PROM

To say the least...

This is one prom I will never forget.

It all started at 7:30 am when I woke up. Little did I know, I would not be going back to sleep until about 1:30 pm the next day. And even that would only be a 3-hour power nap.

I did not mean to wake up so early and planned on sleeping in until 10, but sometimes the very bright sun shining through your window in the morning doesn't allow for that. I ate breakfast, took a shower, and chilled out until my friend Taylor arrived at my house around 11 am. She came over so I could do her makeup and my host parents could take us to a salon to get our nails done.

My plan was to do her makeup after we went to the salon, but our appointment was at 1:30 and the salon was going to be an hour away because of traffic. I didn't really know that until about noon. Which was not good. Until I figured that out, Taylor and I had just goofed around and hung out.

I started trying to do my hair, but then my host mom saw me and said she had made part of the appointment for them to do my hair too. That made me very nervous. I knew that if I did my own hair, it would come out exactly how I wanted it. But, I also wanted to make my host parents happy and figured the experience might be fun. So I stopped worrying about my hair and started worrying about Taylor's face and got her makeup started.

By the time we left to go to the salon, I had Taylor's eye makeup done- and it looked good. I'd have to finish her makeup and get mine done when we returned home.

So it took an hour to get to the salon, and we were kind of late for the appointment. But it was alright. The lady who owns the salon is one of my host mom's very good friends. The salon was hidden in the corner of a little market area. It sounds sketchy, but it was also in San Isidro, which is a wealthier district in Lima. So this was a nice market.

Taylor went with a lady to go get her nails done with one lady, and then the most flamboyant Peruvian man I had ever seen came out to do my hair. I told him what I wanted and had been thinking, but he had a different idea. Also, I brought my show choir hair piece with me to use for prom... Because I'm extra. And he did use that. He was very ecstatic about what he was going to do, so I just let him.

After all, how do you argue with a sassy gay Peruvian hairdresser? That's right, you don't.

So he did my hair, and it was beautiful, but it wasn't me. As Taylor put it, it was something you would see on Toddlers and Tiaras. I was upset about it for the rest of the afternoon, but by the time I headed out for prom, I couldn't have cared less and quickly got over it.

Taylor was still having her nails done once my hair was done. While she was having her nails done, my host dad was also getting waxed, which was SO funny. The nail ladies made many jokes, like how the gay one was about to have an erection while my host dad was getting waxed. Taylor and I just had to sit there and pretend we didn't understand what they were saying, texting each other at light's speed in English and trying not to laugh- as we were literally 4 feet away from each other. What a world we're living in.

Finally, it was time for me to start having my nails done. My host dad went out and bought us some snacks while we were getting done up. Because we couldn't touch anything, him and my host mom were feeding us as we were getting mani-pedis. Never had I felt so pampered.

Even though we were being very pampered, I was incredibly stressed. We had been at the salon longer than I anticipated, and with the amount of time it would take to get home, I wasn't sure I would be ready on time. It was already past 4 pm, and my date, Alex, was coming to pick me up at 6 pm. Spoiler alert, I did end up being super late, but it was fine. I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so you just have to go with it.

My nails were finally done, and we headed home. It only took about half an hour to arrive at the house, so we were there a little after 5 pm. I had less than an hour to finish Taylor's makeup, do my makeup, and get dressed. It sounded impossible. And it was, but like I said, it all turned out fine.

I finished Taylor's makeup as quickly as I could. She started doing her hair when I started doing my makeup, and then she headed home to finish getting ready. Once the clock hit 6 pm, I was about halfway done with my makeup and still had to get dressed. I got my host mom to help me with everything super fast, and then she told me that they had arrived.

We quickly went downstairs with my makeup and other things so I could leave. We took a couple pictures and made sure I had everything before I left. It was about 6:30 pm when we finally took off and left my house. I finished my makeup on the way there. It wasn't how I planned on doing it or very dramatic, but it was fine. Everything was fine.

Around 7:30 pm, we finally arrived at the venue- which was the Westin Hotel here in Lima. It was beautiful. I had barely finished getting myself ready, but it was fine. I was ready to have a good night. We went inside and took many more pictures. Alex also gave me my corsage, and it was super cute in front of the Christmas tree. I loved how decked out the place was with Christmas decorations- it allowed for many cute pictures.

For the next 2 hours, people continued to arrive and get pictures taken. They had many snacks and drinks for us as everybody socialized before the real party started. I had a great time just hanging out with my friends.

Around 9:30 pm, dinner was served. Everybody went to their tables, where we socialized even more, and ate some tasty food. It started off with a drink and cheers to start off the party, and that was followed with an appetizer. Then the main dish, and then the dessert.

Around 10:30 pm, mostly everyone had finished eating and dancing began. This was of course the most fun part of night. And it went on for-e-ver. Which was exactly what I expected and exactly how I wanted it. What can I say, your girl likes to dance. I spent time with all of my friends and had such an amazing time with them.

Now, the night was totally full of dancing. But mostly. There were also a surprising amount of American songs played at the party. They threw in a lot of random things throughout the night just to keep it alive: balloons, glowsticks, limbo, and more. There were a couple times I sat out to talk with my friends and hang out. I also crashed around 3 am. I was dead tired out of nowhere. Even though I was tired, I wasn't about to stop. They actually served us breakfast around that time, which was also tasty. I got myself refreshed and worked up the energy to go back out and keep dancing. It also helped that the DJ started playing some better music. The party finally revived itself.

Even though I had gotten myself back to where I wanted, I was still tired by the time Alex and I left. We left around 4 am, and many others did too. But even though we were leaving the actual prom party, it was now time for us to go to the after party! I was tired, but still lit.

The after party took place at my friend Daniela's house in the military village, and we arrived there around 5 am. More people started arriving and people came in and out. At any given time, there were about 10 people at the party. They were mostly from my class, as the party was more for my classmates.

I had so much fun with everybody! We continued to dance and keep things going. But we all crashed around 8 am. That sounds crazy that we'd literally been going for 12 hours, but I still wasn't totally ready for it to end. Many people had to rest for a little bit, and gradually left. Alex and I were about the last one's out of there, leaving at 11 am. His mom came back to get us and took me home.

Once I got home, as tired as I was, I just wasn't in the right mind-set for sleeping. I cleaned up some before finally resting and recovering from a very wild night. I took a nap around 1 pm, and then woke back up around 4 pm. It was just a nice nap to get me through the rest of the day, that I spent with my family. As you can imagine, I slept long the following night. Whatever day it was, I wasn't really sure at that point.

In the course of 24 endless hours of going, many memories were made. It was great to have one last hoorah with my classmates and create so many incredible memories.