[Nao]

Thanks for your reply.

There may be days where I don't use a train at all, where I just want to stay close by, so that might be a fair budget... but I'll account for more as per your warning, just in case.

As far as phones go... my mother, family, and some of my friends will probably want to be able to reach me at any hour of the day. My mother is a single mother, working, with arthritis, a steel plate in her leg, and many other ailments - she needs to be able to reach me in case of emergency, so I need incoming, instead of just outgoing.

As far as culture shock, I don't think it'll be too bad. I was brought up to be fairly cultured, and have never had difficulty working with what I'm dealt. I was brought up with kids from many ethnic backgrounds. I'm level headed, and can find my way out of just about any maze I'm put into... so I think I'll be fine alone.

Where would I obtain a good travel guide if I were to want one? What kind of information would I be able to expect from it?

Thanks again.

-Nao