Returning home, things do not go so well. His parents thought that he was coming home the following month, so no one is there to meet him at the airport. He did not receive the letter that his family had moved, so he is surprised by the greeting of the new homeowner in the form of a karate kick while he is in the shower. (He later refers to this as being "Kung-fued by a naked ninja".) His bed is now occupied by a foreign exchange student from Tonga. When he is reunited with his parents, he discovers his mother is pregnant. Jared's girlfriend, who promised to wait for him to return, is getting married in two weeks. The jewelry store where he bought the ring will not take it back. And his former employer who promised to give him a job on his return has sold the business and started an Internet enterprise and the only job opening is to mine diamonds in South Africa.