"Back home, everyone did fairly successfully, unless they were particularly bad drivers. Here there are some minor blood parasites that naturally prey on people who don't follow driving laws consistently, so I think most people are much better at it."

This prompts him to frown. "Do you know the cause of the blood parasites?"

Shrug. "They just happen. I'm not sure whether their behavior is shaped by the traffic laws or vice versa. They're worse depending on how badly you drive, but they're pretty much never bad enough to hospitalize you?"

"I'm starting to think I need a notepad to keep track of things."

"I'd recommend the pawn shop if you just want one or two for cheap, or a larger store if you want a fancy one or want more. You already have a few sheets of alphabet stickers, right?"

"I think those were in the welcome pack," he responds, reaching for it. "Seems like a weird thing to put in?"

"They're for writing with, when it wouldn't be convenient to type. Some people aren't really prepared to move here, and it's nice for them to have something to at least fill out forms with."

"– With alphabet stickers, as opposed to, say, pencils?"

He inspects the stickers.

They're little circles, black capital and lowercase letters in alphabetical order, with more of the more common letters than the less common letters. The last few sheets have a pattern of shiny waves.

"... Pencil-shaped stickers would not be very useful for most situations, I would expect - Oh! Pencils themselves are writing utensils, which are a misdemeanor to own or use."

"… Right. I think I read that, somewhere." He briefly raises an eyebrow, a step away from rolling his eyes.

He nods seriously, without seeming to notice the face.