Monday, October 28, 2002

So I had an orientation session for studying overseas on Saturday. (Yeah, I know I said it wasn't until November. What the heck, it's practically November! Anyway, it was all sorts of stuff about understanding that we're in a different culture and have to remember that, blah, blah, blah. Believe me, I'm not expecting to find Hamburger Helper on the shelf, although it would be nice. Part of the experience of living in another country is--hello!--living in another country. I guess they've had students who haven't quite cottoned on to that yet. Loath as I am to say "Dumb Americans", I have to say it . . . "Dumb Americans!"

They were talking about health insurance and that kind of thing, and saying, "Well, if you get critically ill you'll be Medevac'ed back to the US," and I went "Critically ill??" And then they started talking about "repatriation of remains", which quite frankly I was afraid to think about any further.

I'm still looking forward to it, of course, but now I'm going eep! for a little bit.

Books for today: More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh. I'll warn you right away that this is a romance novel, and will admit freely that I read 'em like mad. But this one is very different than you'd expect from the back of the book. Mary Balogh has always had the guts to step out of the rut of "traditional" Regencies in acknowledging the darker side of that world. Try it out.

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