Lounging in Starbucks, professors sipped coffee as Coltrane wistfully spiraled from the speakers. Students waited impatiently for their vanilla lattes. Laptops lined the countertops. The coffee shop buzzed with warmth and soft-spoken dialogue. Maika Nakaoka, a contestant in Miss International Beauty Pageant, walked through the door. A Filipino-esque, smoky-eyed waif, Maika’s lean shoulders supported a long, elegant overcoat. Her demeanor was friendly, yet professional. A senior business major and Japanese Student Association e-board member at the University at Buffalo, Maika has been taking part in a worldwide competition which ultimately elects a well-spoken and beautiful woman to represent her country to the international female ambassadors of other countries— hence, Miss International.
Maika Nakaoka is running for Japanese ambassador, and is currently one of 35 participating young women who have been chosen from several thousand applicants. It’s not surprising that Nakaoka has made it so far as her charm and equanimity are impossible to ignore. She possesses an unassuming loquaciousness that makes people want to listen to her message, which happens to be one of trans-cultural diplomacy and awareness. This is closely intertwined with the mission of Miss International.
When I asked her to tell me a little about herself, she immediately responded that she “was born in Japan, grew up in Japan, just like an ordinary Japanese girl. But, my parents loved Hawaii ,and we traveled there about five or six times a year.” This seemed not as ordinary as she had forewarned. Nakaoka explained that her traveling experiences familiarized her with the English language and allowed her to encounter people who were very different from her. Cultural differences were obvious to her from a very young age.
Very matter of fact, she informed me that she had also gone to school in the renowned Cambridge University in England. “But only to study English in the summers during high school,” she added, modestly.
As exciting as I thought that was, her first perceptions of England were not so positive. She was discriminated against for being Japanese. “The first time I went to England, I was really shocked,” she said, referring to the cultural barriers that separated her from her peers. “Now, everyone wants to go to Japan, but it was not like that when I was in high school.” She felt people were sort of hostile because they didn’t know much about the culture and what they knew, they skewed negatively. This, however, did not deter her from doing what she thought was right— going back to England summer after summer.
Along with her travels between Hawaii, Japan, England, and the United States, Nakaoka also did a summer marketing internship in Turkey to add to her ménage of experience. Having no previous knowledge of the language, but interacting daily with linguistic aspects of the Turkish culture, enabled her to reach some level of comprehension.
At UB, Ms. Nakaoka is majoring in business with a concentration in international business and marketing, which she is juggling with her position on the e-board of the JSA. She does Public Relations for JSA, communicating with other clubs, and publicizing events that JSA sponsors, like the very recent Loonies Olympics, upcoming events like Japan Night, and International Fiesta. The current JSA president, Mariamu Talai, has instituted a policy of collaboration which invites all the e-board members, including PR, to participate in all aspects of club planning, community service, and exposure.
Her collective experiences have imbibed her with a sense of civic engagement and the desire to make at least a small difference in the state of the world, whether it’s going to a village and participating in an indigenous ceremony, or promoting the release of Sex and the City in Japan. The young woman that gets chosen to be Japan’s international ambassador will have an opportunity to meet government officials and participate in community service projects. The Miss International website also says that “the representatives gather once a year as ‘Ambassadors of Peace and Beauty,’ and expand their friendship network to the world, deepening mutual exchange.”
Much like the faces of Miss America and other world famous beauty pageants, the representatives of Miss International must be self-possessed and graceful. Miss International also promotes vigilant humanitarianism and clearly draws a line in the sand between itself and other beauty pageants. Their website declared that “The Miss International Beauty Pageant is not simply a ‘beauty competition.’ It is a ‘Festival of Beauty’ performed by representatives from around the world, who sympathize with the philosophy of Miss International and aim to increase women’s contributions to international society. The festival symbolizes the activities of the representatives who gather once a year as ‘Ambassadors of Peace and Beauty,’ and expand their friendship network to the world, deepening mutual exchange.”
Nakaoka said her experience throughout the competition might not have been that different from any other girl’s experience in a beauty pageant, however, the end products of that win garner much more respect. Narrowed down from several thousand, she has undergone numerous eliminations. In the rounds, the girls first don traditional Japanese kimonos, then their bathing suits, and then they are allowed a short speech of only a few seconds. In the final round, they will be allowed one sentence. She replied that she was still thinking about hers.
Having never before done a beauty pageant, she found herself among ambitious, aspiring models and actresses who are also vying for the same title. Her fellow competitors actually helped her become aware of the meta-communication that was involved in presenting oneself in front of the judges. Since the stage time is so short, knowing the unspoken expectations of the judges is invaluable. Though she has learned about the ins and outs of the pageant game, Maika Nakaoka still quips about her recent induction, “I mean, if there was anyone at all falling off the stage, it would definitely be me.”
According to Nakaoka, the job of the ambassador is to increase cultural awareness, which could in exchange also boost the tourism industry in Japan. She was told that tourism only makes up a minute part of the Gross Domestic Product in Japan, in opposition to other countries that have a booming tourism sect. By breaking down boundaries between countries and allowing young people to represent themselves, rather than being represented by beaurocratic governments, they believe they are paving the way for better future foreign relations.
Maika’s claim to the ambassador throne is a pragmatic one. She explained that many of the previous Japanese winners only knew how to speak Japanese, negating their ability to make actual cross-cultural headway. “It seems that Japanese ambassadors have not been interactive with ambassadors from other countries. If you’re standing there doing nothing, but waving your hand, can you help people even if you want to?” Her philosophy centers around being sympathetic to other cultures rather than focusing solely on educating people about Japan. If you talk too much, you’ll never hear anything.
The winner for Japan will be chosen on October 25, and Maika will have to fly to Japan a week prior for preparations. If she wins the title, she will have to take a leave of absence from school and put her studies on hold. Currently, there is also web voting going on for the contestants. Each of the girls has a profile page with a personal statement and pictures and the public is allowed to vote for their favorite, the winner being crowned Miss WebGenic. Though this vote isn’t decisive of the winner of the entire pageant, the judges take public opinion into consideration. After all, the ambassador is the voice of the people.
Last, but certainly not least, I asked one very important question. “Are you single?” We were all thinking it anyway. This might have been the only question that Maika Nakaoka did not prepare an answer for. “There is someone,” she answered, fantastically demure and unwilling to compromise another word.
