I’m a Google search result! (But who isn’t…)

Andrea Chen

Today a friend randomly found a photo of me on a Vietnamese news site (Tuoi Tre) and sent it to me. It’s a photo of me working during a round-robin while in Nha Trang over the summer with Miss Universe. Because the PR team managed all the media-related events, we often appeared in random photos in the news—but most of the time it was just of a random body part or  a picture of me frantically trying to push back a photographer. I’m really surprised that this site actually has my name correctly in the caption. If I knew how to speak Vietnamese, I would translate it for you.

Hmm, I guess I have a way of sneaking into photos in newspapers and such, without trying or knowing; front page of the New York Times, random foreign news Web sites—hopefully the next time my face appears in a news publication, the story will actually be about me. Haha.

My future husband…

ｃｕｒｒｅｎｔ　ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ：Ｍｏｈｅｇａｎ　Ｓｕｎ，　Ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｃｕｔ

在２４小时内，我看了两场周董的演唱～两次都坐在第一排而且不但两场都跟他握了手，我还在后台跟他照了相。。。

So I met international pop star Jay Chou and we had one of those “movie scene-esque slow motion exchange of knowing glances” during a secretive moment of eye contact backstage. I should’ve slipped him my number and/or room number, and then win him over with my irresistable charm. Sigh… I would probably be sitting on a pile of cash in a penthouse somewhere in Taiwan right now with the object of obsession for tens of millions of Asian girls. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2009

This weekend, the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach, once the ultimate hot spot to Elvis and Frank Sinatra, rolled out its red carpets after a $1 billion renovation for the Victoria’s Secret models, the VIPs, celebrities, and… me.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

That’s right, I journeyed from Athens, Ohio to Miami Beach, FL and spent on a week on the gorgeous beaches of the Fontainebleau resort hanging out with (okay, more like sitting in the vicinity of) Heidi Klum, Paris Hilton, Usher, Martha Stewart, P. Diddy, the entire Kardashian clan and more.

So I may have skipped a few classes and missed a handful of meetings, and probably should have used the time spent sipping Pina Coladas studying for the finals I had this week. You say irresponsible, I say desperate-attempt-to-stay-sane.

I’ll admit, the view from my 20-something story balcony overlooking Miami Beach was not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and the 70-something Fahrenheit weather was a little bit better than the flurries that Ohio started to receive. But as I took off my Chanel shades while browsing through the Louis Vuitton store on a sunny afternoon, I realized that this wasn’t where I belonged. At least not yet. Ever since I moved to Ohio I have been waiting for the day that I get to move away. In high school I fantasized about moving to New York City and attending Fashion Week and having my photograph appear in the papers for achieving something worthwhile. But down in Miami, I was reminded that I wouldn’t deserve that lifestyle unless I work hard to get there. As much as the thought of having everything handed to me sound appealing, I know I wouldn’t get the same satisfaction in the end if I don’t work for whatever it is I want. It’s kind of ironic that I was thrown back into perspective while at a place that was so out of my realm, but it was exactly what I needed to get motivated and focused again.

On another note, I ran into Katie Kolben, the other intern for Miss Universe while I was at Vietnam. She decided to come down from New York to grace the VSFS show with her presence.

Katie and Andrea at VSFS at the Fontainebleau

The show airs on CBS on December 3rd. tune in and check it out, it’s pretty glamorous. Trust me, I’ve seen it. ;)

Hong Kong currency looks funny

I remember when GB gave Hong Kong back to China. It was 1997 and I was 9 years old. It was one of the few things that I remember watching on television as a kid, besides a few episodes of the Smurfs, Tom & Jerry, and news coverage of Deng Xiaoping’s death. Hmm…

Anyway, I’m in Hong Kong. Megan is with me, she’s getting her work visa down here. We are staying at the Disneyland hotel. When you walk out to the balcony “A Whole New World” plays and when I placed a wake-up call, the automatic recording wished me a magical day.

Last night I met up with Minna Chau, who hasn’t seen me probably since I was 14. The shocked look on her face when she saw me made me wonder if I’ve really changed that much. we met when she was a Psychology student at OU getting her Ph.D and eventually became kind of an “older sister” to me. Minna told me to meet her at “the China Club”, apparently a very exclusive terrace club in the finance district of HK. After being momentarily confused when I got out of the subway, I found my way to the old Bank of China building and asked the doorman where to go. He took me to a private elevator and when I got out of it, the entire skyline view of downtown Hong Kong was right before my eyes. It was one of those moments that felt like a scene out of a movie.

Hong Kong is beautiful. Waaay too humid, but absolutely beautiful. I have a feeling in a couple of days I’m not going to want to leave.

2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Just saw Judo Wrestling matches at Keji Daxue with Michael Jacobson.

… I still don’t understand it.

Look ma, I survived Nam.

Back from Vietnam after traveling for 30+ hours. EXHAUSTED.

Jerry Springer, Ms. Cayman Islands, bodyguard, Ms. Bahamas, Ms. Dominican Republic, & Andrea Chen

We left Nha Trang for Ho Chi Minh City, then I flew from HCM to Tokyo, Tokyo to JFK, then JFK back to Columbus.  While waiting for our plane in HCM, everyone probably looked grumpy and hungry because Jerry Springer bought us all Oranginas and club sandwiches from the airport deli. What a good guy. Unfortunately he was not there when I wondered around the JFK terminal aimlessly for eight hours waiting to go back to Ohio.

I think my plan is to sleep for the next week, and wake up just in time to fly back to Asia.

Photos from my adventures in Vietnam are on my Facebook. I miss it already.