Where are we?

So the American Embassy 4th of July party was...weird. It was held at this apartment complex that looks like it could be in the suburbs of any American city. Very cookie-cutter. And the people who live there are either embassy folks or military. So most of the people at this event fell into those two categories, and the majority of the rest were Mormon missionaries. There were a TON of them. Growing up in Santa Rosa, I became very used to Mormons, but some of the other folks we were with were very afraid. I was more afraid of the military people. We met this one guy who was showing us the proper way to shake hands, depending on what kind of message you'd like to convey ["Vote for me" vs. "Pleased to meet you (wink wink)"]. It was kind of nauseating.

We got to meet the ambassador, which was cool. I guess. It was about 800 degrees that day and they ran out of anything remotely vegetarian by the time we got there (they imported hot dogs from a U.S. military base in Korea), so we made a hasty exit when I started to feel faint.

Outside of "Americaland" I am liking things here. We bought some DVDs on the way home -- Surf's Up and season one of Entourage for under ten bucks total. Sweet. Last night we played pool and had a drink at an outdoor bar. The weather was perfect -- warm enough to sit outside at midnight wearing a tank top and shorts.

Another thing I love is the fact that the women here are running around in stilettos and the streets are a total menace -- very rough and bumpy. I'm amazed.

And I got a cell phone for 30 bucks. Wow!

All right, that's all for now. More later...