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1) What did you decide to participated in the Miss Chinese Vancouver pageant?
I used to love watching pageants when I was little. I watched every Miss Hong
Kong, Miss Chinese International, Miss USA, Miss Universe. My all time favorite was Michelle Reis, who was MHK and MCI,
I think in 88. I was bedazzled by the glamour and beauty. In part, it was curiosity. I also wanted to challenge myself.
It was something different and unique and that I've always wanted to do. I guess you can call it a childhood dream to be in
a pageant. However, I didn't have any desire to get into the entertainment business. I already had a career direction I was
working towards. I couldn't actually apply to the pageant until I finished my Bachelor of Science, as my education
and academic excellence was a priority. My mother was totally against it and I'm embarassed to say that she nearly disowned
me for joining the pageant and got mad at my dad and sister for being supportive. (My sister was a contestant in Miss Chinatown
88 and that influenced me as well. FYI, Miss Chinatown, run by the Vancouver Lions Club, was the major pageant for
Chinese people until it was replaced in 95 by Miss Chinese Vancouver, run by Fairchild Television). I think that
really pschologically affected my confidence in the competition. But I have no regrets at all and in fact, the pageant is
one of the most memorable moments in my life. I'm glad I did it--I wouldn't have felt complete if I didn't.
2)Have you ever thought of getting into the top 12?
I was actually even reluctant about joining the pageant because of the intense
time committment...it's not for everybody. I actually auditioned the year before and did not go through with it, basically
telling the interviewers that I can't put in the time committment. At the audition is when they show you the
extremely intense schedule. What was embarassing was that the interviewers actually remembered me from the year
before. Luckily they didn't hold that against me and I was offered a place in the top 12. You have to give up a lot to
be in this pageant (well, unless you weren't doing much in the first place). I was still taking some courses at UBC, but reduced
my course load in anticipation of getting in the top 12. Luckily, with all the skipping classes, I still did excellent
in the courses and didn't affect my average, which is not true for some of the other contestants. I thought I had a chance
to get in because I felt I was quite pretty and photogenic (but who doesn't?) I only had my height that counted against
me, but the year before (98), there was a contestant who as even shorter than I was. I just remember being really excited
when I received the call that I was in.
3)Did you have any really good friends during the pageant?
To be honest, everyone's fake and you don't have real friends, but only people
who you are closer to, the ones who are better people on the scale of fakeness. In reality, everyone's look out for number
one, themselves because everyone wants to win. You only act nice to each other. For my year, there was a tendency for pairs
or trios of people who get along together. It is important to have a "friend" to share and talk with. The girl I was closest
with was kind to me in that she often gave me rides and we did keep in touch for a while, but lost touch through the years.
What's funny about my year (99) was that Miss Congeniality was the girl was one of the least nice people. It ended
up that way because everyone voted for one other person, with no one individual receiving more than one vote--the votes were
split even with one vote for each contestant. That kind of tells you something about the dynamics of the group. So
what they did was literally draw a name out of the box. Good thing it wasn't the meanest girl!
4)Who is your most favorite Miss Chinese Vancouver winner?
Actually, I haven't kept up with the pageant scene for the past few years
because I've been so busy working as a full time high school teacher and applying to dental school (yes, I got in and will
become a dentist in 09). I have to say I like Bernice Liu. I think she's the prettiest Miss Chinese Vancouver, much more
so than Crystal Pan, the winner and Miss Photogenic in my year. But that's just my opinion. Shirley Zhou is a close second.
Cindy Cho's Birthday is on : July.21st
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