Last night was way too much "Confessions of Things You Never Wanted To Know and Dearly Hope To Never Read Again," which I fully realize and feel rather blushy about. No more of that nonsense; I am done with the issue.*

(*i.e., saw Junior today at school and he invited me to his birthday celebration next Friday, so I don't feel like such a freaking loser and therefore don't need to cry in this space.)

I still haven't told you about the dog cafe I went to last weekend. Lessee... I went with my current classmate Midori, the G.O.D. (Groove Over Drive) fan, and Maiko, with whom I've been friends since my first days here. Midori, at the past two "graduation" ceremonies of our language program, performed G.O.D. hip-hop rock songs with three other Japanese students, so when I introduced Maiko to her, Maiko's eyes got really big and she said, "You're the G.O.D. singer from graduation!" Turns out Maiko's a bit of a Korean music fan herself, so they got along well.

Before we went to the dog cafe, we went to get lunch, at -- get this, DC inhabitants -- Pho 75. Yup, it's out here! Reviews from the Washington Post on the walls and everything. I was so surprised and happy to see it! Unfortunately, the taste was not up to the caliber of the Pho 75 in Arlington, nor even the tiny little pho place in Whittier I went to last month. And at 7,500 won (about 6 dollars), it's on par with American prices, but on the expensive side for Korea (where you can get an equivalent amount of food for 3,500 won).

Still, I felt a rush of fondness and nostalgia, so it was worth it. And it was funny to inspect the sauce for the spring rolls (which again, had a rather Korean lean to it) and confirm that it was indeed, correctly, peanut sauce and not denjang (Korea's ubiquitous bean paste).

After lunch, we found the dog cafe and were greeted by 16 dogs of varying shapes and sizes, from a huge, aristocratic white Russian borzoi to a saucy little puffball wearing a camouflage outfit (fortunately the only "dressed" dog in the place). Most of them were cocker spaniel-sized or smaller, though there was a black lab mix (I think), an Alaskan husky (probably in its teens -- not yet full grown), and the aforementioned borzoi.

The way it works is that you can bring your dog (3 months or older) and yourself (or just yourself) and hang out with the doggies. They have the run of the place; the camo-wearing puffball, for example, perched on top of our table, quite at home, and we were told that the couches we sat on were dog beds at night. You order a horrendously expensive drink (plain coffee ran 6,000 won, more than a decent meal) in return for staying as long as you like around the canines.

The smell greets you right away, and stays with you, as does the feeling that you're gulping down dog hair, but for a space about as big as my old apartment back in DC (without any of the walls), it didn't feel too crowded. The dogs seemed happy (except for the borzoi, who clearly considered all other life forms beneath her).

I have to do some research on this, but I believe that these kinds of cafes only exist in Korea. Again, it's not simply a place where your dog is welcome -- the cafe itself has dogs for you to pet. Interesting concept. There are at least 10 here; perhaps more, and they're kind of a new fad, I think. (One that's not going to stay around for long, I predict.)

Due to the smell, I'm not sure I'd go back on my own, but I'd definitely take YOU there, to experience it. (Unless you don't like dogs, in which case I would inwardly sigh at your lack of taste. Kidding.)

I'm in the process of putting pictures of the cafe up on ofoto.com; when they're ready, I'll let you know.