Experience at Miss Universe 2009

I haven’t really shared about my experience at the Miss Universe 2009 in Bahamas, so here are some of the main highlights of my experience I would like to share.

The month away was fun, exhausting and very restrictive. Immediately after arrival, we were ushered by security and police escorts to our hotel and there was the first time I met my room mate Miss Guam. She’s a great girl and we had plenty of good times together

The itinerary for the first few days was exciting that caused this huge buildup for a massive anticipation. Days went by so quickly that was so full on that it caused a bit of a negative vibe closer towards the end of the finals. Our stay started to feel like a boot camp because we weren’t allowed to have any free time to do things on our own as our supervisors and security had to be with us at ALL TIMES.

I didn’t really know what to expect before I got there. As I’ve experienced the whole journey itself and remembered what some said about the true identity of the pageant, it is true that the whole vibe you get from it can get political. Observing a VIP table across mine at the Governor’s Ball and the choreography of the dance moves at the finals reaffirmed my thoughts about it.

Below is a picture of the VIP table at the Governor’s Ball with the Governer, Dayana Mendoza (Miss Universe 2008), President of Miss Universe Organization, Miss USA 2009, Miss China 2009, Miss South Africa 2009 and some other VIPs. Politics? What say you?

The main highlight of the trip was some of the wonderful girls i’ve met. Most of them very nice and friendly but some are plain obnoxious. (not going to name names)

To name a few, my closest girls was Miss Russia, Miss New Zealand, Miss Korea, Miss Serbia, Miss South Africa, Miss Israel….just to name a few.

She’s one of the most beautiful girl in the pageant besides Miss Venezuela and I was disappointed that she didn’t get into top 15. Donald Trump however did invite her to join his modelling agency in New York so I hope the best for her modelling career. Besides Miss Russia listed as my number one choice, I thought Miss Venezuela would win when I first saw her during a photoshoot. She has this natural classic hollywood look that stands out among the rest of the girls. Many said that she can’t win because her country won last year’s title, so I had a doubt that her chances might be wrecked because of this.

Well who knew?! This beauty did win it! She is beautiful, humble, sweet, positive and definitely well prepared to win. Beauty pageants are a great deal in most Latin American countries where even its general elections are not as big of a deal. These girls are bred to do beauty pageants since the age of 6 and winning the title in their home country gives them approximately a year to prepare for Miss Universe.

A lot of these girls were vying for the crown so knowing that if they can put up with the boot camp schedule throughout the whole year of their reign, then they deserve to win the title. Miss Venezuela was one of the girls who deserves to win. She was positive and friendly to everyone. She was definitely one of the favourites of the media which caused a bit of jealousy among her latino competitors. From my observation at some of our meal gatherings, she was seated away from the latino group some of the times and was also bitched about when the media’s main focus was on her. I guess the poor treatment paid off when she won the crown and she now has nothing to prove to anyone. You go girl!

So back to my darlings….I would like to thank each and everyone of them who made my experience in the Bahamas so worthwhile. Miss New Zealand was very much like me like we were close to being twins. Miss South Africa and Miss New Zealand were my complaint mates and we had a lot of fun doing that! How fortunate is it to meet someone who loves Alannah Hill as much as I do! Practically half of her wardrobe that she came with was Alannah Hill and it was so comforting to meet someone who appreciates her designs.

My anticipated highlight of it all was performances by FLO RIDA and the coronation ball! I love his music especially Get Low, In The Ayer, Elevator, Right Round just to name a few…

Get Low by Flo Rida

Last but not least, to my good friend Jim and his family who came all the way from Chicago to support me. I’m blessed to have great friends, familyand my other half because without them my life wouldn’t be so meaningful.

I will be missing my best girl for sure! We’ll be catching up with each other soon.

Overall, i did have a lot of fun at the Miss Universe pageant and it surely is an experience of a lifetime!

Here are some more pictures of our dress rehearsal. Love the hair-do!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

oliva

Hi Rachel!

Love your blog. You have the most amazing skin!
What is your secret? Are you planning on competing at Miss International? You would be a shoo-in!

Take care and thanks for sharing your experience at Miss U.

xoxo

Oliva
thecheapgirl.com

Sep 11, 2009 @ 10:46 am

Missie

Hi Rachel,

You look stunning! Thank you for sharing your experience at the Miss Universe pageant with us. I love all of your photos.

Your friend Jim is VERY CUTE. Is he single? What does he do? Contact info please, lol!

Tare care,
Missie

Sep 11, 2009 @ 8:36 pm

kennysia

Awesome coverage of the low-down in the Bahamas. It would be a dream for me to attend a Miss Universe pageant.

Alas, the best I could do is a Miss Universe ‘Malaysia’ pageant. Haih.

Sep 12, 2009 @ 5:04 pm

Ann

Awesome pics!!! Looks like a great time. Keep updating plz. Jim is hot!!! Good luck to u

Sep 12, 2009 @ 9:25 pm

Chau

Jim is HOT! =)

Sep 15, 2009 @ 5:14 am

goingkookies

Hi. Stumbled upon your blog from Kennysia’s link!

Well, no offense to Malaysians.. but you definitely looked waaaay sweeter/prettier than Miss Malaysia, sad to say as myself am a Malaysian! =p

Looks like it was an awesome experience!!

Thanks for the compliment. Miss Malaysia is a sweet girl. Take care!

Sep 19, 2009 @ 2:28 pm

Kelvin Anthony

Wow! I’m sure you had a great time. Thanks for sharing the experience!
Ragards,
Kelvin Anthony

Sep 20, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

Kim Ong

You did well. Congrats on being Ms Singapore, you look great too with your poise. Like the dewey look in your skin. Keep it up and all the best.

Sep 22, 2009 @ 6:27 pm

Anne

your complexion is great! what’s your secret?

Oct 02, 2009 @ 5:27 pm

Rachel Kum

Thank you. I go facials monthly at Dermasolutions for maintenance. Cheers!

Nov 01, 2009 @ 9:20 pm

Xinkim

Hey Rachel, nice experience in Bahamas! Haven’t heard from you for quite some time, must be real busy with ur career Anyways, hope to meet up with u and Su Wei in Singapore soon! Do contact me if Su Wei is back ya. Take care and all the best, Muacks!!