last night was interesting for numerous reasons. a friend from oaxaca (she is from the capital city not feliztepec) came to town for work and called me to go out. as i dont work on friday until 1130, of course i went. we went to dinner in a fancy-pants area, her company put her up in an amazing hotel in the zona rosa (which is, along with roma and condesa, the trendiest to place in the city right now) and then went to get a drink.

she begins telling me about the teacher strike in oaxaca (yes, almost 6 months later, the kids are still not in school and nothing is really being resolved). a rather beautiful colonial city has gotten uglier and uglier as more people live in the street, spraypaint 400-500 year old buildings with childish graffiti (no matter what you think of the cause, the decorations look like the handiwork of the 8 year olds who are not currently in school- save for the fact that 8 yr olds give a good god damn about politics). the kids cannot go to school with professional teachers (i use the word professional quite loosely here) and when a group of parents got together to teach the kids a few hours a day, they were physically blocked by teachers. sweet.

also, the children cannot go to the parks and play because so many of the union members (it is not just teachers who are angry, many other groups have jumped on the pile) cannot all fit into the shit-strewn (this image is literal and figurative) historical center (zócalo) so they have spread to some neighboring parks to, well, protest (read- make handicrafts to sell to foreigners who stand under spraypainted walls that say- fuera extranjeros- foreigners get out and other anti-capitalist propaganda). thus, the kids are rather afraid to go the parks as they dont want to get involved in any of it. also some undesireables are part of the cause, and this worries parents.

one teacher went against the union and stated that he wanted to return to work. he was found with his throat cut soon after. no arrests were made.

can´t you just taste the pride that i feel when i tell people here in the city i was ¨a teacher in oaxaca¨?

if you are caro, or one of the stragglers from oaxaca who is reading this, you will probably mock me (as caro did numerous times) for my new stance. i have turned a bit on this teacher revolution. true. however, i also feel that the initial struggle was somewhat just. i do not think that this continued effort to remove a (corrupt) politician (i think the two words are redudant: you choose which one you want to use) is winnable, nor do i think that this should stop school (keep in mind the teachers are still being paid normal salary).

see caro, you can leave the country but not completely.

my friend visiting from oaxaca who told me a lot of the above wants the govt (military) to come in and bulldoze everything. including the people. i will leave that for you as a sentiment that many in this country have (not all of course).

anywho, enough seriousness for one day.

while having a few drinks, chatted for an hour or two and listened to some incredibly loud enlgish 80´s music, mixed with mexi-rock. as my friend was essentially dancing in her chair, and doing her best to involve me, i asked if she wanted to go find a club to dance (if you have known me before this country, you understand the lunacy of this proposition coming from me). this, apparently, was what she was waiting for, as she finished off her drink and attempted to kill mine as well in an effort to get to the club asap.

we went to one place with a cover (boo), so i hesitated and she kindly assented. we found a second place (they are literally feet away from each other in this neighborhood) without a cover. my my, i mused when we entered, sure are a lot of boys in here. hmm, there seem to be 4 girls, and one of them is with me.

i need not tell you that i was welcomed with open arms and offers of drinks, until they saw my friend holding onto my arm (the moment of confusion in their eyes was precious). we (my friend and i, not the dudes and i) danced a bit, then, shockingly, closed at midnight. i know. how does that happen?

well, the next place had a small cover but live music. we entered.

mistake.

the band, though energetic, was a salsa band. this is not exactly something i can fake too well (dance floor in center, women and men twirling rapidly, somewhat frenetically, in all directions). next thing i know, i am in the middle of semi-professional dancers and making a fool of myself. not to mention sweating like a whore in church. but, i must say i had a grand time. my friend is a good dancer and did her best to lead me, well, into not hurting her or other people in the general vacinity. success.

i want to learn how to salsa dance. it seems like a lot of fun, but i fear it may be beyond me. let´s be honest- it is beyond me.

in case you were wondering, the answer is yes- i have now shaved outside, in front of about 150 spectators. i also shared a sink and shaved simultaneously with a young man who has the beard capabitlities of me at 13(nonexistant). as you might have guessed, there was a free promotion and i received a vibrating razor (don´t laugh as this is quite real and made by gillette), a little towel that i can now use as a sweat towel at the gym and deodorant. there was no way i was passing this up anyway, but all my students (this happened out in front of the classroom building) were trying to get me to go. one of my best students, whose english and knowledge of coloquial phrases is often frighteningly good, told me the hottest girls in the world ¨touched his face¨ and he fell in love. in his words- ¨billy, you gotta go¨.

as advertised, the girls were gorgeous and argentine (south american women, at least from brazil and argentina, what is up down there?). i walked down the steps from the building and found a beautiful young lady speaking to me in italian-sounding spanish- again, i so want to go to argentina- about the beneits of vibrations aloe-vera and vitamin e. ya, i was not really paying attention to the words perse, but then she reaches out and cradles my face in her gloved hands. weird. her hands, oddly, were vibrating (special gloves that imitate the movement of the razor). she asked me if i wanted to try a demonstration, get free shit, lah blah blah. i asked if she would be in line wth me, she said no. as my heart sank, i saw the prize in the crappy box of cereal- free stuff. also there were plenty of other women to entertain us in line (women were turned away, even those who wanted to shave part of their legs, not just get a free razor for their boyfriends). sorry girls. boys only. yahtzee

i will write more about this next week bc it just turned funnier and funnier. have a good weekend knowing that the hokies crushed clemson (after getting whipped twice earlier this month, i know).

do you ever do things to provoke a reaction? i like to ¨tap on the glass¨ so to speak. this was the way i described my personality in the istmo, to a large extent. i brought up politics and almost always chose the opposite side of whomever i was talking with. it was fun. for me. well, my post about ladies from the istmus has indeed provoked a reaction. i thought there might be a few lingering students from there who read this blog. i was right. and apparently, at least one of them is a female. and she seems nonplussed to say the least (that was the comment about me not being able to handle istmeñas and that chilangas (females from the d.f.) were more my speed. touché). sometimes you have to rattle the cage to see if there is still anything left inside.

anyway, that is that.

peaches. we are going in circles here. i again claim that i have never been to the four corners, which means that some of the information you have given me is difficult to place. ok, so it has only been a few years since we saw each other/ spoke. where was this? va? ca? az? co? nm? nv? i need a tad more info because i am still a little lost. also, you could write me using a nondescriptive email addy.

doughman- why are you going to switch from corn in the middle of the harvest? is the corn too moist? that is too bad about butchy. tell antney that if he needs someone to help him run the new business or any help at all to let me know. but tell him that if he needs money, he better talk to a bank. or is the First Doughy Bank still open?

c-line- let me see if i can explain what is going on with me. i work for the tecnológico de monterrey, a great high school/ undergrad/ grad school with 33 campus in the country. there are two in the capital city (where i live now- el distrito federal, d.f., or mexico city to be clearer) and 31 others spread throughout the country. the high school has about 3,000 kids. the uni about 7,000. a good size really. it is one of the best schools in the country, and it is definitely the most expensive. the campus is technologically hooked up- there are power sockets at every bench and table on campus, and wireless internet allows everyone to use their laptop (required) anywhere and at any tme.

the campus is in the south of the city, about an hour by metro from the city center. i live about 15 minutes walk from campus in a residential area with trees, great restaurants, big grocery stores, a movie theatre and just about everything you could want. it even has very little traffic and only light pollution.

i work 15 hours a week. 2 hours m/w/f and 4.5 tu/th. easy load really. i have an offer for next semester although i doubt i will get full-time. my classes next semester should be more advanced and i will be teaching more advanced writing and critical thought classes (there are some incredibly advanced students here).

the kids are good on the whole. quite trendy, a little bit like 90210 as far as dress and fashion go- they make me look like an old man with no taste. the truth hurts i guess.

i love where i live. there is something to do at all times, which is a nice change. also i have some very good friends here.

my spanish is still progressing. i take a class twice a week with a prof on campus- my dept pays for the class. fluent is not a word i would use to describe, but very funcitonal. i can do and explain almost anything i want- although i felt stupid in the grocery store yesterday. i was checking out and put my little basket under the conveyer belt (the store is owned by wal-mart so it looks the same as the usa grocery stores- with many of the exact same products actually). the man at the check looked at me and asked me for something. i had no clue what he wanted; i dont drive-obviously- so i had no ticket for him to validate; i have no savers-card- you know, vip, mvp, whatever. thus, i was stumped. he repeated his question when i asked him what he said. i then blankly, and quite sadly, said a phrase i hate to use- i don´t understand. he then explained it- i want the thing you just put on the ground- ah! the basket. well, at least i learned a new word. i felt stupid, but it wont be the last time.

in other words, i still make mistakes and my vocabularly is not on a par with my english vocabulary. however, i can normally get the gist of conversations and movies, etc. my friends gave me a t.v. so i watch a little at night (the news is easy, so are telenovelas- soap operas- but some humor is difficult. the simpsons, dubbed in spanish, is damn difficult. so it goes.

my job is great; i like where i live; i am reading a lot of books in spanish; i am meeting new people- although i always want to meet more. no complaints really. i could be making more money- i teach 3hours each week of private lessons- but i am doing ok there as well. three months in to this new city i would say i definitely made the best decision possible for me.

i think i answered most of what you asked. let me know if not.

and jimmy, you said it my friend: somebody wake me up when the sloppy joe´s are done.

now peaches, let´s be fair. it has been a long time since i have talked to anyone in the usa, save my father who i spoke toon the phone in april. so, certainly it has been a long time since we have talked. please, feel free to send me an e-mail, stillwill.i.m@gmail, and we can catch up. i have never been to the four corners. as far as long walks, i have been on many in my life, although i must say that the junction of utah, colorado, arizona and new mexico is a place i have never been.

perhaps you have me confused with someone else peaches. although, to your credit, you have driven me somewhat crazy over the last six or eight months trying to figure out who you are. dine´e, hopi?

little blue dune buggy, in the sand. little blue dune buggy, in my hand.

i have a cocktail recipe for you today. first, take one part hillbilly from va (mixer) and add to a pint glass heated to 110 degrees f. , make sure to include 90% humidity (container), mix with 9 hours on a campus with no a.c. and absolutely nothing to do for hours on end (active ingredient). remove nearly all friends and interesting people (mixer).

shake.

serve.

this my friends is a recipe for a successful blog that will occupy large portions of previously unused time. you will find yourself writing inane drivel once, twice, thrice times a week.

the problem, clearly, is that once you have engorged yourself on this concoction, you see no real problem. the drink is good. or if not good, not bad. you begin to change the way you think. there are no more worst case scenarios. you are highly bored and you no longer are really able to know it much less do anything about it.

then you move to a city. not just any city, now, a fun town. lots of people, tons of things to do. suddenly you no longer spend so many hours at work (you are also not required to do so) and you find yourself walking up and down streets you do not know in search of a metro station which may or may not be just around the corner. and you do not care. life, suddenly, is much more interesting. everything you do is fun or will be soon enough.

this is where i am. i really like this town.

not sure if anyone still reads this, but if so, i have a question for you. any suggestions? is there anything you have wondered about this place but never known how to ask? now is the time.