Dude, USAmericans would RIOT if there wasn't air conditioning everywhere. I mean, the really poverty-stricken don't always have it, especially if they're old (and every summer you'll hear of a few local old people dying of the heat, which is heartbreaking), but in general we're ADDICTED to it. Like we love it more than we love our cars, and we LOVE OUR CARS. (Well, except for me. I'd rather have good public transit any day, but I am very rare.)

I can only imagine how hot you get! Actually, I probably do know because that's how I was all week in Vienna! You have all my sympathies!

I love Southern studies. Like, if I went back to grad school, one of the things I'd seriously consider is going down to Ole Miss and studying at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. It's badass.

Gardetanze looks somewhat similar to Irish step dancing, which we have a lot of in the States (maybe not in the steps and everything, but in the rows of dancers and the folk fashion). It looks cool!

Volleyball is really cool. If I could do it decently it's one I think I might actually like, but my lack of athletic ability gets in the way.

Oh, awesome, thank you for the dancing recs! I think I'm going to try to start doing it immediately at home while I look for a teacher. (I love the idea of my friends around the world dancing to kpop, as apparently a lot of them do. It makes me happy.)

(Hi hi hi!)