I'll spare one year for charity work : Miss Vietnam 2006
Mai Phuong Thuy, 18, was crowned Miss Vietnam 2006 at the Vinpearl Resort in Nha Trang over the weekend, and she is on her way to the Miss World competition in Poland. The Foreign Trade University student shares with Culture Vulture her feelings about winning the title.
• Could you introduce yourself ?
I was born into an ordinary family. My mother works for a State agency. My fattier died when I was a child. My sister is 14-years-old.
I graduated from Phan Dinh Phung High School several months ago. My favourite subjects were English and maths.
After passing the entrance exam for Foreign Trade University, I registered for the Miss Vietnam pageant. The competition gave me a lot of experience, especially in speaking and social etiquette.
• How do you respond to people who didn't seem very satisfied with your answer to the judges' question in the final round ?
I was a bit nervous and excited when I answered the judge's question so my answer didn't come out very fluently. But, honestly, the question was not that difficult to me at all.
• How has your family supported you in the competition ?
Before the Miss Vietnam competition, my mother's colleagues bought me some clothes and my mother asked designer Viet Hung and Nguyen Thang to help me with make-up and dresses.
She did not accompany me to the Vinpearl Resort because I wanted to be self-reliant. My mother and sister gave moral support that was very important to me.
• How have you prepared for the Miss World beauty pageant in Poland ?
The Miss World pageant will surely be much more difficult and tense than the Vietnam pageant. I leave for Warsaw this Saturday and won't have much time to prepare. All I can do is to try my best as I did at the Miss Vietnam pageant. Luckily for me, this year's contest was similar to the Miss World contest, so it was very good experience for me.
The first thing I am focusing on is my health because if I'm not well I won't be able to do anything. Exerts on fashion and performance will help me prepare costumes.
Two former title holders, Pham Thi Mai Phuong and Nguyen Thi Huyen, will tell me about their experiences at the Miss World pageant. I'm confident that I will do better at Miss World. But I don't have any expectations about how it will turn out.
•How has the new title affected your life ?
The title turns a new page in my life. I have received so much attention from people that I feel I have to try constantly to improve myself, not only over the next year or two, but for my whole life. After fulfilling my responsibilities as Miss Vietnam will invest totally in my studies.
This has been a great opportunity in my life that I know my friends won't have. But with the opportunity, there are challenges and temptations. From now on, I'm ready to embrace any challenge. Facing challenges will make me more mature. I guess I may be tired sometimes, but it's what I have to accept. I do not intend to if escape it.
•What are your plans as Miss Vietnam ?
I won't go abroad to study immediately as I had planned before joining the pageant. As Miss Vietnam, I'll spare one year for charity work, and I'll balance the work with my studies at Foreign Trade University. You may not believe me, but just wait and see.
Right now, I'm just focusing on the Miss World pageant. Upon returning from Miss World, I will make a specific plan for my charity appearances with Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.
Vietnam News Agency - September 1st, 2006.
|