Yeah, when I return to the States next summer for vacation, I'll schedule a Discovery Flight at California Flight Center (right at our local airport, which is only a few minutes away from my house).
Thanks for the advice, but I'd be really grateful if you could give me a formal answer to my list of questions. I'll also bring them up with some of the guys at my university's aviation club, which I plan on joining. Even though they're under JAA and not FAA, they still should be quite helpful in planning my career.
BTW, can you credit student flight time in a foreign country towards a FAA PPL?