It has been quite some time since I posted as I was on the road without internet access. I had a fantastic trip to Milan, Italy where I taught a 3-hour course on oro-facial anatomy and basic piercing at the APTPI Congress. The audience was comprised primarily of piercers from Italy, though there were individuals from other countries as well. I taught the class (which included a PowerPoint presentation containing over 250 slides, and video of me performing piercings) in English. They provided professional interpreters and the audience listened to the translation on headphones. It was really cool, but I had a little bit of stress while we tried three different computers and couldn't get my PowerPoint to play. Finally they got it working. Whew! While in Milan I had the pleasure of visiting the Duomo, which was incredible. (Photos below.) The host hotel was great, but it was located a little bit outside the city, so we didn't get to see much of Milan while there. Bethra Szumski was my travel companion. She is the owner of Virtue and Vice in Atlanta, Georgia; and Pain and Wonder in Athens, Georgia. She's also the secretary for the Association of Professional Piercers, and she taught a class in Grounding and Bedside Manner. Following the conference we caught a ride with some friends from Slovenia and went for a visit in their home town of Koper. We had an incredible whirlwind trip and they showed us Piran, a beautiful old beach town on the Adriatic Sea, and also gigantic caves in Postojna, Slovenia. Our hospitable hosts were Tammy and Lea from Eternal Flame Body Art, along with their delightful colleagues, Ana Nadoh, Dejan Jakac, and Mojkaa Pečar. Then we went to Venice, Italy for the day and toured the island of Murano (famous for glass-making) and watched glass-blowing demonstrations. What a blast! The canals are stunning and the aging buildings are incredibly charming. As always, I'm happy to be back home in Mexico--where it is nice and warm--but it was a fantastic journey!

For a photo gallery from this trip visit, my Facebook page here.