Monday, August 24/09
I cannot believe this is actually happening! I am in Houston, Texas for the Miss Teen World Pageant! Never in my wildest dreams did I think something like this could ever happen to a girl like me. The moment I stepped off of the airplane I could feel the humidity and oh, how nice it was! Maybe when I am older I will live somewhere that is nice and hot all year round. Just a thought.:)
The first girl I met was Miss Teen Honduras, Melba Doblado. Melba speaks absolutely no English, only Spanish so I had such a hard time introducing myself and I felt quite bad. Even though I understood little, to nothing she said, she seemed like a very nice girl.
Since check in for the pageant was not until the next morning it was time for some much needed rest.
For the first night I stayed with the Executive Director of the Miss Teenage Canada Pageant, Michelle Weswaldi and as I was about to lay my head down on my pillow we had an unexpected visitor knock at our door. Gaspar Cruz, Executive Director/Creator of the Miss Teen World Pageant, designer of Crown Couture and designer of GC Cosmetics was our visitor! Here I am with no make-up, sweats and hair pulled into a braid sitting in a bed in front of one of the biggest names in pageants. I have to say I was a little embarrassed, but Gaspar did not seem to mind my current image and that was a great first impression he left on me.
It turns out that Gaspar and Michelle have been friends for quite some time and he was just coming for a quick hello. He seemed like such a fun person and I couldn't wait to speak with him more throughout the week.
Tuesday, August 25/09
Swim suit photo shoot here I come! The day started off greatly by our poolside photo shoot at the hotel. Every girl had her individual shots and then our big group shot. Even though the humid weather was melting off everyone's make-up, making curly hair straight and almost every girl was complaining, I just sat there smiling because I was actually enjoying the humidity.
Now that everyone seemed a bit more comfortable with each other it was time to introduce myself to all of the ladies. It was so amazing to meet people from Greece, South Africa, England, Russia and so many more places! The two girls who I clicked with right off the get go was Katerina Skoulrhi from Greece and Tayla Robinson from South Africa. I knew we would become great friends over the course of the next week.
I think Texas might be famous for all of the toppings they put on EVERYTHING! On all of the salads there was about a block of cheese and tons of croutons. I'm not going to lie, I thoroughly enjoyed it.:) Even though we were in a pageant, they did not hold back on feeding us. Our dinner started off with a delicious chef salad and followed with a barbecued chicken sandwich. The dessert was definitely the best part of the meal in my opinion. It was a chocolate cake with thick chocolate icing. It was really like a brownie, but better. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, I think it would be dessert.
After the fantastic meal we rehearsed from 6pm until about 9pm. We practiced walking and our opening number. I was already getting excited for Saturday Night's show!
Wednesday, August 26/09
The evening gown photo shoot today! Hurray! What is better then starting the day with a photo shoot!? I was so thrilled to slip into my Wayne Clark gown and go see all of the other girls' dresses. The evening gowns really are gorgeous to look at.
I was second for my shoot and I had a lot of fun! They had the fan blowing for me which makes you feel even more confident! I wonder what it is about your hair blowing in the wind that makes you feel like a superstar. Hmm. Anyways, I thought my shoot went well and I was excited to see the results which are still taking their time getting to my computer. Since I was finished so early I had about 5 hours to relax! The first thing I did was call up all of those back at home. I talked to my mom for over one hour, I know my cell phone bill is going to be sky high!
Another fabulous dinner filled us up! Caesar salad, chicken breasts and carrot cake were on the menu for the evening. I finished every last bite! I'm surprised I made it through rehearsals that night without falling over from fullness!
Thursday, August 27/09
Dun Dun Dun… Interview Day! I was the very first girl for my interview! I was so excited! Michelle Weswaldi was laughing at me as she did my hair because I just could not wait to meet and speak with the judges.
I think my interview went well because I could not stop smiling after I was finished. The one judge in the middle seemed to be quite serious and I made her smile by the end so I felt really great! After a few shots in my interview attire, the photographer took some with me and Miss Teen World 2009, Amy Jackson.
I must say that Amy is one of the cutest, most humble people you will ever meet. She has a great personality and really is an inspiration.
We had to re-do the swim suit photo shoot now that two more contestants and Amy arrived in Houston. This time I was sitting with my feet in the water so I could cool off. I think it was even hotter then the last shoot, but I didn't mind. 🙂
The Miss Teen World staff surprised us with a no rehearsal night! I never thought that would happen! I finally got to go to the mall for a short hour. I went with Miss Teen Columbia, Miss Teen South Africa, Miss Teen England, Miss Teen New Zea land and their chaperons. It was a great time and the Galleria Mall we went to was amazing, I swear it is bigger then the West Edmonton Mall! I couldn't get into a shopping mood or I might have gone crazy because you need days in that mall, not only one hour! Maybe some day I can go back.
Friday, August 28/09
A trip to the Houston Zoo was in store for us! I couldn't wait to see all of the animals and spend the time there as the three amigos, Katerina(Greece), Tayla(South Africa) and I. I miss those girls already! Katerina had never seen such animals like the sea lions, tigers and monkeys. She was so thrilled and it made it that much more fun. Tayla was not so impressed as she is from South Africa and sees hundreds of different animals every day. She said it was like her backyard, that is pretty neat!
All of the girls had such a great time at the Houston Zoo and it was awesome to have more time to chat and learn about the different cultures from around the world. I even learned some new languages, though now I am starting to forget!
For dinner that night I jokingly said they would give us burgers and fries. In a result I think I was seeing the future. They really did serve us burgers and fries. Some girls complained, but others loved it, like me. It was delicious and cake was for dessert! Mmm!
A long dress rehearsal was how we spent the rest of our evening. National costume to swim suit to evening gown is the order we had to change into over and over again. Once they were done with us doing that we did the show in our regular clothes many more times. Although it was a lot of work, we knew the show would turn out great!
Since we worked so hard that evening they told us that the next day (Saturday) we only had rehearsal from 10am-12am! That was a great, relieving surprise! As much as I love rehearsing, I wanted to see my family that arrived in Houston the day before.
Saturday, August 29/09
Today is show day! Our morning rehearsals were more laid back and we mostly went over the basics.
I could not believe it would all be over tonight. I would have to say goodbye to all of the wonderful friends I had made and go back to good ol' Canada. Hopefully I will get to see them all again some day…!
As the day went on I was starting to get more and more excited! I got to visit with my family and share my stories from the past couple of weeks and how crazy it was that we were actually in Houston for Miss Teen World. Who would have ever thought a girl from a small town in Saskatchewan would be competing for the title of Miss Teen World?
Time for hair and make-up! Michelle could not stop laughing at me as I repeatedly said, "I'm so excited!" I even started singing that song, I'm so excited-I just can't hide it! I guess I was really excited to get out there and have fun!
As the moments ticked down to showtime my excitement really was rising. It was finally 6:30pm and the show was scheduled to start at 7pm. I was all ready in my national costume and so excited to show it off.
I went out there with my biggest smile and had the best time of my life. As we ran in a flurry to change into out swim suits I had to run onto stage as they called my name. I was first and was not exactly ready. I was so rushed that I forgot my turn on the runway! Hopefully the judges didn't notice that one! Next was into evening gown. Time to slow down the walk and break the hips.:) I felt like I was walking on clouds every time I took the runway. I saw my family cheering in the front row with their Canadian flags and it made me feel so proud.
After the ten minute intermission it was time to announce the Top 5! They were not fooling around here, they were cutting right to the chase. They called Miss Teen Honduras, Miss Teen United States, Miss Teen Poland, Miss Teen South Africa and… Miss Teen Canada!!!! I was so ecstatic to be in the Top 5 I could hardly breathe. The on-stage question and answer was next which I was not really nervous for until I was asked my question. I will be honest and say I was not happy with the answer that I gave, but, I did my best at the time with the way my brain seemed to be working.
Right after the short break to calculate the scores it was award time. They gave out a total of four special awards and I ended up with two! I was very happy with that! The best national costume went to Miss Teen Honduras. Miss Congeniality went to Miss Teen New Zea land. Most Photogenic and Best Overall in Swim Suit are the two awards I received! Wow, I was so thankful already! I ended up placing 2nd Runner up and that also made me very happy! The new 2010 Miss Teen World is Tayla Robinson from South Africa! I am so happy and want to congratulate her here on my blog because she is very deserving. So Congrats Tayla, you will make an amazing Miss Teen World!
Miss Teen World was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had the opportunity to experience Thank you to everyone who has made this dream a reality. I will never be able to thank you enough!
Siera:)