Where to go? Oct 9th?-16?

So,

I do not know If I have mentioned it before, BUT I was going to have an exam in Nov.

After a month in Oaxaca and a day of walking around in a panicked-daze, where I sat on the corner of a highway trying to think for half of it.

But I ended up here. Where is here?

Once again, a bit of explaining to do.. and now I have a certain learn-to-sing tune from Sound Of Music in my head.

On Saturday night I met up with the last time with my Mexican friend, as I was leaving the next day. We got Esquites.. this hot corn and various other ingreds soup... which I am now in love with. I could do with some right now....

I was under the impression that I had to pay about 270 dollars US to take an international spanish test. Last sunday, when I was taking a bus out that night (but I didn´t know where) I went to a internet cafe (well, hotel since in was Sunday... this is a Catholic country) I learned that A- I was supposed to sign up in person in on of the offices in the main city (there were only for das of registration left, and I was heading to one of two small towns). B - The exam is actually 4 hours long... WHHAATTT?

Originally i was urked because i had been in Oaxaca for a month, was finally leaving when I realised I couldçve done this easily weeks ago but now I had to stay another day.

Then I was urked when the 4 hours came back to me.. I wouldn´t say my Spanish can even last me 4 hours.. that is 5 different exams... talking, listening, writing, word recognisation and one other. And, this exam is only taken on 2 days in the entire year. So I was going to take it on

Nov 19th. In little over a month.

Although I wanted to have the ``I can do anything!` mentality, I knew this was impossible...

if I managed to study and learn enough I knew the stress of it all would eat me alive.

So that is why I was sitting on a corner.

Then I couldn´t work something out... the girls who have returned from Spain couldn´t remember jack, so I KNOW they couldn´t have taken this exam.

I went on the internet to try and get more info from my school website. Not a big success.

I emailed my Exchange man who I report to when I am away from school. A big stressed email,

to which the reply was

^Yep, you have to do it. Hope this clears things yup* or something as equally frustrating.

THe good thing was, it was now 6;15pm, I was on the internet for 15 mins and he happened to be online. If he hadn`t been.. I would still be in Oaxaca, significantly poorer and more stressed.

But he added an attachment.. alas, this attachment told me there was another way.

That way is to be tested, in any language, at a school in Adelaide. I think that the DELE, the international spanish exam, was actually higher than the level of the rest... if you go to a Eurocentre, I know the option was lower, because they compare with the DELE on the site.

ANYWAYS,

This exam costs $125 Aus.. so I could fail it and take it again and I am still paying less.
This way too, I can go to the school for a few prep lessons... I don´t feel like I have any help or

proper prep methods here.

Anyways, this option had not be presented to me (see above line email from man), but I am glad within those 15 minutes (while writing a panicked email to my parents.. as you do), it occured to me that the school exam CAN NOTbe the DELE exam. Just to check I emailed back adelaide and he rang the school to check.

I got the reply ``You can take the exam any day in the year....^^

THANK HEAVENS. IT was now 7pm, and I within seconds I decided that I was going to follow me irish lads to San Cristobal on a 9pm bus (a town ABOVE THE CLOUDS... donçt read about those temps in the Lonely PLanet... actually, you would. But I guess I donçt associate Mexico with cold).

I sent an email saying ``not coming ... wap, wap, wap``then just before logging off.. ``Cancel that, see you soon!```

I tossed the money to the attendent and ran home. Then I got my money and ran (full of adrenilin) to town... I was tossing up whether to run for a ticket or run to pack and then just get a ticket when i got there... but after full buses in PV, I wasn´t about to do that.

So I ran to town, bought my ticket (in the end the bus wasnçt half full...) and ran home to pack. This was about 7:30 now and I had furiously gathered my things and showered (something I have come a bit lazy at in oaxaca), and at about 8:10 Iwas standing on the main road flagging a taxi.. I could`ve taken longer if I hadn`t taken the ticket ladies `Get there 30 mins early` advice seriously. I don´t know why I did-- I guess I am waiting for the day when being early in Mexico is required..

Side story: I ran to the theatre last night to catch a 7pm show of Hairspray (YESSSS), only to hgave the curtain raise at 7:45. I could´ve had dinner and showered team!

I was at the station by 8:26 and all happy and excited, but not really believing that this exam that have thought I was taking for the past 2 months, was not necessary.

I managed to sleep on this overnight bus a few times.. I was the only one awake when the driver turned on the lights and announced there was a 30 min break in the middle of no where... and 3.30am!

On Saturday me and the Irish lads had run into a `British girl, who I started talking to because we wanted to know how much she paid for a painting (these guys are around selling them ALL The time... this is the first time I witnessed a`purchasè.

She wasn`t liking Oaxaca... she had just come on the overnight bus from San Cristobal in Chiapas where she said something about it being `the most GLORious place in the world`` and how we MUST stay at this hostel where there is a wizard who lives in the roof and a guitar for singalongs and HUMMINGbirds in the yard. Now it seems clear that she was a mix of over-enthusiastic and crazy.. but that didn´t get us at the time.

Only when i showed up to the hostel where Roisin and Padraic were woken by my voice as I walked in did it hit me. The man pointed me to the room (which was metres away from him... without a proper roof, and the first thing Roisin said was `We are NOT staying here.`
They already had, for a night, which was not the initial plan, but they showed up at the beautiful colonial house they saw on HostelWorld to find in barred up with wood, graffitied and smelling of urine. That was all outside... because there didn´t seem to be a way in.

That´s okay, they thought, we can go to the MARVellous place the Brit spoke so fondly of.

So this is where I fould them now, in a freezing, loud room half painted red and half purple, with a wonky U2 poster on the wall. They couldn´t sleep because two girls were singing french songs outside their room for half the night.

The kitchen was an old, filth-pit but inside we found ``the wizard``. An 60-something american man with huge white hair and a great beard (suprised?) with two Mexican amigos sitting with him, laughing at everything he said.

One he cracked was when I told him I was `studying at the moment` and he said ``Really, coz I thought you were standing there`` and CRACKED up with the same force as a Gary Williams Sneeze before I had even processed his funny.

He told us his South/Central american tales (he seems to have been travelling around, living at hostels for years, but has never worked in any of these countries...) and when we told him about the British girl he was very enthusiastic ``Ohhh yaaaa, It´s great when you hear about little gems. This is the best hostel I have ever stayed at in the whole world``--- this is when

wee realised that everyone has a different definition of what a good hostel is... this one cost $60.00 pesos.. about $6... most in Mex are $120.

When we saw him later on in TOwn he was in a huge Mexican jersey that they sell at the markets, had cut off, tight jean shorts only going mid-thigh, with sandals made from Rope.

He was luging his guitar with him and carrying a snack.

``What have you been up to?`` I asked. His reply ``Just eating some bread and cheese``.

Awkward pause. ``Is it good?``

``YAAA you should get some.. (then gave vauge directions to the bread shop and cheese shop).. Is it two blocks? it might be three....`` his directions were wrong. we didn´t want his amazing snack, but we did stumble across the the shop. Awkward pause.

``Were you busking??``

Awkward pause.

``NOOO, (capitals showing aggression) I don´t play for money. I just play to be free``- I don´t know how we weren´t laughing, but I was a mixture of happy and disapointed that my brother Guy wasn´t there.. it was good he wasn´t coz he would be in stitches... but at the same time I wish he had met him (who we know only as the wizard).