Beauty Talks::  Josefine Egebjerg, Miss International Denmark 2014

Hello Josefine!  Welcome back to Missosology!  We are excited to hear that you are finally coming to Tokyo for the Miss International 2014 Beauty Pageant!   How is your feeling now?

Hi Missosology and all Missosology followers. I am very excited myself as well. I cannot describe how disappointed I was last year, when I in the middle of my preparations had to withdraw from the contest because of my school. But now I am finally going to Tokyo, and I have been looking forward to participate in Miss International for a whole year.

How is your preparation for the competition?  Have you been studying about Japan and the Japanese language?

When going to a pageant there is of course a lot of preparation, both practical and mental. For me the most important thing during the preparations as well as during the contest, is to let myself and my personality be a significant part of everything I do. By that I mean, that in the middle of a pageant or in the middle of the preparation for a pageant, you can very easily loose yourself and instead become the prototype beauty queen. It is essential to show your true personality, and not just do what you think is expected from you.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to visit Japan. I am very excited to experience the people, the food and the culture. I cannot wait to join all of the activities in Tokyo. The first things that popped into my mind, when I thought of Japan, were sushi, sumo, and manga. Whenever I travel to a new country, it is important for me to do some research about it. My philosophy is, that you can only truly learn about a different culture by experiencing it. But when that is said, when travelling to a new country, it is important to know about the most common rules and norms. From what I have heard, the Japanese people are very friendly and tolerant regarding tourists, but still, out of respect, you should learn just a bit about their culture before visiting.

You will be representing a country that seldom joins in Miss International.  What would you like to tell everyone about your country, as an ambassador of goodwill and a delegate for Miss International?

Well for starters Denmark is placed in the Northern of Europe. We are a very little country with a rather small population of about five and a half million people.
Because of our location on earth we experience all kinds of weather throughout a year. It can get very hot in the summer, which is in June till August, but it also gets very cold and snowy in the winter, which is in December till February.
A thing that we in Denmark can be really proud of in my opinion is our amazing health system and educational system. We do pay rather high taxes, but in return, things like education, doctors’ visits and operations are free of charge.
If we go back in history, one of the things Denmark among other Northern countries is often recognized by is the Vikings. The Viking age had its period in Denmark in 800-1050. Another Danish historical matter is our royal family, which is one of the world’s oldest monarchies among for example Japan and England.
Also some world known companies like Lego (toys), Maersk (shipping and oil), Carlsberg (beer) and Vestas (windmills) are Danish.

Miss International is very keen on the national costume, traditionally being the first round of the competition. Tell us something about your national costume, and what is the meaning of it?

In Denmark we do not really have a such thing as a traditional national costume. We do though have some figures and characters, which symbolizes us as a country. For my national costume I chose to be The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid is a fairy tail known worldwide. It is written by the famous Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. If people are not familiar with the real fairy tail, they probably know the Disney version with Ariel as the little mermaid. We have a well-visited statue of her placed in our capital Copenhagen. The statue has actually been shipped to China once, where it was representing Denmark at a world exhibition in Shanghai.

If one is going to visit your country, where would you recommend them to go, and what food should they eat?

Denmark is in several ways a very beautiful country with a lot of history. We have many things to offer. I am lucky to live near the capital, Copenhagen, which is definitely worth a visit.
Some places I would recommend to visit near Copenhagen are:
First as already mentioned, the statute of The Little Mermaid.
We do also have the Tivoli, which is an amusement park. In my opinion the best time at year to visit Tivoli is in the Christmas. It might be a bit cold, but you can keep yourself warm with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the spirit of Christmas that fills up the place this time at year.
Another thing that in my opinion is definitely worth a visit is The Open Air Museum. I remember how impressed I was with this place the first time I visited it with my school many years ago. I have always found the Danish history the most interesting in my history classes. Especially the early periods. This museum is not from the earliest periods but is covers the period 1650-1940.

Other nice places to visit would be the Frederiksberg Park, The Royal Danish Theatre, The Amalienborg palace where the queen lives, and Nyhavn.

When I think of which traditional Danish food is worth a try, I would recommend to try Danish meatballs, which we call Frikadeller. Another thing to try could be what translated must be fried pork (or bacon) with parsley sauce. And then a dish that is mostly served for Christmas – roast pork. Well that is three dishes that all consist of pork, of course we do also eat beef and fish, this is just some very traditional Danish dishes.

What about Japanese food?  Are you eager to eat your first genuinely made Japanese sushi and other local delicacies in Japan?

As mentioned one of the first things that popped into my mind, thinking about Japan, was sushi. Sushi has through the last couple of years become very popular in Denmark as well, and we have a large amount of sushi restaurants today. But getting the chance to eat real Japanese made sushi in Tokyo is going to be amazing. Is must be like eating pizza in Rome or macarons in Paris. I am looking very much forward to it.
As a tea person another thing I am looking very much forward to is to try the Japanese tea. I am so eager to be joining the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

Finally, please tell us why do you think you should be the next Miss International.

I am hoping to get the chance to answer this question at the grand final. Until then, I will keep it to myself.  / – Stephen I. Diaz