Oh, It Was Fun. Really, Really Fun!

So here in Nicaragua my life is more like that of an old retired lady than I'm generally comfortable with. Most nights I'm in bed by 9, easy. Lights out by 9:30. It's not that I don't go have a drink with friends, eat out, have a nice evening here and there. But honestly? The number of times I've had lights out by even 8:00pm is a little embarrassing. Regardless of how healthy, wealthy and wise that's supposed to make me, I'm frankly just a little too young to be all tucked in by sundown, night after night, with a cup of chamomile tea and a Louisa May Alcott novel. Yet such is my life right now.

Thus, it is with some relish that I report to you, my precious posies, that your Amazing Cheastypants had one hell of a fun time this weekend. Some American medical doctors I met in Mulukuku were in town here in Matagalpa, several of my favorite Nica chicas all happened to be around and eager to go out, and WHOOSH! Off went the old maid's cap. SWAP! Down with the Victorian literature! ZWOOM! On with my one set of cute clothes, and WA-HOOOOOO! Out the door. It's been a while since I've sparkled and bounced and left glittery dust in the air as I walked through a room, but my acres and acres of gorgeous beautiful bouncy hair did not let me down. I was a princess! No, a party animal. No, a princess. A princessy party animal! We dined out and told charming stories and made each other laugh till we cried. We drank wine (WINE!) and burbled over with happiness. We flitted about town on a cloud of glamour and joy, stopping for drinks here, for a little more gracious living over there. And then, as the evening's crowning achievement, one of my friends said, "So, does anybody want to go over to the drag queen show?"

It was one of those moments that makes you shake your head like a wet dog and ask that the person who spoke repeat the question. Drag queen show? Wait a second. Where am I? I'm in Nicaragua, right? A drag queen show in Nicaragua? Oh, holy shit, you couldn't keep me away with heavy chains and handcuffs, even if you cast a magic spell of unbreakability upon them. This, I have GOT to see.

So off we went, and I'll try and update with some pictures once I load them up, but this was one of the more amazing things I've seen here. It turned out to be not just a drag queen show, but an actual beauty pageant. Miss Gay Matagalpa, 2009, and the joint was PACKED. Homosexuality isn't exactly what you'd call accepted here, generally speaking, so to see these queens dressed to the nines, made up like beauty contestants, and to watch them walk the catwalk, to watch Nicaraguan men whistling and catcalling and cheering them on... Well. It was just grand, and the after party wasn't bad either. We danced our little socks off, buoyed up by the general cloud of goodwill that permeated the event, and when at last I collapsed in my bed at the outrageously late hour of ONE-THIRTY A.M. (!!!) I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face and the thought that this had been a very very good day. Such a good day that it sort of made up for the fact that I'll be in bed by 9:00 again tonight, and that I'm actually kind of anxious to find out what happens with Jo and Laurie. Not to mention Meg and John Booth. Ooh, the drama!