Rory talks about starting out when nobody knows you(or it's the other way around) at a new place. I know his feelings. Doing 2 months in Norway was much like that... only imagine that everyone at the party is as quiet as you... and it's dark... and you have to eat a cheese sandwich for lunch everyday :)
Of course, the people there were wonderful, but still, starting out there was a pretty hard thing for me. Good luck Rory.