Spain

I was a junior in high school and close to turning 18. There was a program through school that I signed up for to go to Spain. I had taken a couple of years of Spanish, and I had even lived in Guatemala when I was 7, so I definitely had some Spanish speaking skills up my sleeve. The best part of this opportunity (at least in my eyes at the time) was that my best friend, Megan would be going with me. Plus, we would be rooming together at a host family's house. My Spanish teacher that came with us was very laid back and had no problem speaking up for me when I got too embarrassed to try and explain to our waiters that I did not eat meat (which is unheard of in Spain). Our trip had too many fun experiences to try to cram into 2 paragraphs, so I'll just share one.

We went to school for a month in Salamanca and one day, one the way home (which was about a 45 min walk , one way) my best friend and I had the idea to get tattoos. We weren't old enough in the U.S. to get them, but we were in Spain! We ended up in a dark tattoo parlor near the Salamanca square. I had a hard time finding a place they would agree to putting it since I was sunburned everywhere! I finally settled on getting a tiny lady bug tattooed on one side of my lower back. A little silly, I know. I was really scared though! Since then, I've actually gotten the tattoo enhanced. It started to look a little like a mole, so I had it turned into hello kitty wearing a lady bug costume. Yeah, I know, even sillier you might think. :) Now, I have some great memories and awesome stories behind that cute little lady bug tattoo.