what up oaxaca! so i am in the capital of the state and loving it. live free music each day and night, incredible cathedrals, ruins and museums, cheap housing, this place rocks. the best, might be the fact that it is actually cool all night and then until about noon the next day. no joke, my nordic ass has finally come to the right place!

my first thought was how to get out of my current contract so i could move here. i still really love this place, but i know realize that the mountains (the town is a little over 5000ft) are the place to be in mexico. i thought the beach would be what i would really get into, but i am soft and the heat will probably never be my friend. cutting my hair was the most responsible thing i have done in a long time. i just realized that this hair cut was the first time i actually wanted to cut all my hair off (let us not forget the trial in summer of 95 that never actually happened until 96, and then the southern states interview in september of 2000). memories. i miss my hair sometimes, but right now i only need a haircut. my roomie has a great stylist in juchitan (all the best male stylists i have ever seen are gay, and this one is no exception). the mexican, gross generalization to follow, people seem to be fairly ok with homosexuality. of course, i am talking about university people, and haven´t we always been openminded? anywho, i am probably going to just tell him to take his best guesson what would look good. i still don´t have any clue how to deal with no hair, so if anyone has any suggestions, c-line, amy, anybody, please send them my way.

i am leaving tonight a little after midnight from oaxaca and should arrive in good ole ixtepec by about 6am. the bus is uber comfortable, by far the nicest i have ever been on, and all the movies are in english with spanish subtitles. i had better get some sleep because i ahve to work tomorrow. i don´t care how tired i am because in the morning i go to salina cruz and i will be damned if i come back to work because siesta at 2. which means i really don´t have to work until 4pm. yahtzee.

it is almost my birthday! thank you mom.

well, i hope you all watched the hokies rip ohio this weekend. i wish i could have. the braves are slipping. i miss sports, as you can tell. oh well, there has been so much to do and see here it has been amazing. i will go into more details this coming week as i hope my pictures will upload and turn out great. i saw my first pyramid and got to climb on some this weekend. now i really want to check out more ruins in central and south america. of course, i would like to see the papas in egypt, but that might be many years away. either way, i have had a great trip and wish i could stay in this gorgeous city instead of going home to hot-tepec. oh well, just over 5 months left on my contract. i cannot wait for my next vacation so i can check out other places located over 4000ft!

doughman, i am thinking about you. good luck over the next two days.

two hours to kill. i think i will go listen to some music in the square! peace.