Plenty of good things have been happening on which I will write a little later.
This is just a short note that I don't want to forget to mention.

The girls (and women) here have the ugliest feet. I am not one of those people who are particularly grossed out by feet. In fact, sometimes I even like feet (though only as much as I am capable of liking anything else). But the girls here wear "cute shoes" (terribly trendy and uncomfortable) all the time, like ballet flats, gladiator sandals, and very high heels. It seems that the shoes are usually too small -- ankle flab squeezes out of the most unpredictable places. These women may be a size zero, but, from the looks of it, they have fat feet. Consequently, they have terrible scars and marks. I also have not been seeing too many pedicures. Most of girls' nails are unpainted.

What good are $400 shoes if they make your feet look terrible?