Using list comprehension and enumerate:
>>> x = [ 'w', 'e', 's', 's', 's', 'z','z', 's']
>>> [i for i, n in enumerate(x) if n == 's'][0]
2
>>> [i for i, n in enumerate(x) if n == 's'][1]
3
>>> [i for i, n in enumerate(x) if n == 's'][2]
4
>>> [i for i, n in enumerate(x) if n == 's'][3]
7