SREYPICH CHAN: ROTARACT CLUB OF SIEM REAP

Hello Sue and member of the Rotary Club of Port Phillip
I hope you are doing well and staying healthy!
I can’t wait to email you about my journey in November. Time flies so fast, I completed many activities in November, including my study and volunteer work. I have been through many activities that have taught me a lot even though they are bad or good things and I hope you enjoy reading my emails this month.

Let’s start with my important thing in November is my education at both Universities and extra classes (Chinese and TDSO class). I have completed my midterm exams already and the results are acceptable for me as I got 100/100 in Budgeting class, 86/100 in Macroeconomics class as well as 92/100 in Technical Writing class. I said it was acceptable for me because I don’t expect that I can get this score because the subject is very hard to understand especially Macroeconomics and Budgeting. I also mentioned in my previous email that it is really hard to catch up with the lesson. It requires us to understand deeply about their concepts not just to know the methods to solve the problem because case by case is really critical. Sadly, I got only 86/100 in Macroeconomics class. Anyway, I will try my best to study hard to get a good result in the final exam. Back to the TDSO class is a very enjoyable class. I always learn something new every session from my classmates, especially my teacher, she always brings up new content for us to learn and improve our English as well. Yesterday, she provided us with one project talking about community problems then all the students formed a pair to find causes and effects on the community problem. Unfortunately, my team and I enjoyed this topic very much while we shared it with other groups. We have been talking in English for one hour and I was so surprised that we could have a long conversation in English. I have noticed that even sometimes we use the wrong grammar or pronunciation but we continue to encourage each other and it was very helpful to improve our language and confidence. However, I committed to studying hard and did my best to get a better result in the final exam.

 

Besides this, I have an opportunity to host guests to join our Family Support program. It was a good opportunity to bring Harry who is our guest and comes from Australia to visit Mrs.San Chek’s and Mrs.Pek Pheap’s family in the Angkor Thom district. Both of these families were in a hard situation and had many children in their responsibility, especially Mrs.Pek Pheap’s family. She is the widow who raised four children on her own. She decided to divorce her husband because he cheated on her and always used violence on her when he was drunk. After that, she tried her best to raise her kids by herself and send them to school even though she got a little income but she never gave up. More than this, her children are very smart and intelligent kids that I have never seen before. They understand their mother's situation clearly, so they try their best to help their mother as much as possible. Harry was emotional when he heard that 13 and 11-year-old kids carry their youngest brother to school with them every day because no one can look after their brother after their mom goes to work. Harry is really proud of Mrs.Pek Pheap because she is a very strong lady who stays in tough conditions but she never gives up on herself. She can do everything, even get a little income to support her children’s education. She is very inspiring to others, including me. I used to be upset about my life because I was born in hard family conditions but I forgot to look at other people who also stayed in harder conditions than mine but they still fight for their life. I hope Mrs. Pek Pheap is in good health and stays strong to support her kids. I really want to see all the kids grow up and have a brighter future.

    

Last but not least, I have a chance to visit my family during the water festival in early November at Mondulkiri province. It was a special trip for me as I could celebrate the water festival with my family and join my cousin's wedding day at the same time. I left from Siem Reap at 4th in the morning and arrived at Mondulkiri around 5:30PM. Along the road, I have enjoyed the music, reading novels, snacks, and a beautiful view as well. It has a lot of mountains and big trees including rain, so it becomes cloudy and sunset. It was the most amazing sunset that I have ever seen before. When I arrived at the bus station, I saw my mom and aunt waiting for me with a big smile. During this trip, I have had a lot of chances to enjoy time with my family, especially my parents whom I haven’t met since the Khmer New Year last year. I was raised by my grandparents since I was young until I finished high school, so I didn't have time to spend with my parents like others but I love them so much. I know they sacrifice a lot for our family, they can do everything to afford my brother and me. I really appreciate them even though they didn't spend time with me like other parents but I know their purpose is just to want me to get a better future. Back to our trip, we went to the Bousra waterfall together, including my uncle’s friends as well. During that day a lot of people went to visit Bousra waterfall and many foreigners as well. It was a very huge waterfall that could attract many tourists to go there. I have noticed that many sellers are ethnic minorities who collect fruit and vegetables from the forest to sell at the Bousra waterfall. More than this, they show us about their culture through their clothes, Dance, and their food as well. I am really excited to learn and see new things from them as well. After that, we also have a small party to enjoy a delicious BBQ that my mom and my aunt are preparing. By the way, I hope we can have a good time together again in the future.
Finally, I would like to say thank you so much for your valuable time reading my email every month. I wish you good health and happiness. I have also attached some photos of my activities and I hope you enjoy them.
 
Best Regards
Sreypich