Pajama Party

            My host sister, Elsa, turned 14 about a month ago. She had a birthday party, but Fiona and I couldn’t be there because we were on a field trip to Toledo. With Isabel home again and Fiona and I around, Elsa decided to have a 2^nd birthday party…a “pijama” (in Spanish) party! Fiona and I really had no idea what we signed ourselves up for when we agreed to it. Fiona was on hair duty, I was on make-up, and our friend Lauren painted the girl’s nails in a sort of assembly-line rotation of adolescent girls. The girls were naive, adorable, and mesmerized by the whole beautification process. Elsa outfitted all of them and then did a full-fledged fashion show. Fiona, Lauren, and I were the judges. It was so obvious that Elsa should be the winner, with her confident model walk that schooled all of her slightly awkward friends; but, Elsa had told us in advance that she couldn’t win because it would seem biased. We chose a winner and broke the news to the girls pretending to be a panel of judges from America’s Next Top Model. The party was a really feel-good moment for me. All of the girls were so appreciative and didn’t want Fiona, Lauren, or I to leave. It’s funny how they instantly became sort of obsessed with us simply because we were older than them and knew how to do hair, makeup, and nails. It’s also interesting that a pajama party in Spain is the exact same as one in the US and probably a lot of countries. All little girls have crushes on boys that they probably have never spoken to, like to gossip about other girls, and love to stay up late even though they aren’t supposed to.