Thanks for the information, Lola!
Yeah, those hoses are expensive. I found one on ebay for $30, still not cheap but a lot better than most of them out there.
I was planning an oil change anyway, so I suppose I'll put that off until after the hose comes in and just plan a weekend of cleaning the throttle body and flushing the engine. I hope it's reasonably doable for a beginner.
LPG is liquefied petroleum gas or propane/butane. It's an alternative (and much cheaper than gasoline) fuel available here.