Oh by the way, on saturday - my birthday - I shaved my head right to the scalp. I am completely bald. Then, with my friend Olivier (Olive for short - or, um, slightly shorter), we hit the town and invaded a local english pub. A short time after our arrival, two beautiful german women sit down across from us - a blonde and a brunette, we're talking absolute knockouts - and one tells me, in a sultry german accent, how much she ADORES dreads - spontaneously, I might add - and, at the outset, curly black hair. I lifted my hat to reveal my bare skull, and the response I received was a squeal, and, "It's so ugly! Why do men do that to themselves?". She turns to her friend and says something in German, and her friend asks me, with sincere sympathy in her voice, "Did you lose a bet?"

So I stayed for a short time in geneva. The squatt where I lived was ideal, and the people there were friendly. Now I have to say, this was a very well organized squatt. They even had an internet room, and a movie theater with all the latest bootlegged releases, and a bar in the basement where they'd host concerts and local events (no doubt to pay for the internet and such). There were even children living there. And I must say, I ate like a king while I was there. Every night they would prepare a feast of reclaimed food (see about a million updates back, recycing man of Alexandria). I was sorry to leave Geneva, but I felt the itch again. So with some very good hitchhiking advice from people who (for once) knew what they were talking about, I left and thumbed a ride to Lyon, France.

Lyon is a gorgeous town of cobblestoned streets, squeezed between twin rivers - the Rhone and Soane - and old and storied, with roman ruins and all the history one could ask for - something sorely lacking in the life of a north american :) I've met some nice people here, and though I'd only intended to stay a couple days, I've already been here a week (I think). I've been bouncing from couch to couch, without any longer term place to stay, and I've met a couple of friendly germans who I associate with most often. Today, as I write, is the festival of lights in Lyon. Tonight, the lights and electricity will be turned off all over Lyon, and in every window, a candle will burn. It promises to be beautiful. The festival of lights was one reason I stayed; but there were others. I don't know when exactly I will resume my journey southward, but the sun is calling me.