Who wants a tattoo?

Hey Guys,

Class today with Antonio wasn’t really that bad. Definitely not as boring as the first few, but still not the best three hours I’ve spent. Afterwards, we headed to the beach. A bunch of the other girls were there too, so when all of them left around 5:30, Kelsey went with. Mel and I didn’t get home until 9:15 pm. We met a guy named Carlos that gave us henna tattoos. I got a bracelet, which turned out really cool. If I didn't want to get a job in the future, I would love a real one. I don't think most people would take Ms. Feickert, Lawyer/Accountant very seriously though.

Our tattoo man, Carlos, was a pretty funny guy. He’s definitely a free spirit, but in his words, “I’m not a hippie. I hate hippies.” He is originally from El Salvador, but has lived all over. He says he’s a tourist, but he just stays longer in on vacation then most people. He also claims he’s an alchemist, because he can turn anything into gold, even the “atoms of sound.” Makes sense when you think about it; he plays music and is paid for creating it, which he could use to buy gold if he wished. A weird way of looking at it, but true I guess.

Mel and I decided to go out last night again. We could’ve gone to a famous club called Pacha for 5 euros, but got free entrance and champagne to Club Sol, so we did that instead. Bad choice—I wouldn’t say last night was a complete bust, but kind of boring compared to most times we go out. First of all, we tried to walk to Sol and went in the completely wrong direction. My fault, I was the navigator. We asked some guys and they said we were a long ways from it, but we could go to club Elefante instead. So we did, like dumb Americans. We got in free and the place was amazing, but there was hardly anyone there, and the longer we sat there the weirder the vibe felt. We eventually figured out that it was a gay bar!

We thought it was pretty funny, will probably prank the boys in our group sometime and send them there. We caught a taxi to Club Sol—which took forever to find—and that was even worse. There was literally 7 other people there, but we got 2 free glasses of champagne and chatted up the bartender. He is a Cuban model, and it turned out he was at the Custo party we went to at the king's palace. He told us that Buda Bar on model's night is actually put on to scout potential talent. There is a big dinner with a lot of top agencies, and then everyone goes to the party upstairs later. I could've been discovered, haha.

We eventually talked about the war in Iraq, with him being pretty forceful about his opinions. It never ceases to amaze me how nonchalantly people in Spain discuss politics. It was really interesting to hear his perspective, since he lived in Cuba his first twenty years. He talked about Castro, the blockade, poverty, everything. He definitely didn't approve of the war or Bush, like everyone else we've met here. It is true, however--the whole world knows everything about American politics. We are definitely in the spotlight.

Hasta luego,

Becca