Author - Dara Saoyuth

CambodiaCircles sponsoring Barcamp Phnom Penh 2011

Founded earlier this year by initiative members living in foreign country with the support of Cambodian taskforce in term of content providing, Cambodiacircles.com has a great honor to be a co-sponsor in the Barcamp Phnom Penh 2011, a two-day conference focusing on technology.

Barcamp 2011 banner

Cambodiacircles.com is struggling to be more than a social networking site for Cambodians by gathering 6 groups of people who share the same interest, activity, or achievement. They are professional groups, civil servants, NGOs, Academics, Business Owners, and the rest of us who are still studying or unemployed.

Everyone can check every content in our website though you are not our member; however, with the registration to be our member, you can do more than that. You are allowed to post your comments, share your wonderful photos, videos, likes, and participate in our discussion once you become our member.

Please try it out!

CambodiaCircles : Get Connected to Success

22/10/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth 

10th anniversary of the Department of Media and Communication (DMC)

The Department of Media and Communication (DMC) established in 2001. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the department, and we celebrated the event at the Cambodiana hotel.

The event was separated into two parts: the conference session in the afternoon and the dinner party in the evening.

In the afternoon event, there is also a debate session on “new media are the most effective platform for social and political participation”. This is the first time in my life that I became one of the debaters in the oppose group.

Please find some photos below from the event:

[slideshow]
By: Dara Saoyuth 
21/10/2011

My farewell dinner

I am a bit sleepy now, but I come to leave a message that I have a very good time tonight having dinner and hangout with some reporters of the Star publication, where I have spent my two-month internship. It’s not a big party actually; we just went out to have dinner together and chitchatted.

There were six people tonight- 4 reporters, my friend from Cambodia, and I. I like them so much, and I think I am closer to them than the others at the workplace here, maybe because I followed them on assignments more often:)

Last but not least, I’d like to say thanks you to them for coming up with an idea of having a joint dinner before my friend and I go back to my country. I would say that it’s a nice farewell that I haven’t expected. I will see at least 3 of them again soon because they will spend their holiday this year in Cambodia.

Good night and thanks you again Justin, Christina, Karr wei, and Sharmila.

My farewell dinner / by: Dara Saoyuth

01/10/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth

My assignment today_27 Sept 2011

At Cambodian market in Malaysia

I am back again!

Well, today assignment made me get up so early at 7:30am (maybe early for me only lolz!). I set my phone alarm at 7am, but my fingers faster than my eyes that they reached the phone first and turned it off right away. As soon as I got up, I had to rush because I hadn’t prepared anything from last night since I was so tired and sleepy. First, I put some packs of snack and a full bottle of fresh water into my bag because it’s the lesson I learn from my last year intern place at Agence-France Presse (AFP) that a photographer told me to be ready before going out if we have to go somewhere far away that we never know. “The two important things you have to take with you are ‘food’ and ‘water’,” he told me while handing me two packages of instant noodles.

Besides food and drink, I had to search on my messy table for a camera, a recorder, an earphone, a notebook, 2 pen, and reserved batteries for my recorder. Then, I had to surf on the internet for some information of the place before I left.

Sungai Buloh train station

Sungai Buloh train station / by: Dara Saoyuth

At 8:30am, I arrived the KL Sentral, where I have to take a train to the Sungai Buloh station. At 9:45am, I arrived the Sungai Buloh station, and had to wait for a Cambodian to pick me up. His name is Tar Sovan, and he is a nice, friendly, and helpful guy. He brought me to the Cambodian village and introduced me to some other Cambodian people. Over there, I first sat on a table order Banh Chhev (a kind of Khmer food), and coffee ice with milk. I was so surprised to see everyone around me is Cambodian even the seller of the food I was eating. While I was eating, I also chit-chatted with some Cambodians to know some backgrounds of the village and to listen to their experiences before leaving for Malaysia. They all have very different but interesting stories to tell.

Lok Pu Savan (‘Lok Pu’ means ‘uncle’ in  Khmer because in Cambodian culture, we always call people who are a bit older than us as ‘uncle’) brought me to a Cambodian market and left me there staying with her wife because he wanted to take some rests at home. I went around the market talking to other Cambodian sellers to know more information, and then back to Lok Pu Savan’s wife because she also sells some staffs in the market.

At Cambodian market in Malaysia

At Cambodian market in Malaysia / By: Dara Saoyuth

I stayed at her store from 11am until around 2pm before going to her house. We just spent time chit-chatting about this and that. She asked me a lot of questions, especially about my experiences working as a journalist and about my life here in Malaysia. I was happy to tell what I know, but I was stuck when came to a question “Do you already have a girlfriend?”. I think for a moment before replying that ‘I don’t have at the moment’. I was also surprised when she joked that she want me to be her son-in-law. 🙂 I supposed that my face turned red at that time, so I used my flexibility to change the topic and move to talk about life in Cambodia.

I left the market for Lok Pu Sovan’s house at around 2pm. His wife asked a girl to give me a lift from the market to her house, but I became a rider after not trusting her to be able to ride motorbike with me at the back. This is my first time to ride a motorbike in Malaysia, and someone shouted from behind that “Please ride on the left hand side! This is not Cambodia!)”. His house just around 5 minutes riding from the market.

Cambodian market in Malaysia

Cambodian market in Malaysia / By: Dara Saoyuth

I have spent the rest of my times at their house, but just to talk with their uncles and aunts and watch TV. I could not interview at that time  because Lok Pu Sovan wanted to take a nap. His wife also arrived the house later, and I just continued chit-chatting with her.

At around 6:15pm, Lok Pu Sovan said I could stay at his house for tonight or I better go now if I want to come back because it’s almost dark already. His wife also asked me to stay there for a night and back in the morning, but I felt so tired and I had many more tasks to finish that I decided to come back.

I arrived the KL Sentral at 8pm and I had to take a taxi back. This is the first time that I have to bargain the taxi fee. He said the taxi from KL Sentral not uses meter, and he demanded RM20 from KL Sentral to my living place while I spend only RM11 this morning to get there. He said how much will I give him. I decided to give him RM15, so he asked me to go inside the car. 🙂

He’s not a Malaysian. He’s a nice guy and he speak English very fluently. I’ve talked a lot with him, and when I asked him a question about “What do you think about life in Malaysia?”, I seemed to get a satisfied answer. He told me that “Life here is not bad. And I think one thing that is the same for all country, Nothing is free. You have to work for it.” He also asked about Cambodia “IS Cambodia going up now?”, and also ask about Vietname “How about Saigon?”. I think he knows a lot of histories about countries in South East Asia.

Now, I am at my condo again feeling so comfortable but also tired and sleepy. I might sleep early tonight and get up early tomorrow to try finishing works as much as I can.

There are a lot of interesting things happened to me today, but I could not write it all into a post. I hope I could review my post again when I am a bit more free.

27/09/11
By: Dara Saoyuth 

My assignment today_26 Sept 2011

YB Wee Choo Keong giving an interview with TV reporters

It’s 10:30pm already here, but I just come back from the assignment. Not many cars on the road while the rain were dropping. I know I would be more afraid if I went out for this assignment alone, but luckily, my friend from the same country followed me tonight.

Residents enjoy having dinner

Residents enjoy having dinner / by: Dara Saoyuth

At first, I didn’t have any assignment because I was supposed to finish my feature writing. Then, in the afternoon, my boss reached me and asked if I could go for tonight assignment. Without hesitation, I agree immediately. The assignment is about the Hari Raya Opening House which many people can join and have dinner for free. The assignment started at 8pm, but I have to stay there until the organizer, a parliamentary member YB Wee Choo Keong, free to give me an interview.

YB Wee Choo Keong giving an interview with TV reporters

YB Wee Choo Keong giving an interview with TV reporters / by: Dara Saoyuth

I was worried at first because everyone talked in Malay that I could not understand at all. I asked my photographer to tell me what they said, but still I could not get the interesting information for my writing. With the help from my photographer (because he could speak Malay), at last, I have chance to interview YB Wee Choo Keong. He’s a nice person and he speaks a very good English. Now, I think I get enough information for the story.

A concert during the event

A concert during the event / by: Dara Saoyuth

Meet a fresh reporter

Because of tonight event, I also met a female reporter from a Chinese newspaper. She’s so nice and helpful, and just started working for four months. She translate for me when people use Bahasa Malaysia language. I’m sure we will be able to maintain this networking.

What for today

Well, I’ve finished my feature writing about Cambodian maids coming to live in Malaysia, and tonight, I will try to finish writing about this event tonight.

I’ve also contacted with a Cambodian student who got scholarship to study in Malaysia. She’s also a nice girl and she’s very helpful. She introduced me to her friends who also studying and working in Malaysia. I’m sure that we will meet each other soon to listen to their experiences and combine that information with what I got from an interview with Cambodian students studying at Limkokwing Malaysia.

What for tomorrow

I have to travel a long distant alone again tomorrow, but as always, I love this kind of travel. I will go to visit Cambodian village in Sungai Buluh, one part of Malaysia. I got a contact from the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia of a Cambodian who came to live in Malaysia since 1990. He is a nice guy and he said that tomorrow, he will come to pick me up from the train station at 8:30am.

I have to get up early again tomorrow and catch a train at 8am from Kualalumpur to Sungai Buluh station which take around 30 minutes traveling. Then, I will travel with him to the village. He told me that there are around 400 Cambodian families living in that area. I should not say much right now because I want to wait and see the real situation when I arrive that place.

I better end my post here for tonight because there are a lot of things I have to finish.

Thanks you all for reading my posts and come back for more. Without all of your supports and encouragements, I would not have feeling to write these posts.

Good luck and Good night!

26/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth 

My assignment today_23 Sept 2011

My presentation today

Today, I don’t have to go out for an assignment because my boss said that I can stay in the office trying to finish my story as much as I can.

Besides that, it’s my turn today to present in front of my bosses and colleagues. I’ve chosen a topic about Khmer manuscript to present since it’s one of Cambodian heritage.

My presentation today

My presentation today / Photo by: Noy Kimhong

I’m so happy after I’ve tried my best for this public speaking:)

23/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth 

My assignment today_22 Sept 2011

Group photo with Cambodian students in Malaysia

Dear Student Blog visitors,

Since I’ve been here in Malaysia, today marked the second time for me to have a meeting with Cambodians. Yesterday, I met the Cambodian ambassador in Malaysia, princess Norodom Arunrasmy, and some of the embassy staffs. Today, I went to meet some Cambodian students who come to study at Limkokwing University here.

This meeting is for my article which is about the lives of Cambodian students who come to study abroad. From the article, you can expect to know what challenges they have to face, and how they can adapt to the new environment without any relatives around except their friends from the same countries.

Today also marked the 1st time for me to travel for a far distance alone for an assignment. It took around 45 minutes from my office, the Star publication, to the Limkokwing university in Malaysia which located in Cyberjaya. I’m so exhausted, but at the same time excited to meet people from the same country using our national language in our conversation.

Group photo with Cambodian students in Malaysia

Group photo with Cambodian students who come to study at Limkokwing university in Malaysia / photo by: photographer from the Star pubication

I’ve chit-chatted with them for around 3 hours before I came back to the office. I prefer not to call it an interview because I don’t think that I can get the real feeling inside my interviewees if I make this conversation into something too formal.

So, it’s just about friends sharing what they have learned and experienced, and I just bring what they told me for other people who will read my article.

I will try to finish the article as soon as possible because I have only 12 days more in Malaysia. Please stay tune for the article!

Tonight, I have so many works to do, so I’ve decided not to have a look at my Facebook page. I have three more feature stories to be finished – Cambodian maids working in Malaysia, Lives of Cambodian students coming to study in Malaysia, and Dog breeding sharing experience. I might be able to finish only 1 of them by tonight because I also need to prepare some slides for tomorrow I have to do public speaking in front of the Star metro staffs and bosses. I’m so excited and hope i can do it well tomorrow.

Have to say good-bye from my blog now; otherwise I cannot finish my plan for tonight.

Thanks for coming back to read my personal stories as well as some other information on this blogs.

Hope to see you all again soon.

Yours,

Saoyuth, Student Blog author

22/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth 

My assignment today_02 September 2011

Performance during the launching ceremony of Sapporo premium beer/ by: Dara Saoyuth

Dear my beloved readers,

I’m here again today writing what I have been doing and what has happened to me today hoping that I’m not making you bored by just reading my personal story everyday.

I am now in the process of training myself to be more productive, happy, friendly, and so forth. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have these qualities before, but I just have to maximize the good points while minimize disastrous parts.

I got up at 8am (Malaysia Time) this morning and arrived the office so early(because I mostly arrive so late recently). There are 3 articles I haven’t finished, and there will be two more on an assignment at 11am. I immediately started working on the last night event of Sapporo premium beer launching and finished it about half an hour before my today assignment came.

Performance during the launching ceremony of Sapporo premium beer/ by: Dara Saoyuth

Performance during the launching ceremony of Sapporo premium beer/ by: Dara Saoyuth

Today, I first supposed to follow Tho Xin Yi, one of the Star reporter, but then my supervisor change my schedule to follow Yip Yoke Teng for the sponsorship event of Penang Star Walk 2011 and PJ Half Marathon. The event finished around 12pm and I finished them before I left the office for home. I am so happy because this is the first time for me to finish three articles within a day. However, I still have two more to finish as soon as possible: The dog breeding sharing experience, and A night club review.

Tonight, I will try my best to do both stories because I realized that the more I delay, the more I have to handle for the next day.

While I am so happy with my accomplishment, something not good happen. I received an E-mail from my working place in Cambodia saying that my suggestion to some changes were rejected. More than that, the mail stated a lot of negative points towards me in responding to my previous mail suggestion some changes in the workplace. I know clearly what I am doing, and I never expect to get such that mail from my boss. It seems like I was considered as a bad person that sought for personal benefit rather than team development. This mail made me realized that some messages really contain unintentional meanings, and that would cause problems when people decoded that meaning while kicking away the intended meaning.

As soon as I finished replying that mail to defend my stand and give my reasons in the hope that the right message could get through many filters around, another thing happened. It is hard for me to describe, but I just can tell  that the person I like start to hate me because of what happened at my workplace.

I am so lucky that I have more than 1000 friends on Facebook and my beloved blog readers, so that I can have encouragement to take another step. I have sent two mails explaining what I really wanted to tell them in my previous mail. I hope that it works because it’s the only meaning I intended them to get when I wrote that mail.

I’m sure to update this case for all of you if there is any development.

Good luck and good night.

02/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth

My assignment today_01 September 2011

Dear Student Blog visitors,

I’m a bit late again to post because I just back from covering an event of Sapporo Premium Beer Official Launching.

Today, I got up late as usual due to the same reason, go to sleep late. Luckily, I don’t have any assignment during daytime. I just spent my time at home working on stories I followed the reporters yesterday.

I arrived the office at 4pm and as soon as my supervisor saw me, he asked where I went today because he didn’t saw me in the office since the morning. I told him that I wanted to stay home trying to finish the stories and he replied that I was supposed to do it in the office so that the others reporters could check how I write stories and give me some comments. He looked so serious, but I know that what he wants from me is that I can learn a lot in writing and reporting before I leave. I feel that I am so lucky to have chace to come here working in this publication because people are kind, friendly, and helpful.

I checked the schedule seeing my assignment start at 9pm. Because a reporter I have to follow for this assignment was not in the office, I had to go there by taxi with my friend. Other reporters told me that the place I would go tonight was a bit far, so they checked the map and printed me the direction. They said that I just showed this to taxi driver so that I won’t get lost. I left the office at 8pm and arrived the place at around 8:20pm. I waited there for my photographer and the reporter. At last they came at around 9pm, but the event didn’t start until 10pm. I drank some beers with my friend, photographer, and another reporter from the star (not the one I have to follow for tonight assignment).

[slideshow]

I expected that they talked something interesting so that I could quote any of them in my article, but they didn’t. They just went on stage and drank a glass of beer to celebrate this launching of SAPPORO beer. However, I don’t worry that I can’t get the story because I got PR disc for media person so that I am sure that information I need mostly lies in there, and if I need something more, I can always call them for further question.

I arrived home at around 11:10 Malaysian time (around 10:10 Cambodian time). I feel a bit tired, but I have to finish this article by tonight. If I cannot finish it, I will have more works for tomorrow because I still haven’t finished the two articles I followed two reporters yesterday, and tomorrow at 12pm, I have to follow another reporter for another story.

I better say good bye to my dear visitor, and I have taken some photos and video from the event tonight for all of you. Please check it out.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOWjppCclDw?hl=en&fs=1] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbwFwKcmyhw?hl=en&fs=1] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyYRfJgPucI?hl=en&fs=1] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM60QwSRuZ8?hl=en&fs=1]
01/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth

Youth of the week: Morm Doungseth

AS soon as I stopped in front of a flat in Sen Sok district, I could hear a song playing inside. In the song, a man described his struggle to become a star by leaving his family, relatives and friends in the provinces and coming to the city to pursue his dream.

When I opened the door to the flat, there was a young man sitting on a plastic chair playing an electric guitar and singing along to the song playing on a nearby CD player. It was Morm Doungseth, our youth of the week for this issue.

While turning off the CD player and putting his guitar next to a big electric keyboard, Morm Doungseth told me the song I had just heard was one he had written to reflect his life story. He said he had just finished recording the song using his CD player, and with no musical instruments other than  his guitar and his voice.

Morm Doungseth, 18, has been working as a singer for Mohahang, a Cambodian music production house, for almost six months. Six songs by him, produced by Mohahang, can be found in markets; others are waiting in the queue to be included on forthcoming albums.

Morm Doungseth left his home town in Kampot province for Phnom Penh in 2008 and got into the music industry a few months later. “I’ve loved music since I was young, and in my free time I listened to all kinds of music and sang along,” he says.

“After my friends and my older brother saw I had talent, they encourage me. Since then, I have focused my efforts on music .”

Since he arrived in Phnom Penh, Morm Doungseth has worked as a DJ and singer in various nightclubs. But he doesn’t want to spend his whole working life doing that, so he’s seeking an opportunity to become a professional singer.

He sent an application to Mohahang, and at the same time joined a singing competition at Bayon TV. He left the competition at Bayon TV after being selected to be a signer at Mohahang, even though he had almost reached the final round of the contest.

As well as singing, Morm Doungseth  can play guitar and keyboards, because he studied at the Royal University of Fine Arts in 2009 and 2010. Working while studying will lead to problems if a student fails to manage his or her time well. As well as being a singer who is gaining more recognition every day, Morm Doungseth will be a grade 12 student in the next year.

“I won’t let my career interfere with my studies,” he says, adding that he always gives priority to study. “I study in the morning, I go to the company in the afternoon, and I review my lessons at night,” he says of his time-management plan.

“I will pursue a bachelor’s degree in English literature, because I love that subject, and in the future I will choose a job based on the subject I have studied, while working part-time or occasionally singing because that’s my favourite thing and my natural talent, so I shouldn’t throw it away.”

01/09/2011
By: Dara Saoyuth
This article was published on LIFT, Issue 86 published on August 31, 2011