Thanks to all the folks who have welcomed me and answered so many of my questions. I've only been on this forum for about two weeks, but have gained so much information already, as well as a fantastic window to the culture that I will be jumping into very soon (September 8th, here I come).
Now I've just got to get the wife to sign up and look around for herself. She's not quite the net freak that I am though (not yet!).