Here’s a cartoon from Latin Night, drawn in ballpoint pen on the back of a bar bill. (I don’t know why I go anywhere without a notebook, seriously.)
I’m not a fan of cigarette smoke or ear-splitting music, but I had a great time that night with Liz and the rest of her team. She’s on the seasonal Youth Staff, the brave souls who come on during Christmas, spring break and summer to take care of the hundreds of kids who invade. (Liz and I were on the same ship last year, too, during spring break.) A lot of the seasonal youthies are teachers on land, or recent college grads. Sometimes they come and go without anyone really noticing, but the ones onboard right now are really outgoing and friendly.
It was really fun and a little intimidating dancing to Latin music with 2 Peruvians and a Puerto Rican. That’s me on the far left, looking awkward. Luckily, Liz knows how to lead, so for the first time in 6 ship contracts, I merengue’d and salsa’d without feeling like my butt was on backwards.
The crew bar had the usual pushy, sketchy guys whose version of “dancing” is to grab a girl and try to make as much bodily contact as possible while keeping some approximate rhythm. I had a quick encounter with a gangly guy, but after 5 seconds of him breathing heavily on my forehead I said “I don’t know this dance” and took off. Liz wasn’t so lucky, and ended up in a tug-of-war between him and another guy. Audrey, another youthie, came to the rescue, but it was still an icky end to a really good night.
My plan today was to upload a bunch of cartoons from earlier this contract to my gallery at http://www.beckyhawkins.com, but I’m having computer-problems. Tomorrow we’re at sea, but the day after that, there will be a new entry and [hopefully] a ton of new-old cartoons going up!