I had the luck of finding a friend from home. He was already rather proficient, so learning came far more quickly than if I had to figure more out on my own. As for the movies...I'm vaguely interested, so I suppose I do have cause to try a few modern things.

I've tried notating changes and odd happenstances since arriving here, but whatever thread they are connected by I've yet to find it. I'm beginning to doubt if any connective thread actually exists--and if it does, what help it would provide in regards to predicting things in the future.