@mary many thanks for the info!

@mitzie
http://www.servage.net
a lot of people seem to be happy with them!
you need to be aware though that the domain registration process in many countries is different than from the us. In many cases hosting and domain registration is tied together (which is a pain in the a...)thats the reason why so many people even in my country are using services like godaddy and such! The best board to address your question to is for sure: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/