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Well, after taking a day off to re-coup from my Mexico City expedition, I am feeling human again. Long story short...my trip was a success and I passed my course. Now, for some of the finer points from the trip...

• Upon arriving at my location I was informed that my course wasn't a day long...it was four days long. I thought I was merely going to do an altitude chamber (which never happened) and come back home...nope. It was a 4 day course about the physical and medical effects of flight...in Spanish of course.
• Once I got over the initial disbelief from this most peculiar turn of events...I quickly had to make a new battle plan. I only had one extra shirt and a pair of socks. Luckily I had brought my deodorant and toothpaste and toothbrush.
• While walking back to my hotel the first night, I saw two cars pass me in the opposite direction. One passenger was obviously very angry at the driver of the other car. Both cars were soon stopped, blocking both lanes, while the one passenger got out of his car and walked over to the other car were he proceeded to beat the snot out of the other guy in his car. Not more than a minute later, and a lot of honking cars, both vehicles were on their way as though nothing had ever happened. It is a good thing I had my traveling hat on...thanks dad!
• My first night I stayed in a kind of shady place. While it seemed clean enough, it still left a lot of questions unanswered as to what kind of clientèle frequented the place. I checked out in the morning for good and found another hotel.
  
• Thankfully, the two instructors of my course, who were also doctors, pushed the class along and we got 3 days worth of lecture material done in 2, and we took the test the morning of the third day. I had to pass the test with a minimum of an 80%, which is exactly what I got. I was the only one in the class to pass...at least officially. Two of my fellow classmates were given an 80% as well, after some very vulgar rebuking from the instructor and a little help erasing their answers and putting the right ones down.
  
• After taking a verbal beating myself for being a know it all American that barely passed with the minimum grade, we were finally dismissed and told to come back later to pick up our official paperwork. I returned a few hours later to thankfully find the paperwork ready upon which I went to the licensing department and talked with the "big chief."
• "Mr. Big Chief" was a nice guy, and said I still need to do my check ride, but he said I could do in here in Oaxaca. This is a huge praise! I an do it in an aircraft I am familiar with, in an environment that I am familiar with. Hopefully this next week I will have my check ride scheduled. After I pass that, it should be about another week until my actual license is issued. I am getting closer, but still no cigar.
  

It's been a while since I have been in such an unwelcoming and vulgar environment. In some ways I am glad that this vulgar course was given in Spanish. While I know intellectually what a lot of the vulgarities mean that were spoken in the class, I still cannot grasp the emotional meaning of the words. Learning a language is always an interesting thing. When you start learning enough of the language to hear and understand cussing and vulgarity...you realize how much you still don't know, the heart of the words. My class would have been "R" rated simply because of the language from the two "professional medical doctors" that taught it. Thankfully vulgarity and cussing haven't crossed into the emotional realm of my Spanish yet. As my father-in-law says..."it was a character building experience."