pin trading oh lalala

On my recent trip to Tennessee, I told you guys about the craziness of "pin-trading". Basically, pin trading is where they have these areas set up, and people from all of the world can trade little pins that their city, state, or country make to get different pins. People are really serious about pin trading, but I was really just in it for the experience. Plus, I got some really cool international pins out of it.

Since it was my first year pin trading, I'm actually really proud of the things I managed to find and trade for. Most people on my team spent over $100 on pins to trade, and I only spent $30! I traded most of the pins I got, and I really like the ones I ended up with.

(I really hope you can see the little numbers beside the pins. If you can't, just guess.)

 

1. This pin was given to me by THE CUTEST little Romanian boy. He talked like a vampire in those old Dracula movies (he's from Romania, obviously) and he was only about 7 or 8. The Romanian pin this year was a Dracula by his coffin.
2.  When we were trading, I promised myself that I would get a handmade pin from Guatemala. Finally on the last day, I snagged one! It's a little 3D doll, and I am totally obsessed with it. (Also, I totally forgot to number the two pins to the left of #2. These are from the Muddy Waters set, which are pins that come from all the states lining the Mississippi River. )
3. Like I said in my Globals post, we went to a thingy called the Passport party, and when you completed all the tasks, they gave you a pin to symbolize that you completed the easiest tasks in the world. This is my pin. Yep.
4. Okay, there is actually a really long story behind this one, but it's really embarrassing so I'm not going to tell it. If you're dying to know, ask Joey. This is a Grumpy Cat pin, and it's just as adorable in real life as it is in the picture.
5. This is a handmade pin from a Chinese girl that I also got on the last day. It keeps shedding, but I still think it's cute.
6. This pin is the Brazil pin from this year. The Brazilians were REALLY hard to trade with, so I'm actually really lucky to have one. 
7. I didn't actually end up trading this set (it's from Minnesota, so it's not that exciting) but it is the Beatles, so I don't mind.
8. My friend Joey gave me this pin because I found on like it, but this girl would NOT give it to me. It's a worm and a Chinese slogan that said something about saving the earth. It's my favorite!
9. I traded this pin with a Chinese girl, who told me that it was a traditional Chinese dragon.
10. Another EP MNDI pin. It's a baby dinosaur, and it's really adorable. 
11. This is just a boring 3M pin, which everyone got because 3M was sponsoring it. I mean, it is still pretty cool looking.
12. This is my Luke Skywalker // Finn the Human pin. It came from the whole set of Star Wars Adventure Time pins, but Finn is my fave.
13. I traded this with an really adorable Turkish girl. The bead is the "evil eye", which in Turkey is supposed to ward off evil.
14. It's a mini Canadian flag. Not much else to say.
15. Finally, this is my Colombian pin. It's a little robot with some phrase in Spanish next to it, and I think that it's adorable.

Those are all of my pins! I hope that you guys enjoyed reading my rant about how awesome these little pieces of metal are. I hope you all have a fantastic day!!

Stay Groovy,
xo Camille