holidays and weekends and people, oh my!
Just a quick update.

Things here in Pohang are pretty much the same as always. My friends continue to be wonderful and I keep meeting new people as I go along.

There is a great place downtown (near Ogori, the 5-way intersection) called Live Story that caters to live performers. It's an open-mic place complete with drums, piano, guitars...it's incredible. The second or third weekend I was here, I went down there for a going away party. This couple left to go home to Oklahoma for a month, but they're back now. He's a musician and there are a couple others here in Pohang as well. I inevitably got up the courage to ask if I might play something and was welcomed by everyone to get on stage and perform. It went really well...I feel like I might have found a way to get back into playing music and singing more often, which hasn't happened enough recently.

The New Year celebration was a lot of fun. There was a party at Mindy's (of course) and everyone seemed happy to be where they were and around all these people. I find myself becoming more and more aware of myself socially these days. When you first arrive in a brand new place with all new people, the tendency is to be polite but just observe most of the time. That's what I was doing for a month or so, but gradually I started to feel more and more like a part of the society and less like I was just watching it. It's an interesting transition.

Those of the social disposition who are headed to Pohang, beware! Your weekend sleep schedule will be severely altered or severely challenged, depending on how determined you are. It's nice sometimes to feel like a night-owl and be out with everyone until the sunrise, but sometimes it makes the week that much harder to start. Just a little word to the wise. :)

On with the year!