Peace Corps... and the Miss Llicuar Pagent?

It has been an eventful few days. I have been mourning Kali, my friend who passed away because I think of her even more at this time of year. The anniversary of her death coincided with interesting women-focused events here in Rinconada Llicuar. One was a Youth Conference held by the local government to celebrate the first day of spring. The lawyer who works at Town Hall offering free legal services to women and children gave talks about legal rights in abusive relationships and the services she offers. I talked about trash because I am the Trash Cheerleader but, I also did a self-esteem charla that worked well! I think that I really got across the connection between self-esteem and healthy relationships. It was a beautiful privilege to be able to remember Kali while doing that workshop.

Finally, at the elementary school in Llicuar they are celebrating their 46th anniversary. This is a very big deal. All schools here celebrate their anniversaries every year. In Llicuar they pick 2 queens to preside over the festivities. One from 1st - 3rd grades and another from 4th - 6th grades. I hate beauty pageants. They happen all the time here and I hate it. Then the principal asked me to judge this pageant. I stuttered in response but, I had to say yes. I did complain to Gloria, the 5th grade teacher that pageants are culturally very difficult for me because I think that they send the wrong messages to girls. They reward beauty rather than intelligence, values or abilities. Then, I showed up the day of the pageant, Gloria was the president of the planning committee and there were 3 judging categories: self-confidence, whether or not they answered the questions that we asked correctly, and diction! There were no 7 year-olds with makeup and no polyester dresses in the heat. The 1st grader wore pigtails a Cinderella t-shirt and pink jeans and all the other girls dressed very similarly. Here's me with two of the contestants! Perhaps not ideal, but still the best "beauty pageant" I've ever been to because it had nothing to do with beauty!