Top: Rhonda Grant, representing New Zealand at Miss International (centre) is flanked by Miss Norway and Miss Russia. Above: With Japanese students prior to a national costume parade.

It was nice to hear from nutritionist Rhonda Grant, one of our Miss Universe New Zealand runners-up, who represented her country at Miss International in Macau.
   The competition took in some very interesting places: Tokyo, Kyoto, Macau and Hong Kong.
   ‘The best part for me was the whole cultural exchange thing: getting to see three other countries, meet girls from 63 countries, and make some really nice girl-friends who I can’t wait to visit,’ she said.
   The contestants were based at the Venetian Macao hotel, which Rhonda reports was ‘so flash’.
   As with Miss Universe New Zealand Samantha Powell, Rhonda says long hours were involved and that 6 a.m.–1 a.m. was not atypical.
   ‘But during this time I grew as a person, and I loved the fact that I learnt so much, not only about other cultures and countries, the industry, new people, but also about myself—and pushing my own boundaries,’ she said.
   What was surprising was that there was no interview at Miss International, which strikes me as quite an omission.

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