The thought process went like this: I could sure use a change of setting like Beth. I want to get out of this burbish town, somewhere more vital. Where would I go? Somewhere closer/in Boston? Nah, it's still so hard to make friends there. Montreal like Beth? Maybe. Pretty cold in the winter though. San Francisco? All those superficial Californians. Seattle? Boring, says a friend of European origin who lives there. Need more culture and nightlife. Europe, maybe France? Nah, French culture is too far from my midwestern how-ya-doin'. OK, pure self-in-a-vacuum fantasy: how about a Zen monastery in Japan, where I'd magically instantly learn Japanese. And I'd very gradually and slowly learn, most of all, to just be where I am.