Announcement

I've changed my blog

Pls go to frenix-vanishing.blogspot.com from now on

bye bye, see ya there

IM for K1

Haha,...it's been pretty long since I last log in to yahoo messenger...well just do a moment ago...and here an interesting IM i got from K1. found it's beneficial...lah


douk phoungkanitha (7/18/2008 3:01:27 AM): Don't put your mobile closer to your ears until the recipient answers, Because directly after dialing, the mobile phone would use it's maximum signaling power, which is: 2watts = 33dbi. Please Be Careful. Please use left ear while using cell (mobile), because if you use the right one it may affect brain directly. This is a true fact from Apollo medical team. Please forward to all your well wishers

When the exam's over...

when the exam's over, i didnt feel everything was fresh and green as i did last semester. I dunno why. Cheata, my friend, told me that becos i didnt really study as hard as before, that's y i didnt sense the relief.

Upon hearing this remark, it took me a moment b4 i realized that it was quite like that. Last semester, I had to take that damn IELTS examination a week b4 that torturing IFL final. I tried to cram in load of lessons at one time. Compared to the last one, this 2nd semester exam was kinda relaxing and free. I didnt review much during the break and even the night b4 exam. Though, i was really afraid of getting a bad/low grade, I had no feeling for study....just kept wondering what to do after the exam. Now that it's over, i dun even feel like........hard to say lah....

ok, let's stop talking bout this boring topic. Last Saturday, I was very happy cos my precious M2.1 friends went to Sovanna Mall together to enjoy our same same entertainment (KTV lah).
What even happier is that we got the so-called M1.1's Virus, Pheara, with us. He's just arrived in PP a week ago. You guys who have been appreciating his cool hairstyle will have to be disappointed cos as soon as his mum saw his hair, she forced him to a get his hair cut....(kley os ling). Pheara poor you!

Nothing more to say....Post more later!

My winning essay's just been posted in a website. It's quite long and i dun think it's fun to read. Many grammatical and spelling mistake (still wonder why I won lah, mayb u can help answer me). Plus i dunno what the heck with the font, the " becomes h.

here the web: http://ksw.shoin.ac.jp/dept/englang/essay2.htm

My final Decision

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you guys for ur beautiful comments...
After some times of consideration, I finally decide to cancel my next-month trip to Korea. If thing is going smoothly, I will go on a two-week trip in Kobe, Japan this december....

P.S: Exam tomor, what am I doing?
=> updating my blog
=> wondering what I will do during the vacation.

haha a very good student, am I not?

Why???

Why life is so hard? Why is it like going to the pole when having to choose between two things?
Why do i often, if not always, have to make difficult decision? why?why cant i get two things at a time?


You guys surely know that I'm going to Seoul this August. Well apparently I have also been awarded the winner of Kobe Shoin Woman Essay Competition. So happy huh? However, thing not gonna be easy for me. Though I was fully aware that only student who has never been abroad was eligible in the contest, I was still against it. Now I have to make an important decision, whether to accept the prize or not. In fact, I have already sent email notify my acceptance of this program. How am i gonna do? Is it wrong? I've never been asked about my traveling experience outside the country. If they ever find out about this, I would be dead. Oh what should I do? Should I cancel my plan to Seoul? or should I risk going there and hope the Japanese Organizers wouldnt find out?

Any advice?
Oh god! (Sigh)

National Spelling Bee Championship in the US

Indian-origin boy wins U.S. spelling championship

Contesting for fourth time, 13-year-old spells ‘guerdon’ to win National Spelling Bee

WASHINGTON: As it turned out, Sameer Mishra provided more than just comic relief at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He ended up winning the title.

The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, of Indian origin, who often had the audience laughing with his one-line commentaries was all business when he aced “guerdon” — a word that appropriately means “something that has different language roots.” Sameer asked for a definition, and then confidently spelled it out correctly to thunderous applause from the audience.

At one point in the contest he asked, “Are you sure there are no alternative pronunciations?” and later uttered “That’s a relief” after initially mishearing the word “numnah” (a sort of sheepskin pad). And what did he have to say while hoisting the heavy trophy? “I’m really, really weak.”

Sameer is coached by his sister, Shruti, a high school senior and three-time spelling bee competitor.

The first-place finish won him $35,000 in cash and more than $5,000 in other prizes.

Sameer beat 288 children in the 8-15 age group. It was a proud moment for the teen, who was in the contest for the fourth time. In 2005 he had taken the 98th position. In 2006, he was 14th, and last year 16th.

His parents and sister stood proudly behind him as he was awarded the coveted trophy. Sameer is a computer and video games enthusiast and hopes to grow up to be a neurosurgeon.

The second place went to another Indian American, 12-year-old Sidharth Chand, a seventh grade student.

In all, four Indian Americans were among the last 12 who qualified for the final. Kavya Shivashankar was tied in the fourth place with four others and Janhnavi Iyer was in the 8th place.

The youngest to qualify to participate in the championship was 8-year-old Indian American Sriram Hathwar.

In 2005, Anurag Kashyap of Indian origin became the champion by spelling “appoggiatura.”

The third place this time went to Tia Thomas, 13, from Coarsegold, California, who was eliminated on “opificer” (a skilled or artistic worker). She started the word with an ‘e’ instead of an ‘o’ and received a standing ovation and a hug from her mother. Tia was one of the favourites, appearing in her fifth and final bee after an eighth-place finish a year ago.

The finals were aired live in prime time on ABC television, and it appeared for a while that the broadcast could run late into the night. Twenty-four of the first 25 words were spelled correctly, with the dictionary-familiar competitors breezing through words such as “brankursine,” “cryptarithm,” and “empyrean” with barely a hitch.

Among the spectators was 94-year-old Frank Neuhauser, the winner of the first national bee in 1925. Asked to spell his winning word from 83 years ago, he rattled off the letters to “gladiolus.”— AP, PTI

source: hindu.com

An Awfully Busy Schedule

Sat 21st: Book Distribution, Angkor Borei project
Mon 23rd:Global Studies, Revision Test 2
Tue 24th:Literature Studies, Revision Test 2
Core English Quiz and Listening Test

Wed 25th:Writing Skills, Revision Test 2+ Journal Submission Deadline
Thurs 26th:Review for CE--group work
Fri 27th:LS's Assignment Deadline.

What A pain! Cant wait for the holiday!

Announcement-Debate Forum

The IFL Debate Club is delighted to organize and cordially invite you to

its 5^th

Open Debate Forum

on the motion

‘That the United Nations Should Take the Lead in Fighting the War on Terror.’

Other activities include:

Debate about Thought-Provoking Questions and Contests

Saturday July 19, 2008

8:00-11:00 am

Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC)

Please register in Room 03 no later than Saturday July 5, 2008 and arrive at CJCC Multi-purpose Hall no later than 7:50 AM on July 19, 2008.

Announcement.

Exam approaching, so m pretty busy with revision. Sorry guys, I will be absent from the blogging world. Wont be back until Mid Next month.

Food Program

Apparently, I am asked to write a Reflection of Food Program, a project initiated by the Initiatives of Change Association. I think I wanna share with you guys. Enjoy!

My Reflection on ICA’s Food Program

“Once, when I handed an old lady a box of dinner, I surprisingly received a water melon in return. Compare to what I had given her, that water melon cost more. I could not accept it from that seem-to-be poor elderly. However, she insisted that I accepted her offer. She told me that she had nothing else to express her gratitude for my contribution. This small watermelon was all she left. It was at that time that my tear fell down and I gratefully accepted her offer.” This is a quote of a volunteer who has been participating in the Food Program of ICA. It is also the very first thing I heard about the program. It is not until I fully join ICA’s Food program did I realize that Food Program of ICA is more than just the distribution of food to poor Phnom Penh dwellers.

At first glance, Food Program seems like a simple project in which volunteers prepare and distribute dinner to poor people. But the real purpose is simply beyond that. In fact, I believe that Food Program is, more or less, a means for Cambodian youths to interact with the poor. By handing out boxes of meals and having a small chit-chat, Volunteers provide some kind of encouragement, care, and concern to the poor. Thus, those who have received our contributed meals have hope for life, the hope that in spite of their poverty there is still someone in somewhere care for them and urge them to live on, to work harder toward their dream of happiness.

Furthermore, not only does Food Program benefit the poor, but also the contributors. Since participating in the program, I somehow feel that my personality has improved considerably. For one thing, my first time in ICA’s Food Program was also the first time I had self-satisfaction in my life. Regardless of how small I had contributed, I knew that I was becoming an asset to my community. I believed that I was on my way to becoming a useful citizen or teenager of Cambodia. This has encouraged me to go on with my work, my contribution to community development. As I go on with ICA’s Food Program, I have also come to appreciate the custom of sharing, the one that has been with Cambodian people since ancient time. Regardless how much or in whatever form volunteers contribute to the project, we are working toward a common goal. Each and every effort from each and every of us is small, but when we share the tiny support we have with one another, our seem-to-be-small donation has become a real big one. Through this, I have learnt that sharing is a way to success.

Every month, I always see the smile of volunteers when preparing meals to be contribute. All of them believe that they are on the right tract toward self and community development. Not once have I sensed the cheerful and fun atmosphere throughout the whole activity. From Food Program, I have learnt to value and recognize the devotion to community service and the satisfaction I gain in return. Sooner or later I believe that more people would apprehend Food Program and they would fully cherish the program as I and other volunteers do.

Happy B'Day To me-4th june 08

Happy Birthday To Me
Happy Birthday To Me
Happy Birthday Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday To Me

Chreang Tuk oy heuy.

From Speaking Club to Eating Club

If I'm not wrong, the Speaking Club of M2.1 has been operated since the start of semester 2. The club consists of Pooh, Longdy, Dona and I as member. From the birth of the club until now, we have conducted around 4 successful sessions. However, for the last few months, eating out has been replacing the speaking activities though we do speak (in khmer) during the eating time. Because our club is operated during lunch time at PIZZA Company which is just a 5 min-walk from IFL. Haha.....I guess we should make a slight change to our club name, from SPEAKING to EATING.

BTW because there are only 4 members in our club, I think we should take in more people. Here is a draft for Membership Qualification

If you are....

- good at eating (this doesn't necessary apply to eating pizza since ration is limited)
-able to drink more than 3 glasses of coke
-willing to pay for the organizers' meal (the most important requirement)
-have good interpersonal skills, brilliant at chatting and gossiping and teasing
-can stand being at Pizza com and other cafes for long hours
-free every or almost every Saturday lunch time

you are welcome to join our EATING CLUB
Send your CV to the Institute of Foreign Languages, Room C01, Class M2.1.

We're looking forward to ur participation.
Regards,
EATING CLUB's Representative

Useless, Boring, Uninteresting-My life.

This past few days, I found my life very unhappy and wasted. I've been very busy with assignments, and other work, yet I dunno what to do when I'm at home. Instead I let myself spending time uselessly sleeping and doing nothing. My academic performance is getting down now but I seem not to care much. Of course, I want to achieve a high academic record; however, each day pass with me doing nothing in my self-study time. At night, I would just watch tv or read story books and then sleep, nothing to do with reviewing the lessons or doing homework even if I have one. Now I feel very bored with my study, with my life. I wish I was more hardworking...Only if there was someone to push me.

I feel M getting out of M2.1 more and more. Everyone has sth to talk with friends, but I dun. Today, I got headache, felt sleepy, tireless and boring. Teacher WS noticed this and asked me if everything was fine. I lied that I was Ok. But he said no I wasnt fine and suggested that I went home earlier and took a good rest. I didnt leave school early but I skipped my Japanese Language Class.

Internet Party and IT Exhibition

Here I am, at the Internet Party and IT Exhibition held at Sovanna Mall. I'm using a free internet access at the exhibition. The speed is very fast. Sound Fun huh? The music is beating, people are talkingI feel quite lonely, being alone and seeing no one at the exhibition.

Soccer's Fan

Soccer has been my favourite sport since its 1998 Fifa World Cup in France. It's not that I like playing soccer, just an enthusiastic spectator. It's thrilling watching the match even from tele. Whenever the ball is about to be shoot, I wouldnt stay still or sometimes shout. Crazy, arent I? Often receive scolding from mum. Non-girlish behavior, she often says. But who cares? It's just so damn breathtaking watching how the handsome player shoot the ball and seeing how perfect the ball goes into the net...

Unluckily there's no cable tv at my home! if not I wouldnt sleep at all. Apparently I've been wanting to watch the final Champion League's match. It will be deadly compelling with MANU vs Chelsea. Oh God! Such a regret! Also, I'm looking forward to this year European Match, another famous tournament! I remembered the last two year's match which took me up as late as 3 or 4 AM.

Of all matches I've seen, I love the one between Brazil and France in World Cup 2006 the most. It was extremely amazing all along. Back then Zidane was my favourite player due to his excellent skills of leading his French Team and his technique in passing the ball. Since he's quited the national team, I dun see much of his playing. And now guess who is my super hero in soccer? Well it's no one than the famous Christiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese and precious diamond of Manu. He costs up to $200million! Haha, that's a part of the reasons I wanna watch the last match in Champion League.

P.S. But Ronaldo's bit arrogant I think.

Emergency Aid's workshop/training

Few months ago, there was a 3 year-old girl in front of my house who drowned in the bathroom's pool right in her house. She was playing in the bathroom when she fell into the pool (arng tek). We didnt know how long she was in the pool before her dad discovered. But she was breathing very hard at that time. The little girl was laid on a bamboo bed outside her house with many neighbors surrounding her. However, none of them knew how to rescue the poor little girl. They tried this and that method, still the girl's situation didnt improve. After several attempts, the parents decided to take her to the nearest clinic. But everything was too late. The doctor tried his best but couldnt rescue her. Because she was just 3 years old, there was no ceremony for her parting. At that time I thought to myself, If only I or just one among the villagers had knowledge about EMERGENCY AID, the little girl's fate might have been different.

It was the time I recognized the importance of Emergency Aid's Education. It is not included in our school curriculum, neither anyone tells us how to react/help in this emergency situation. This has lead me to an idea on how to prevent or reduce such a dreadful thing happens among others. Now I'm thinking of suggesting a workshop/project to either SYC Alumni Association or to the Initiatives of Change Association, both of which I am a volunteer. First we can find someone who is knowledgeable on this area. He/She/They can give training/lecture/Guides on how to react when accident happens. However, if this is not possible, they can just train us and we can transfer what we learn to the villagers (can be children or adults or both).

But there're few problems regarding this project. First we might not be able to find someone who know about EMERGENCY AID. Second it might be a hard work learning about emergency aid. Third, if we the young people have to teach the older villagers, they might take it as an offense and wouldnt want to join our workshop.

So I'd like to ask you guys opinions on this idea of mine. What do you think?

P.S What do you think Icebreaker? Since you're kind of an initiator of SYC alumni.

May 11th, Mother's Day

Hey guys! Any special plan for Mother's Day? For your respective beloved mummy?
Tomor, i'll surprise her with a lovely cake and cook her a dish of spaghetti....
And YOU?

Myanmar junta hands out aid boxes with generals' names, AP said

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military regime distributed international aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.

The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid, though the junta took over its first two shipments. The government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday, but foreign disaster experts still were being barred entry.

Despite international appeals to postpone a referendum on a controversial proposed constitution, voting began Saturday in all but the hardest hit parts of the country. With voters going to the polls, state-run television continuously ran images of top generals including junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, handing out boxes of aid at elaborate ceremonies.

"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the side of aid shipments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in the country.

"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in London.

State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.

The U.N. estimated that 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies.

With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.

The junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own.

Despite such obstacles, the U.N. refugee agency sent its first aid convoy by land into Myanmar on Saturday and began airlifting a 110 tons of shelter supplies from its warehouse in Dubai, it said.

Two trucks carrying more than 20 tons of tents and plastic sheets for some 10,000 cyclone victims crossed into the country from northwestern Thailand, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

"This convoy marks a positive step in an aid effort so far marked by challenges and constraints," said Raymond Hall, UNHCRs Representative in Thailand. "We hope it opens up a possible corridor to allow more international aid to reach the cyclone victims."

A total of 23 international agencies were providing aid to people in the devastated areas, said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

But a large number of organizations still were awaiting government clearance for more aid shipments, staff and transport.

"It's a race against the clock," Byrs said. "If the humanitarian aid does not get into the country on a larger scale, there's the risk of a second catastrophe," she said, adding that people could die from hunger and diseases.

Health experts have warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading because of the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.

Farmaner suggested that aid be delivered to the country, also known as Burma, even if the regime does not give its permission.

"We have had a week to convince the regime to behave reasonably, and they are still blocking aid," he said. "So the international community needs to wake up and take bolder steps."

However, aid providers are unlikely to pursue unilateral deliveries like airdrops because of the diplomatic firestorm that it could set off.

So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed Friday without incident.

The international Red Cross sent 31 tons of relief goods from Geneva Friday evening, including pumps, generators, water tanks and other water treatment equipment, as well as basic health care for about 10,000 people and surgery material, according to spokesman Marcal Izard.

The shipment was designated for those in labor camps and prisons, he said. He said the agency planned to distribute the aid in coordination with the Myanmar Red Cross, which is the leading relief agency in Myanmar.

The government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits — enough to feed 95,000 people — sent by the U.N. World Food Program. Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be confiscated, too.

"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.

Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Myanmar to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.

"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.

Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.

Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.

"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."

Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit May 3.

The government's abilities are limited. It has only a few dozen helicopters, most of which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.

"Not only don't they have the capacity to deliver assistance, they don't have experience," said Farmaner, the British aid worker. "It's already too late for many people. Every day of delays is costing thousands of lives."

A compensation?

Guess what? In the next two months, m going to fly to Seoul, South Korea, to join the Asia Pacific Youth Conference (APYC). Well, sometimes I think it kinda make up for not getting the peace scholarship. Haha...but I believe it'll be a great experience participating in this conference...Korean Guys so handsome***you see what I mean? kekeke

More about Mam Somaly

source: http://sofiasroyalsweden.blogspot.com/2008/04/queen-silvia-honoured-childrens-world.htmlource:

Sunday, 20 April 2008

Queen Silvia honoured children's world heroes

This past Friday at Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, a quaint town located beside Lake Mälaren in the Strängnäs municipality in Södermanland County, the Queen attended the annual prize awarding ceremony of The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC). The Swedish non-profit organisation Children's World, founded in 1979 (the UN Year of the Child) and based upon the UN Child Convention, founded the three prizes in 2000 which are awarded during a special ceremony with royal presence at Gripsholm Castle every year.

This year The World's Children's Prize, selected by a jury of children from 17 different countries, went to Somaly Mam of Cambodia. The second prize, the Global Friends' Award, which was decided upon in a global vote cast by 6, 593 335 children from around the world, also went to Somaly Mam. The third prize, The World's Children's Honorary Award, went to Agnes Stevens of the USA and Josefina Condori of Peru. The award ceremony offered dance and music from South Africa, Vietnam and Sweden, all in the presence of the award winners, the children's jury, invited guests and of course Her Majesty the Queen.



Josefina Condori has for more than 15 years been fighting for girls who work as maids in the city of Cusco in Peru, often in slave like conditions, after becoming a maid herself and separated from her family at the tender age of 7. Agnes Stevens devotes her life to helping homeless children in her country. At the time there are more than a million of them and Agnes helps her share by running School on Wheels which provides education, food, housing and love.

Somaly Mam from Cambodia, the evening's two-time award winner, has for the past 12 years devoted her life to saving girls who are sold as sex slaves to brothels and instead give them love, rehabilitation and education. Somaly was born into the small minority of phnong in the poorer south east parts of Cambodia in 1970, conditions were hard and at the age of only twelve she was sold to a local tradesman and later sold again as a sex slave to a brothel. If conditions had been hard growing up, her life became a nightmare at the brothel and Somaly had to suffer regular abuse and torture, and was regularly locked up. In the early 1990's she was rescued as she received help to escape from a French aid worker and received $ 3,000 from a male client which she used to buy all the girls at her brothel their freedom back. Ever since that day she has made the fight against the sex slave industry her life's mission and calling.

Through her non-profit NGO organisation AFESIP (Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire or Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), founded in 1997, Somaly and her husband work together with the police in Cambodia and several south east Asian countries to rescue, help and protect sex slaves, prostitutes, women and children from their work, rapes and torture. In 2007 she founded the USA based The Somaly Mam Foundation, a registered non-profit that aims at spreading global awareness and funding organisations that works against sex slavery and helps its victims.

Despite her status as something of a celebrity and one of the most well-known NGO activists in the world, all the prizes she has received (The Prince of Asturias Award 1998, Glamour Woman of the Year 2006), being a flag bearer in the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino and sitting on Tyra Banks' talk show sofa - Somaly will always carry her past with her.
- People thing I'm strong but I'm not. Inside I feel just as weak as the girls that we rescue, that cut themselves out of hatred for their bodies, she told Svenska Dagbladet in an interview this week.

The price she pays for her work can also be high. Somaly lives under constant death threats and two years ago the threats on her family became a real nightmare when her teenage daughter was kidnapped, drugged, raped and sold to a brothel neat the borders to Thailand But when she was found and re-united with her mom, Champa was the one who urged her to continue the fight:
- Mom, I have you all will be alright. But what will happen to all those other girls if you quit? she told Somaly.

So even if it sometimes feels hopeless for her, with corrupt officials who more or less supports the sex industry, repeated broken promises and the constant flow of new girls being sold to brothels, Somaly is not giving up. She has a mission for life.

(Pictures from the award ceremony by Elin Berge, the picture of Somaly Mam by Paul Blomgren, both via the official website of The World’s Children’s Prize)

Mam Somaly--from a sex slave to a highly distinguised woman.

I have just come across a text in a local magazine talking about Mrs Mam Somaly and her work. Though it is not the first time I heard her name, very little have I known about her life. She has written an autobiography called "The Road of Lost Innocence" (which I want to read so much). She has also found an organization helping girls out of sex slave in Cambodia. Actually she used to be a victim herself.. She is such an incredible woman that I cant help sharing with you.

For further information, pls go to http//:www.somaly.org

Somaly Mam

Born in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia, Somaly Mam began her life in poverty. Twelve years later, her "grandfather" sold her into slavery. She was forced to work in a brothel, where she faced torture and sexual abuse on a daily basis. Then one night, she watched a pimp murder her close friend, and she made it her mission to escape her enslavement. After Somaly broke free from her captors, she worked as a midwife at Choup District Hospital in Cambodia. A few years later, she traveled to France and found that her most rewarding experiences occurred when she devoted herself to social work. Haunted by her experiences and determined to make a difference, Somaly returned to Cambodia and established a non-governmental organization called “Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire (AFESIP),” translated in English: “Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances.” She became co-founder of AFESIP and president of AFESIP Cambodia in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

Somaly is now one of the most prolific activists fighting sexual slavery. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year for 2006, CNN Hero, and recognition from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She lives in Cambodia where she continues to risk her life to rescue the victims of sexual slavery and help them realize free and fulfilling lives.

The Somaly Mam Foundation

The Somaly Mam Foundation combats the illegal trade by funding organizations that rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate these young girls. All organizations funded by the Somaly Mam Foundation are audited operationally and financially – AFESIP Cambodia is currently the primary beneficiary. The Foundation’s mission includes raising awareness through a multi-level marketing and educational campaign consisting of online interaction, celebrity voices, high-profile events, media exposure, university clubs, and a central source of educational information. The foundation’s ambitious vision of ending sexual slavery requires the support of an active community. The foundation is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

An Absent-Minded University Student.

Tomorrow, there'll be GS Revision Test 1.
The Test gonna be deadly challenging.
I need to memorize many points, though it's boring to do so.
Up until now, I havent reviewed the lessons, nor have I touched the textbook.
Instead I am sitting in front of the pc screen, typing this post...
y dun i hold my GS text book and start to read?

Damn IT! After help decorating the stage for Clean-Up Day last Friday's evening, I left IFL holding T-shirt to be worn on Clean-Up Day but not my Folder, CE Textbook, and worst of All GS Textbook.

Now my stuff is at Dalin's home.
However, she is enjoying a party at PUC.
She wont be back home until 3.30PM

Oh! How clumsy and absent-minded I am!
Gonna fail Tomor.

A Dilemma

Last wednesday, i was in this kind of dilemma, whether to pay for japanese language course at CJCC or not. To be simpler, I was thinking if I should stop studying japanese at CJCC like my many other friends. Here are what kept popping in my head:

I should stop bcos japanese is hell difficult. Nay! It's because You never review the lesson.
I dun have enough time when I start a course at PUC. Nay! The course starts in july. By then u will be on holiday at IFL girl...quite free
Though you go on studying, you wont get a certificate. Fail to meet the Attendance Policy already. Nay! You still can study there, not to get any certificate, but to learn the language.
I wont use japanese in the future, no need to study. Well...dun you think that japanese songs sound awesome?

Finally, i still havent decided yet. Then at 11AM, cjcc staff called me and confirmed bout the deadline of contribution payment. I lied that I forgot and would pay later at noon. Walking to japanese class, I met a guy who was also in the same japanese class with me. Like me, he wasnt sure whether to go on fighting or stop. We made up this and that excuses, but unsuccessful to convince us that we should stop studying...

Eventually, I went up to the reception desk, asked to meet the cashier, got 41$ out and paid. In fact the full one year fee is 75, I paid half the fee in case that dilemma merges again in the future.

haha...after paying, It quite a relief...I dun need to worry anymore. Just Go on studying!

Facts about Afghanistan

Having read two afghan novels by the same author--Khaled Hosseini, I've been taking lots of interest about this country. Here are something i understand about this country:

1. It locates in Central Asia
2. It's been having war since '70s. (invasion from Russia, civil war, then war with the US)
3. There are several ethnic groups. The majority is the Pashtun. The unlucky one is the Hazara, a decent from mongolis and who has been looked down by the other groups esp. the powerful Pashtun.
4. When the country fell into the hand of taliban, many strict rules limiting women's freedom was imposed. Some of them were: women could not go to work to earn living even their husbands had passed away, women must not show faces in public, must not go out without accompany my male relatives...,etc.
5. The hazara was cruelly treated.
6. Afghan people are very good at trading.
7. The 2000 year-old Buddha statue in Bamyan was blown into pieces by the taliban gunmen.
8. It used to be and now still is a beautiful place with scenic natural views. I hope that violence in Afghanistan will be ceased soon...

P.S More to be added...

Our most famous pop star in Wiki.

Preap Sovath

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Preap Sovath
Background information
Born	February 27, 1972 (1972-02-27) (age 36) Kandal, Cambodia
Genre(s)	Cambodian Music (various genres of music)
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actor
Years active	1992 - Present
Label(s)	Rasmey Hang Meas Production

Preap Sovath (ព្រាប សុវត្ថិ) (also spelled Preap Savat) (born February 27, 1972) is known as the most popular singer in Cambodia today. He records for Cambodian production company Rasmey Hang Meas, generally regarded as Cambodia's most progressive recording label.

Preap Sovath performs the style of music known as "Khmer Karaoke", the name derives from the fact that most sales are of VCDs rather than CDs and all VCD film clips come with karaoke-style subtitled lyrics.

Preap Sovath generally eschews strictly traditional Khmer songs and musical styles, instead his music appeals directly to Cambodia's youth. He is arguably the most popular performer on Cambodia's many televised anthology-style live concert programmes and holds residencies at Phnom Penh's most fashionable upscale nightclubs.

[edit] Best of the Best: Live Concert

Best of the Best: Live Concert is a concert performed at a football(soccer) stadium by all the present Cambodian singers from RHM. This occurs annually and it's known to start in 2004. Preap Sovath is one of the main performers in this concert. It is not rare to see fans climb onto stage and give the performers gifts, or ask for an autograph or picture. The concert is also free to the public, the company profit gains are from sales of the DVD or CD that is sold soon afterwards in Cambodia and overseas.

[edit] Visit to the United States

In 2006, Preap Sovath & some other singers from Cambodia came to the United States & performed in some concerts. One of these concerts was in a restaurant. The places he traveled to are:

Lowell, Massachusetts

San Jose, California

Stockton, California

Fremont, California

Portland, Oregon

Seattle, Washington

(Not in any order)

Admission to the door was $50 per person.

Clean-Up at IFL

For those who cannot join this year Clean-Up day at IFL, here is another piece of news that would make you wanna.... haha...this saturday's meeting of the organizing committee, our devoted members have browsed up lots of new but fun activities like short clean- skits, quiz but with new style of competing (cant tell), discussion....However, it's unfortunate that I won't be able to join till the very last moment of the day since I have to dash to Takhmao town to help giving presentation about SYC...heuy cannt dance as much as i want to...but at least luckier than you guys abroad...enjoy ur homework+projects+assignments tov na....

Collecting...

You guys know what? Apart from reading book, my another activity is collecting coins and post card...Up to now, I have collected coins from in Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, and Mexico. They are in different value ranging from 5 cent to 1 dollars or 1baht for thai currency...
Regarding postcard, now I have several cards of some beautiful places/views in Cambodia, Hochiminh City, and of course in Uniquely Singapore. I dun have many cards since I dun travel abroad that lots. But if i have chance, the first thing i think of shopping for is Postcard.

I also appreciate you guys who are living abroad to donate some coins and postcards to my collection as well...that would be a nice gift.

At last....

At last, the result of peace scholarship has been announced....
I have never imagined that I am that upset knowing that I don't get it, though I have told myself that I did make a considerable mistakes.

Dara, you know Yan Sophea got the scholarship na. Good for her...
Congratulation to her Anyway.....

Now i need to cheer myself up! anyone know how?

I'm Back

it's been a while I havent posted anything. Not that the new year celebration kept me busy, it was just that I was lazy...You guys wanna know what i was doing during the long holiday? Here it is:

Holiday's Activities = Slept*Ate + Ate*Slept + Slept*Watch+Watch*Slept+ Slept*Read+Read*Slept.

Fun?

Clean Up day Coming

3^rd Clean-Up Day

I Date and time: Saturday May 03, 2008 from 8:00 am

I Theme: “Clean Inside Out”

I

Possible activities: 1) Sweeping, Cleaning, and Clearing

2) Environment Talk

3) Environment Quiz

4) Friendship Lunch

5) Open Discussion

6) Environment Exhibit

7) Environment Joke Contest

8) Environment Slogan Contest

9) Environmentally-friendly Entertainment

I Required things: 1) Your physical presence

2) A bucket, a mop, and a few cleaning sponges for each class

3) Clothes suitable for cleaning work

4) Your OWN box of lunch

I Suggested things: 1) A litter grabber

2) A hat and/or a pair of sun glasses

I Voluntary things: Contribution financial or material (Contact Mr. Roth Hok in person)

I Registration: Register and/or submit your applications for environment quiz, slogan, and/or joke

contests in Room 03 not later than Saturday 26 April, 2008

Two Amazing & Unforgettable Saturdays

Saturdays of the last two weeks were quite two BLISSFUL days for me...So what were going on?

Well...first let's start with Sat/29/March.

As most of you guys know, it was IFL's annual Cultural Day and the New Year Celebration. As member of the organizing committee, I had to help preparing the stage a day before the celebration. It kinda of fun. Silin, I, and Maria started to help since 2pm on Friday. At 7.30pm, with the fabulous work of M2.1 team (Dona the hero, Longdy the laziest, Maria the bossy-est, Dalin the pooh's most obsessed, and I the nicest.) v were able to complete decorating the stage at 7.40pm. Lecturers just popped in once in while to check.

On the day of the celebration, which was saturday the 29th, v went to IFL early in the morning, making a final change to the stage in response to Lecturer Roth Hok's Request. Throughout the whole day, except that during lunch time, v were having a great time. Everybody was laughing, dancing, singing, playing.....You could imagine our joy on that day by just seeing our smiles here in the pics. Never have I ever seen them smiling like that....The celebration ended around 6.30PM with Dalin, Dona, Longdy, Chhay and I dancing till the very last moment. Then v moved on to have glassess of refilled coke at Pizza Com nearby....What a tiring but wonderful day...


Now comes with Sat/05/March

As usual, Longdy and I attended the debate club, which lasted from 7.30 till 11 (however, Longdy didnt show up until 9, resulting from his night dancing party at PUC, I guessed). Some of M2.1 came to IFL as well to make their GS group discussion or just to have fun with friends. Seem like our habit of taking pics would never leave us. Jam angkal! Panha brought his Camera de ta! For nearly half an hour we did nothing but took pic, pic, pic.

Now that it was lunchtime, some of us agreed to go to Pizza Com (again). There, v ordered the refilled glass of coke; did hammer, scissor and paper; n the one who lost had to finish the coke in that big glass. Haha...guess who lost most of the game? Longdy... In fact, it was his purpose to lose so that he ot kart luy tinh koka refilled te. He drank up to 5 glasses i guess...V stayed there from 11.30 till 3. Then it came to the playing time at Silin's house. At her house, v still sticked to our traditional game--leng LOTTO. Haha...men arch kvas ban te... V also played ANG KUNH, 3-1, ...etc. They stayed until 6.30 and went to eat soup till 7.30. What a regret cos I left at around 5.30, unluckily, couldn't join any more. Nevertheless, it was the Saturday filled with fun, and pleasure. Hope this saturday, we would have this fun time again!

This blog is subscribed from the blog of SokHour. Pls find the link on the left-hand side.

Emotional Story about Family and Work

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.

SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.100 an hour."

SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.50?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs.50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier" said the man."It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.. Here's the Rs.50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father."

Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have Rs.100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.Do remember to share that Rs.100 worth of your time with someone you love?

Star of the Killing Field died...

By RICHARD PYLE, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK -yahoo news!

Dith Pran, the Cambodian-born journalist whose harrowing tale of enslavement and eventual escape from that country's murderous Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in 1979 became the subject of the award-winning film "The Killing Fields," died Sunday, his former colleague said.

Dith, 65, died at a New Jersey hospital Sunday morning of pancreatic cancer, according to Sydney Schanberg, his former colleague at The New York Times. Dith had been diagnosed almost three months ago.
Dith was working as an interpreter and assistant for Schanberg in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, when the Vietnam War reached its chaotic end in April 1975 and both countries were taken over by Communist forces.
Schanberg helped Dith's family get out but was forced to leave his friend behind after the capital fell; they were not reunited until Dith escaped four and a half years later. Eventually, Dith resettled in the United States and went to work as a photographer for the Times.
It was Dith himself who coined the term "killing fields" for the horrifying clusters of corpses and skeletal remains of victims he encountered on his desperate journey to freedom.
The regime of Pol Pot, bent on turning Cambodia back into a strictly agrarian society, and his Communist zealots were blamed for the deaths of nearly 2 million of Cambodia's 7 million people.
"That was the phrase he used from the very first day, during our wondrous reunion in the refugee camp," Schanberg said later.
With thousands being executed simply for manifesting signs of intellect or Western influence — even wearing glasses or wristwatches — Dith survived by masquerading as an uneducated peasant, toiling in the fields and subsisting on as little as a mouthful of rice a day, and whatever small animals he could catch.
After Dith moved to the U.S., he became a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and founded the Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project, dedicated to educating people on the history of the Khmer Rouge regime.
He was "the most patriotic American photographer I've ever met, always talking about how he loves America," said AP photographer Paul Sakuma, who knew Dith through their work with the Asian American Journalists Association.
Schanberg described Dith's ordeal and salvation in a 1980 magazine article titled "The Death and Life of Dith Pran." Schanberg's reporting from Phnom Penh had earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1976.
Later a book, the magazine article became the basis for "The Killing Fields," the highly successful 1984 British film starring Sam Waterston as the Times correspondent and Haing S. Ngor, another Cambodian escapee from the Khmer Rouge, as Dith Pran.
The film won three Oscars, including the best supporting actor award to Ngor. Ngor, a physician, was shot to death in 1996 during a robbery outside his Los Angeles home. Three Asian gang members were convicted of the crime.
"Pran was a true reporter, a fighter for the truth and for his people," Schanberg said. "When cancer struck, he fought for his life again. And he did it with the same Buddhist calm and courage and positive spirit that made my brother so special."
Dith spoke of his illness in a March interview with The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., saying he was determined to fight against the odds and urging others to get tested for cancer.
"I want to save lives, including my own, but Cambodians believe we just rent this body," he said. "It is just a house for the spirit, and if the house is full of termites, it is time to leave."
Dith Pran was born Sept. 27, 1942 at Siem Reap, site of the famed 12th century ruins of Angkor Wat. Educated in French and English, he worked as an interpreter for U.S. officials in Phnom Penh. As with many Asians, the family name, Dith, came first, but he was known by his given name, Pran.
After Cambodia's leader, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, broke off relations with the United States in 1965, Dith worked at other jobs. When Sihanouk was deposed in a 1970 coup and Cambodian troops went to war with the Khmer Rouge, Dith returned to Phom Penh and worked as an interpreter for Times reporters.
In 1972, he and Schanberg, then newly arrived, were the first journalists to discover the devastation of a U.S. bombing attack on Neak Leung, a vital river crossing on the highway linking Phnom Penh with eastern Cambodia.
Dith recalled in a 2003 article for the Times what it was like to watch U.S. planes attacking enemy targets.
"If you didn't think about the danger, it looked like a performance," he said. "It was beautiful, like fireworks. War is beautiful if you don't get killed. But because you know it's going to kill, it's no longer beautiful."
After Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia in 1979 and seized control of territory, Dith escaped from a commune near Siem Reap and trekked 40 miles, dodging both Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge forces, to reach a border refugee camp in Thailand.
From the Thai camp he sent a message to Schanberg, who rushed from the United States for an emotional reunion with the trusted friend he felt he had abandoned four years earlier.
"I had searched for four years for any scrap of information about Pran," Schanberg said. "I was losing hope. His emergence in October 1979 felt like an actual miracle for me. It restored my life."
After Dith moved to the U.S., the Times hired him and put him in the photo department as a trainee. The veteran staffers "took him under their wing and taught him how to survive on the streets of New York as a photographer, how to see things," said Times photographer Marilynn Yee.
Yee recalled an incident early in Dith's new career as a photojournalist when, after working the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, he was robbed at gunpoint of all his camera equipment at the back door of his apartment.
"He survived everything in Cambodia and he survived that too," she said, adding, "He never had to work the night shift again."
Dith spoke and wrote often about his wartime experience and remained an outspoken critic of the Khmer Rouge regime.
When Pol Pot died in 1998, Dith said he was saddened that the dictator was never held accountable for the genocide.
"The Jewish people's search for justice did not end with the death of Hitler and the Cambodian people's search for justice doesn't end with Pol Pot," he said.
Dith's survivors include his companion, Bette Parslow; his former wife, Meoun Ser Dith; a sister, Samproeuth Dith Nop; sons Titony, Titonath and Titonel; daughter Hemkarey Dith Tan; six grandchildren including a boy named Sydney; and two step-grandchildren.
Dith's three brothers were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
___
AP News Research Center contributed to this report.

Book I'm reading...

When jockey Martin Stukely dies after falling in a steeplechase at Cheltenham races, he accidentally embroils his friend Gerard Logan in a perilous search for a stolen video tape. Logan, half artist, half artisan, is a glass blower on the verge of widespread acclaim for the originality and ingenuity of his work. Long accustomed to the frightful dangers inherent in molten glass and in maintaining a glass-making furnace at never less than eighteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit, Logan is suddenly faced with a series of unexpected and terrifying new threats to his business, his courage and his life. Believing the missing video tape to hold some sort of key to a priceless treasure, and wrongly convinced that Logan knows where to find it, a group of villains sets out to force from him the information he doesn't have. Narrowly escaping these attacks, Logan reckons that to survive he must himself find out the truth. The journey is thorny, and the final race to the tape throws more hurdles and more hazards in Logan's way than his dead jockey friend could ever have imagined. Glass shatters. Logan doesn't...but it's a close run thing.

Interesting Thing about US presidental election

If...
* McCain, from the Republican party is elected, he will be the oldest first-term US president (72 years old this july)
*Obama is elected, he will be the first black president ever elected in the US
*Clinton is elected, she wiull be the first female president of the US

Interesting right?

Big day is coming...

Guys, guess what the big day is? It's the Khmer New Year Celebration at IFL. It's going to be on this saturday. Some new events have been put up, while some old are cancelled. Just wait and see...

P.S for guys who are living abroad, what a pity! you cannot join! but you are welcome to give contribution, either in cash or material. Contact me directly.

For Your info...

Hey guys check out on this website...it's cool. You make lists of books you own, have read, wish to read...

http://shelfari.com

Problems

No life is as easy as eating soup with spoon. In fact, we always confront with problems; that's real life. Problem! People tend to face/cope with a problem in different ways. Some choose to resent it, run away from it, or even deny the presence of problem in their life. Others understand more about life, so they accept the challenges in life. I, no different from other, used to feel very dreadful towards problems that come hamping me from reaching my goal. Mostly, I was afraid to apply for scholarship or enter any competition; I was really afraid of failures, afraid of the pain I would receive if I failed to pass. Even if I was on my way in reaching my goal, upon facing a problem, I felt so undermined that I gave up doing things. It is until recently that I have learnt to see problem as a testing machine, the one that helps me build my mental strength.

Since commencing uni, I have always longed for Peace Scholarship. Maybe, bcos it doesn't require applicant to sit in an examination or interview that urge me to try for the scholarship. Another thing is that, compared to other scholarships, I think I stand a better chance winning. I spent a great deal of time writing a 500-word essay, and filled in a 9-page application form. However, procrastination still haunted me. It was until the very last day, the deadline, that i managed to submit my application forms.

After submitting all necessary files, I reflected from when i started to work on Peace Scholarship application. I realized that I have solved many problems during the process. I have learnt to see problems more positively. I have come to consider problems as the way god uses to test my talents, to make me more mature, and capable of handling hardship enthusiastically.

So now I am ready to accept the result of my hard work, whether or not it is the grant of a 2 semester scholarship to Australia. If I dont get it, it's ok cos I still have another chance next year...

For Your Information

Essay competition 2008

[English] [Español] [Português] [Français] []

Young voices in research for health

The Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet are holding their third joint essay competition for the under-30s on the theme:

Climate change and health: research challenges for the health of vulnerable populations

Rules and guidelines

• Authors must have been born on or after 1 January 1978.
• Each author may submit one essay only.
• Essays may be submitted in English or French and should be 1500 words maximum.
• Essays must be based on the author’s own ideas and not be derived from another source.
• Essays must not have been previously published.
• Entries are individual (i.e., the work of a single author).
• They should include original, even provocative ideas and not be technical or academic texts: tables, charts and figures are probably not necessary; references should be limited.
• Authors are free to be idealistic, passionate, to take established practices to task, albeit in a constructive fashion.
• Within the context of research for health, the theme allows authors to include any aspect that interests them particularly – for example, extreme weather, natural disasters, fuels and energy, transport, water management, vectors, food production, demographics, urban planning, security.

Deadlines

• The deadline for receipt of entries is 30 April 2008.
• A shortlist will be announced by the end of June. Shortlisted authors will be asked to provide a high quality photograph and to confirm original authorship and date of birth.
• The winners will be notified by the beginning of August 2008. The judges’ decision will be final.

Prizes

• A selection of shortlisted essays will be published in an anthology as well as on the Global Forum and Lancet websites.
• Winners will be invited to take part (with all expenses paid) in the Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health, which will take place in Bamako, Mali, from 17 to 19 November 2008.

Staff members of the Global Forum or of the Lancet or their immediate families are ineligible to enter the competition, as are authors of shortlisted essays published in 2006 and 2007.

For any questions, please contact susan.jupp@globalforumhealth.org or f.mclellan@elsevier.com

G' Bye Kanitha

No meeting has no end. Sooner or later, the one who used to talk with us, joke with us, and even argue with us would have to leave to take another step in life (study, work,...etc). However, one thing that make the meeting unforgettable is that everyone would still hold memories of those sweet and bitter moment we used to cherish together, a memories that would stay with us forever.
S0...Kanitha, though u no longer physically be with us, laugh with us in class....remember this: you were, you are, and you will always belong to our crazy class, no matter it is M1.1, M2.1, M3.1 or M4.1. You will always be welcome if you find time to visit Cambodia again, and dun forget to drop in our class...

Have a safe journey
Enjoy your study and life in London
And Enjoy the reunion with ur sis and Dara (you lucky to have K1 going to London, Dara!)
Bye :-))

Selective Quotes of George Owell

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.

To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning.

Political language -- and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?

War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.

The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.

Just A Simple Quiz for You

It doesn't make sense: We blow on our hands to warm them when they are cold, but we blow on our food to cool it when it's hot.

*** How can blowing make things both hot and cold? :-))

M Back

M back! Sorry for being away so long...YOu guys must miss me right?
Oh...and Da, sorry I didnt keep my promise.
This post is to make up for my absent
Enjoy
Hope you not get tired of reading it na.

World’s Bank Conference—03/Dec/07

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My last day at Cambokids and VI joint project—27/Dec/07

It was my last day with Veteran International as a volunteer from Cambokids Association, since Cambokids would finish it project at the end of the year. I was some kind of sad to say goodbye to those kids, because they were fun to play with and maybe because they liked me. Well, indeed, though I hadn’t spent time at VI much, those kids remembered me quite well, thanks to my nature of being friendly and outgoing :-)) (Readers, do you believe me?)

Relative Reunion at my mum’s cousin’s house—30/12/2007

It was great to see many of our relatives again, wasn’t it? In fact, at the party, I had a chance to see many of great-granda’s children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, grandnephews/nieces, great-grandchildren…etc. The list was quite long. Especially, I got to see my granduncle and grandaunt, uncles and their wife, and my many cousins from Canada. The whole evening was filled with fun, jokes, laughter’s from all of us. Having joined this reunion party made me realize that, oh preah chi mjas, my now 92-year-old great grandma had nearly a hundred of KON CHAO, which of course means that I had lots and lots of relatives. Oh and one interesting thing you might want to know is that at the table where I sat and had dinner with a bunch of my young uncle, young aunt, and young cousins was the table with the many cans of coke and beer. We, the youngsters, just kept eating and drinking until having every empty can placed completely around the so-called flat glass for moving food around the table (sorry no idea what the English calls this).

A joint party( friend’s reunion and friends’ b’days) at Huong’s flat—01/01/08

Haha…It seemed my life was pretty busy with parties those past few days. Actually, I had been very very busy on the first day of the new year 2008. From morning till evening, my schedule of that day was totally no empty space. In the morning, I helped my friends cooking, though not much help, slipped out with Longdy and Theary to buy cake for the three pretty girls whose birthday were on the SAME month, December. Actually just to make up for not having bought the presents for them as we were quite busy and BROKE. Also, I even had a chance, slipping to meet with lecturer NPD since he promised to take me to the TASK/HALO project’s office at 11. And I was also to say goodbye and gave him a farewell card as well, because he would leave for Australia to pursue his dual master’s degrees. Then bout 20mins later, here I was back at Huong’s beautiful flat and continued the party. The food was delicious since we had roast shrimps, chicks, meats and of course cans of coke—my favourite drinks. At about 4, it was time for surprising, eating or fighting to eat cake. If you had seen the video how we fighted for the cake, I believe you would think that we were some kind of poor street people who hadn’t eaten anything for weeks, geee. I’ll try to get in to youtube and attached it with this post for you, if I can.

Da’s Bro’s Wedding Party—02/01/08

I might not need to report much bout this big event since you will find detail bout the party in both Da’s and Longdy’s blog. Just to show you guys how meaningful my life is! HasHa

Stationary Support to rural Children at Phnom Da, Angkor Borei—12/01/08

Here is another piece of my community activity. With the Initiatives of Change, I and other young and old volunteers went to distribute stationary to 240 students from 4 rural primary schools in Angkor Borei, the place believed to be the start of Cambodian History. There were around of 25 volunteer, 10 of whom were foreigners, joined this trip. The road to the site was heavenly bumpy! We even got lost twice before arriving at Phnom Da in our 25-seat mini bus. Then we took another half-an-hour boat trip to Angkor Borei primary school, if I was not mistaken. In fact, I was unsuccessfully snapped the picture of the school’s gate, sorry guys. Because we got lost twice, we arrived quite late until 11. And guess what? Students had been waiting for us since 9. So we started our coming activities right away. We started with students singing our national anthem. If you were there, you would find it amazing listening to those kids singing, very fast and kind of messy (I dun mean to be negative about them as I found it new, fun and cheerful listening to their singing, believe me. Then came with short welcome speech by the village chief, school principle, Vice-President of ICA, project organizer, and last ME. It was my very first time delivering such a formal speech in front of many people. Though I only had half an hour prepared what I would be saying, I thought I did it quite well, maybe because it was in Khmer, and I was fluent with Khmer language :-)). After speeches, we distributed the stationary package to every one include teachers and villagers.

I think this trip is one of my most memorable trip I have made so far. It was my first time directly interacting with villagers in rural area. Also two things really upset, intrigue, and inspire me. Firstly, I felt both pitiful and inspiring seeing classrooms at the school. Guess what? There were only 4 rooms at that primary school, but students there ranged from grade 1 to grade 6 in both shifts. How come they learn? It was what I call double classes in a single room. Get what I mean? Well, it is operated like this. In one room and at the same time, two classes learn together. Students from one class face, let say, the north, while the others from another class face the south. Students from the two classes, but studying in the sharing room, have to take turn read lessons out loud. You might wonder why I was inspired by this. Actually, I really admire those kids, hard-working and knowledge-grapping kids. In spite of the many obstacles they are facing, they do not give up their hope of getting educated. Many of you, Cambodian, might know that villages at Angkor Borei is half-a-year dry and half-a-year flooded right? This means that schools there last bout 6 months only, whereas the normal one lasts 4 months longer. And students from faraway villages need to take boat as a mean to go to school. What overwhelmed me the most bout it was the sense of helping each other that is rarely found back in the crowded city. It was the older students who propelled and navigated the boat while the younger kids and teachers were passengers. I really like this unique scene (and even drop a small tear of joy!).

One Fabulous Week with My new 8 Mexican Friends

#3 At Veteran International again, but not as a Cambokids Volunteer—31/02/08

I got a very great chance to assist 8 Mexican friends during their stay and volunteer activities in Phnom Penh. On Jan 31, we had an activity at Veteran International to play with the kids. It was fantastic to see kids there again. And even more fantastic when they still remembered me and asked why I no longer showed up on Thursdays as before. Oh, I was very popular, see? After, filling in the colors to the computerized drawings, our Mexican fellows organized games to entertain those little kids. We really had lots and lots of fun playing and taking pictures together.

# 4 At Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum—01/Feb/08

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Note: T0 be continued..........
and Photos will be attached later