Airplane Full of Miss World Contestants

imagine flying the friendly skies with a cabin full of crowns and sashes. that is, crowns and sashes donned by tall, beautiful, well-heeled women.
hello british airways.


it was end of october 2011. charles de gaulle airport in paris.
with my latte and smart phone in hand, i scoured the gate for a seat. hmmm... gorgeous #1. gorgeous #2. gorgeous #3. wait a minute. yes, there are beautiful people in paris but this was different. it was not until i saw miss ivory coast walking past me with her gear that i realized... a beauty pageant. the ladies cordially acknowledged one another, exchanged short words, and returned to their to-dos.

"we're boarding at gate...." BA announced.
the gate came to life and the subtle line took shape. there were many more than 4. some were wearing sashes. some were wearing their crowns. some were just extremely well-dressed and made up. but the interaction between the women gave it away. all contestants on their way from paris to london for the prelims of miss world 2011.

what are the chances i sit next to a contestant, i wondered.
it turned out 100%.
i sat next to miss ivory coast - a regal, poised women with much beauty pageant experience under her belt.
between all the autograph signing and picture taking, we got to chatting about the contest and the life behind the pageantry.

being a beauty pageant queen is tough. she is expected to be beautiful, classy, natural, and intelligent. she wears a smile on her face all the time but sometimes it's real and sometimes it's forced. the beauty pageant environment is very competitive and thus, the women find it difficult to make friends when they are competing with each other for the same title. they are also trying to represent their country in the world arena and do not want to disappoint. it is a stressful, cutthroat and lonely journey.

as i looked around the cabin, i saw a little of what miss ivory coast spoke of... the glimpse of sadness behind the beauty. the anxiety behind the smile. despite all the oohing and ahhing over them by the regular joes and the flight attendants, the contestants were lost in thought.

i got curious so a couple weeks later i searched miss world 2011. maybe miss ivory coast? nope. winner - miss venezuela. i wondered what miss ivory coast was doing now...

photo credit:  reddit.com

tiptoeing on planes...

xoxo
s