Kartini Day | Salatiga | Indonesia

Last Saturday, all across the country, Indonesians celebrated the life of a woman named Kartini. In summary, Kartini was a pioneer in Indonesian women's rights. And, what better way to celebrate a women's rights activist than a....beauty pageant? You got it. A beauty pageant to pay homage to the woman who fought to allow Indonesian women to be educated. Being from the international school, we were personally invited to not only attend but also participate, by the mayor himself. Our day began at 5 am....
Step 1: Hair: insane volume through teasing hair; bump, twist, repeat.

Step 2: Makeup: Add fake eyelashes, shave edge of eyebrow, trace new lips.

Step 3: Clothing: add traditional Javanese dress.

Step 4: Attend the beauty pageant.

First, we attended a ceremony on the lawn of the Mayor's house. It lasted an hour and involved singing, saluting and praying. It was rather interesting.

h, we also had to have escorts. Here are the guys that Ibu Maria wrangled up for us:

Those of you that know me, know that I hate to be the center of attention and I hate speaking in public. Both of these things happened during the pageant. Long story short, out of 150 contestant couples, I was the first one to walk out. Without any instructions, I had to be the first one to walk down the stage. Note the suprise on my face:

Although I have no desire to ever compete in a beauty pageant again, it was undoubtedly a once in a lifetime experience that I am glad to have participated in. I also made the local newspaper!