My friends,

Now, that Michael and I have bought a computer and I can get email from home I thought it was probably high time I pulled my finger out and sent a group email! Why have we bought a lap top? Well, these supposedly easy to use internet cafes around the world frankly, aren't. Michael lost an article he was writing for the Chronicle (Tmba Paper) twice or three times, and I lost all my photos on my video camera from the 'Sick' tour with fLiNG and photos from the beginning three weeks of our trip (somewhere in the vacinity of 600 photos :-( it sucked lots so here I am on our first major investment finally writing to you all.

We have well and truly been away for a month and a full on one it has been! Mexico was our first major stop and wow, it is awesome, for people like us who have only seen 'old' natural stuff, the buildings and architecture are mind blowing. Especially Teotihacan and El Tajin, two Aztec sites we were able to visit. The Cathedral in Mexico City that we stayed about a block from and the Basillica, the centre of the Catholic Church in Mexico and reported to be one of the holiest places on earth are also beautiful to see and to experience.

Useless info #1: Mexico City is built on a drained ake and has sunk up to 7m in someplaces in the past 300/400 years! (which explains why some buildigs have leaning tower of Pisa styles to them!) Mexico was great for our budget!
3 hotdogs: 10 peso - $1US Hand carved obsidion statues of the Aztec sun and moon gods: 300 peso - $30US Accomodation in awesome Hostal Moneda including bedding, two meals per day and a towel: 110peso pp/n - $11US

Also, when we were there our spanish left a lot to be desired but the people are patient, polite and lovely! So much so that we managed a four day trip out of the city to places where no-one speaks english at all! LA was horrible. We didn't do the tourist thing because we were so put off by the people we encountered. So we hired an RV and got out of town. We spent time in Joshua Tree National Park, lots of rock piles to climb. Then to Indio for the Coachella music festival and through some male ingenuity (Michael and Jacko) we ended up parked across the road from the festival in Warren & Barbara Eastes backyard, with power, cable tv, a merc to drive and well
looked after for five nights! Wonderful, wonderful people.

Coachella was great, Michael got hit in the eye and his sunnies broken by Donovan Frankenreiter and I got a cd signed by the Dresden Dolls and a photo with them, their set was fantastic! We had good fun and good margaritas too!

Canada was cold. We were very unprepared for the balmy 7degrees celcius temperature that greeted us. Toronto was lovely and relaxing, if not a little boring. So we slept a lot and I got dreads! We also saw our first baseball game and went up the world's tallest man made structure!

Then we headed to Niagra Falls. The falls themselves were spectacular, pity about the downtown area, tacky like Surfers.

Useless info #2: Approximately 185million litres per minute of water goes over Niagra Falls in summer, pity we can't get some of it out home.

In Niagra we were able to get two nights of free accomodation with the HI hostel there by working for 6hours each for them, we painted a bathroom and cleaned and tidied the front yard, well worth it! We are now nearing the end of a near ten day stay in New York City and it has been interesting to say the least. Incredibly expensive, for instance the HI hostel we stayed at, biggest in the world, also would have to have the least value for money and some of the staff would be better replaced by people that give a damn. Anyway, we then got onto this awesome website, couchsurfing.com and are currently staying with two lads, Seth and Will in
Spanish Harlem for free.

I have been running around doing classes at the Martha Graham centre, Alvin Ailey School, Merce Cunningham School and Trisha Brown Dance Company Centre. Very awe inspiring and exciting, not to mention hard work, sore muscules, etc.
Michael decided to make a permanent show of his patriotism and got the tatoo he wanted of the Australian Made symbol!

Now, the highlight of the trip for me so far: last night we went and saw a performance of the Meredith Monk ensemble (music, one of the people whose work I admire incredibly and look up to), it was mind numbingly great. Afterwards, I went back to do the star struck thing and get her to sign something, and as I was waiting patiently for my turn, who should rock up and give her a big hug, but none other than Icelands biggest export: Bjork!!!!!!
So, I am now the proud owner of an autograph from Meredith Monk and a photo with both her and Bjork, taken by the equally excited Michael. We head off to Ecuador tomorrow, then onto Peru and to England, so I will attempt to update you again when we get to England.

I have attached a couple of photos, hope they come through okay, and you like them, if you don't want to receive updates and or photos, email me and let me know and I'll stop sending them. Other than that don't forget to check out our sites www.struthbeatthedrum.8m.net and http://comprehensiveadventures.blogspot.com (especially for the view from Michael's window)

Also, sorry for missing birthdays!
Take care
Love
Shannon and Cookie