my rate went up this month for no reason to $90 so now i'm spending christmas eve searching for new health insurance. anybody got an agent who can help? here are my stats...

female

age 25

height 5'2''

weight 140 lbs

nonsmoker

currently covered under Anthem BCBS

no serious health issues in 15 yrs

i need a deductible of $5000 and generic prescription coverage (only thing i take is the pill)

(and a yearly checkup with the lady doctor)

please help!!! i used to pay $55/month so why can't i go back to that?! (oh and if it gets me a discount, i work full time and i am a full time grad student)

1. For those of you who have never gone camping (me included) when you use a squat toilet for the first time, please for the love of god USE THE HANDRAILS!! They are not just for decoration, they really help. First potty stop in Japan at the Nagoya airport = SUCCESS!!! Just don't forget to wash your hands.

For those of you who cannot seem to master this talent don't worry, everywhere after that first potty break had at least a few western toilets and the shopping malls and highway rest stops were all Western. This leads to #2.

2. If you can't read what the controller says on the potty, PLEASE for your own safety, DON'T PUSH THE BUTTON! You don't want to come out the restroom looking like you peed your pants.

Also, the seat is not warm because some woman just spent 20 minutes taking a dump, it's a heated seat so sit back and enjoy.

3. If you are staying in or visiting a Japanese families home just remember; if the floor goes up at the entrance, take off your shoes. You'll probably notice the pile of shoes at the door. If they like you maybe they'll even give you a pair of slippers to wear : ) Once inside the home; if the floor goes up again, take off the slippers. I know this makes no sense but trust me, just take them off. Oh, and don't wear your slippers into the bathroom. Leave them outside the door and wear the toilet slippers that are inside the bathroom. (took me a week to figure this part out).

4. If you're staying with a Japanese family, Japanese moms are like moms all over the world. They will ALWAYS try to feed you something. Be polite and try everything they offer even if you don't like it and if you are getting full at least try to eat all your rice to be polite. Oh, and Okasan I'm sorry I accidentally threw a chicken wing at you across the table. Seriously, it's impossible to eat one of those with hashi (chopsticks).

Oh, and to make your bf's parents like you more just eat a plum. I swear they'll laugh for at least 5 minutes straight at the faces you make. Somewhere Okasan has some pics of me making some seriously hillarious faces.

5. DO NOT ask your Japanese friends/hosts why people don't mow their grass unless you want it to be the running joke. It's not grass, it's rice! The Japanese make use of any available space to grow rice or taro or other crops. Although if you make this mistake, you can always lighten the mood by pointing at it and saying ''Nice thasso.'' (nice grass). Guaranteed to get at least a few giggles.

*Note all the green patches of ''thasso.''

6. Forget the rule that tells American girls to wear casual clothes for comfort and to not stick out (advice I've been told many times, especially when I went to Turkey and everyone warned me that blondes that stand out get kidnapped). Japanese people are very fashionable, especially girls so go ahead and wear your nice clothes because you're going to look underdressed anyway. Might as well at least make an effort.

.....to be continued after my trip to Nagoya castle.....also, some photos are from ask.com image search so just note, not all of these photos are mine.