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Looking Back

Writer's picture: LeonLeon

This past week has not been good for little cats, I am sad to say. Very terrible, it was after all, I was basically inside because (1) it was cold, and (2) it rained. Good news - my human has had interviews, and hopefully, will manage to have a job soon so we can travel more.


Until then, we do local trips.


I am a local tourist because I have never been here before, and my human has been away for three years ... or of course, this is news for many, so allow me to introduce myself completely.


Before the human


I am four years old and a few months, but I did not always know my human; she is, in fact, my second human. My first human was a wonderful Korean man who loved me very much, but alas, he had to give me away. After much looking and asking friends, he finally stumbled upon his co-worker's friend's co-worker who would take me.


I did not know much about this change, but I knew that he wanted the best for me, so of course I would make the most of it. Turned out, she's a wonderful human who constantly pushes me beyond my boundaries. I did not like to travel before I met her, but now, I rather enjoy it.


Life in Korea


I was born and lived most of my life in Seoul, South Korea. I speak Korean and English, but I'm also learning French (because I love it) and some Spanish (thanks to my second human). It amuses her to use all four languages in a sentence, but truth is, she gets her languages all mixed up.


I enjoyed my life with her in Korea though she kept trying to take me outside on trips. I think she missed her dogs that had died before I met her. She bought me the purple harness and insisted that I use it, but I didn't like it much.


We lived in a officetel (like a utility apartment) in Seoul near where her school was as she was an English teacher while she was there. Our officetel was on the fifth floor and looked out over the main street. There were so many people there - children coming for hagwon lessons (they are after school programs for English, math, piano, Korean and a number of other subjects) or taekwondo lessons (it's the Korean martial arts). The bus garage that took my human to the subway was across the street so I watched the buses coming in and out or people getting on and off the buses; then there were the people visiting the restaurants, biking on the sidewalk, delivery scooters and lots of other people.


In the spring and autumn, we would open the window, and the sounds of laughter, chatter and occasionally singing would entertain us.


I loved it, but alas, it wasn't meant to be long term. I got really sick in September 2018, the exact same week the human's papa had a heart attack. It was very stressful for her and me. I wanted to comfort her, but I wasn't feeling too well. We're all fine now, by the way.


After the surgery

The photo isn't the greatest because I wasn't moving very well. I felt very drunk and not happy at all. I even bit my poor human when she tried to help me. I remember her laughing at my walking, so I don't feel bad, and she understood that I felt horrible.


I got better, but it happened again two months later. I really scared her that time. So much so that she even thought to send me home with the human mama who happened to be visiting. I didn't go to New York then, but I did get much better after having to take some nasty pills. Bleck.


In January, we learned that her school wasn't going to rehire her, so she and I talked ... well, she mainly talked, and I listened. I didn't want to leave her, but I didn't know what to do. We decided that we were going to move back to New York so we had to figure out how to do that.


Thankfully, the human mama came over to help.


Flights


I'll go into this a bit more for any of you who want to take a kitty on a flight, but that will be a later post. The human began looking for tickets, but because her mama had perks or something, she allowed the human mama to buy tickets. The biggest problem, it turned out, was me.


There was an incident in 2018 about a dog on a flight, and after that, the airlines had more rules for pets on board planes. Now, before I go much further, I have to confess that I have anxiety issues. I don't do well without my human; my human also hates flying so we both had reasons to be together. Besides, this was in March 2019 and I had gotten horribly sick the previous November.


Neither of us wanted me in the cargo hold.


Because of that requirement, the human mama had to find a plane that would allow me to fly in the cabin. Hours were the biggest problem because Korea is so far away from the United States. It would take us ten hours to fly from Seoul to the West Coast of the US. Finally, we found an airline that would allow me to fly in the cabin with the human, but we just made it within the time limits.


Whew.


Of course I had to get my shots, and be approved to leave, but all that was relatively easy.


America


The flight over was not fun - I did not like it at all. I was cooped up in my carrier, and my human only allowed me out for a bit while I was sleepy or she decided I needed a bathroom break, but finally we landed in San Francisco, California, USA.


Taking a break in the mountains

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and quite a bit warmer. We had a rental car that I could wander around, and picked up a litter box and kitty litter for me. The following morning, we started our trek east.


Racing a bad storm the entire way across the country.


I found that America is quite large, and the scenery beautiful, but varied. Much of it is empty ... so empty. I felt a little scared with all the empty space, but I was safe in my car.


New Home


We arrived in Western New York about a week after landing in California. The human's parents have an old farmhouse that is two stories and big. Their living room and dining room is bigger than our officetel!


I was uncertain about the human's parents and the house, but I have adjusted well enough. I rather like the house and the surrounding area.


And that's the story of how a Korean cat became an American cat. I have now traveled to two different countries and visited both capitals. My trip to Washington D.C. was fun too, but I not for this day.


Leon

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