Hello from Florida

I made it! Damn, that was a long-ass drive. Pretty boring, too, except for Kentucky. Those mountains and views were incredible. I have a lot I COULD tell you about but I have to get in the shower and try to go find my school, so I'll give you the abridged version instead:

1) We made it 20 miles past Atlanta on the first day. Let's just say that my dad has a serious leadfoot.

2) We left Morrow, GA around 7:30 yesterday and made it to Ft Myers around 5 (we actually crossed into FL a little over 11 am).

3) About 20 minutes into FL, I told Tyson that I had changed my mind and was calling my dad to tell him to turn around and drive back to Michigan. I said, "We can just look at it as a road trip. A mini-vacation. He won't be that pissed, right?" Luckily, Tyson disagreed and talked me out of calling.

4) I passed hundreds (seriously) of Waffle Houses. These Southerners really like their WH's, damn. In GA alone, there was one at every exit. Every. Exit. And GA has lots of exits. We actually had breakfast at one on Sun. morning. I ate grits in GA, so I guess I'm a real Southerner now.

5) The apartment is beautiful. Really, it's nice. I'll post pics at some point, maybe even tonight. The porch is enclosed by a screen, which is pretty cool. We have our own in-unit washer and dryer!!! (For us apartment-dwellers, this is a big deal. On the flip side, though, we have to drive approximately 200 miles to the dumpsters here in the complex. It's a pretty big complex and they only have ONE trash place; and of course, it's nowhere near US.)

6) Most importantly, Frank is freakin' AWESOME. We hit it off immediately (we had had some great talks on the phone and we were pretty sure that would translate to real life as well, but it's still nice to know that for sure). He helped me unload and get settled, talked shit about all the bathroom and "girly" stuff I have and then took me to Bennegins (TWO FOR ONE on the alcohol there). After we got back, we stayed up till like 1:30 talking. I feel very comfortable with him already, so at least ONE of my main worries has been lifted. Now I just have school/work related stuff to stress about (will I suck as a teacher? Am I really ready? Will I get along well with the other teachers? Will I even be able to FIND the school?).

I'll be able to answer that last one for you shorty; I'm jumping in the shower and then heading out to look for it. If you don't hear from me for a while, try Cuba.