out of elderly Korean men and women I reveled in my freedom. They stared at me - in my shorts and old t-shirt I was all but indecent to them in their long sleevs, long pants, hats and (in a couple cases) gloves. It was 75 degrees and rising when I went out at 6:30am.

Maybe this is how I will preserve my sanity. Winter might suck a little.

I came back home and fell asleep for a few more solid hours and never fully woke up. Jen and I went to meet Hyojin for lunch at Everest - a delightful Nepalese restaurant nestled in the armpit of Dongdaemun. The food was delicious (the nan is to die for) and the atmosphere made me think of home. Funny, because South Asian food never used to be my first choice.

Then we took the subway to Hongdae - a university area. This is what I was waiting for. It was vibrant and alive and full of people my age. I spotted more foreigners than I've seen all week. There were coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores, street vendors packed on every floor or every building, like a big, bustling game of urban tetris.

We went to Bau House - a pun that made me giggle for several whole minutes. Bow wow, Bauhaus (the department store bu the apartment), Dog house - Bau House. It's a cafe with dogs. About 15 dogs, impeccably groomed, sweet and mild mannered, of all shapes, sizes and breeds, wandered this cafe with free reign over the tables, couches and windowsills. As we sipped our coffee we watched dogs playing, dogs sleeping, dogs climbing onto our shoulders and knocking things off our tables, dogs cuddling up to us and running away from us. They would pee on the floor wherever they wanted and a contingent of employees with squeegees and spray and paper towels cleaned up after them. I completely feel in love with the place.

It was therapy. What better way to make yourself happy than to surround yourself with the happiest creatures on earth? I forgot I was in a strange place where I didn't know the language. We spent hours there playing, petting, calling, watching, smiling like idiots the whole time. Too bad an idea like this would never fly in the States. Everyone could use dog-cafe therapy. I'll definitely be back for more!