Ngo Phuong Lan has lived around the world, including 7 years spent in New York and another 6 in Switzerland. She was the first Miss Vietnam Global. Though she considers herself a citizen of the world, she always thinks of Vietnam as her final stop.

Would you introduce yourself to our readers?

I work for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as the communication person, and I’m also collaborating with VTV4 on the talk show Talk Viet Nam.

How did you get these jobs?

I applied for IOM when I was in Geneva Switzerland, because they have the headquarters there. It was very random, because I studied international relations and there was a wide variety of international organisations and NGOs that I could have applied to. It just happened that on the same day I read in the newspapers about immigration issues, I met the chairman of IOM. We had a good chat, and after that he recommended I apply for IOM. This was the first job I applied for after graduation, and here I am.

For VTV, I always think that the way to know what you’re good at is to try everything out. Each summer I applied for a different post. I worked at a law firm, but after that I thought maybe working in law was not really for me. The following summer, I applied for VTV as an intern and worked there just a couple of weeks. It was quite interesting, and I made a lot of friends. When I came back, they thought I should take on another role and the first thing was a talk show.

You look like a girl with lots of advantages, beauty, a high-level of education, fluent in 3 languages. What are your weak points?

I can think of a lot. For instance, for those of us who were educated abroad, when we first come back to Viet Nam, our overseas education can be a disadvantage. To really understand how people work and how things function was very challenging and hard to integrate with when I came back. I also have difficulties with my Vietnamese. I can speak, but writing is difficult for me. So that’s what I’m trying to learn. And those are just some of the difficulties that I’m having. There are more.

Was it because of your dad’s job as a diplomat that you chose to study international relations?

To a certain extent it was. I mean, growing up in the diplomatic environment and seeing all these international activities was very interesting to me. That was what I was passionate about when I was a child. So I guess studying international relations was just a natural thing for me to do. My parents never impose though, they respect my choices. Of course, they would say so if they thought I was not suitable for it.

Which country has influenced you the most, apart from Viet Nam?

It’s hard to say, because for all the places that I’ve been to, even if I only stayed for six months, the place really grew on me. Not just the lifestyle, but also the culture. I don’t consider myself part of just one culture; culture is international for me, and I like that. I like the fact that I really have had the opportunity to travel and to learn about other cultures. This has shaped the person I am today. And that’s really a lot of fun.

As an international person, what do you consider to be your most valuable Asian quality?

I would say the quality of being family oriented. I think it’s something that’s very oriental. We Asians live in families where the members are very close to each other, and that’s very different to people in other parts of the world.

Where do you see yourself in the future then, working in Africa or somewhere else in the world?

It would be Viet Nam. After all the travelling, I have always loved coming back to Viet Nam. This is where my family, and my extended family live. And this is where I originally came from. And I want to work here.

You said that you want to try everything out to find what you like the most. Have you found anything that interests you most?

I’ve done lots and lots of volunteer work and paid jobs, as well. It’s hard for me now to answer the question, because I have found lots of things. For each of the trials I have taken on, I eventually found my interest could go one way or another. I think I still have some more time to make a final decision.

How did you become the first runner up at Miss Viet Nam in the UK?

Beauty pageants are not really my thing. I never thought I would ever do anything like that. And then my mum read about it in the news and said I should try it out. I had also promised some friends I’d go to England, and so I just tried it to see what would happen. I went into it not thinking that I’d win anything, and then I won something, so was very surprised. I was very comfortable, because I never thought about the competition aspect of it.

What do you love about yourself?

I love myself. I love the fact that I can be really comfortable in my own skin. And I think that is important to everybody, to be comfortable in your own skin.

Anything you would like to add?

I would want to credit the photo. It was taken by Pham Hoai Nam. He’s a great photographer. And I always credit my photographers.

VietNamNet/VNS