A Dream of an Engineering Student

 "Everyone must dare to dream; everyone has a right to pursue his dream."~ Empire Nara

With only 40 square meters, my house accommodates 5 people.  My parents stay in a small room, and my two younger brothers and I sleep on the floor outside the bedroom.  There is not enough space for each family member to live comfortably as those who live in a big house.  However, I still consider myself as a very lucky boy, since I have known that there are many people who are living in much worse conditions, especially those agrarian peasants living in the rural areas.

In Cambodia, a large number of people in rural areas are farmers.  They depend heavily on farming. They plant rice and grow crops for survival, but the products they produced are not enough for them to support their living.  The problem is that there is a lack of irrigation systems that could enable them to use water for planting their crops, roads they could transport their productions to the markets, and most importantly knowledge of how to use the water resource they have effectively.  As we know, in the rainy season, there is an excessive amount of water, so they are not able to work on their farms whereas in the dry season there is not enough water for planting rice and growing crops.  Seeing the potential in this area, along with my talent and keenness in learning scientific subjects, I have developed my interest in helping my country by trying to study hard and enrolling as a rural engineer at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, the most prestigious educational institution which provides the field of engineering and where I got a scholarship.

From day to day, my interest in the subject I am studying has been gradually translated into a great passion to be one of the most famous engineers in my country, and that passion has persuaded me to project into the future about how to attain my goal.  I realize that in order to master my area of expertise, it is not enough just to study inside the country.  I have to discover more about the knowledge surrounding this field of study and techniques being used in other countries in order to refine my ability.  Undoubtedly, the country which interests me the most is the United States of America, and I would like to choose Environmental Science Engineering and Water Resource Management Engineering.

Besides being well-known as a multicultural society, the US is a country which is well developed in terms of developing both city and rural areas.  By taking this course, I hope to bring the techniques and experiences that I will learn in the US back to my country and apply them into real practice so that I can help the rural communities, as well as Cambodia as a whole, develop.  Cambodia will be able to cultivate techniques to develop high ability in human resources in this field if more and more Cambodian students are provided chance to learn from and see how US develops its country.

Bearing this clear, long run vision in my mind, I believe that I will accomplish my goal after I am admitted to study in the US and return to Cambodia with new experiences and knowledge.

"The Most Memorable Event in My Life"

 "Everyone has their past; everyone has their best memorable event; it's just what means the best memorable events to them are different."~ Empire Nara

Back to ten years ago, I was nine years old, and I still did not know how to ride a bike. My mother did not teach me how to ride; I still do not know whether she was busy or she just wanted me to explore myself. Talking about my father, he worked whole days, and we saw each other only in the evenings. The saddest thing, I do have no siblings at all. Therefore, none of my family members help me with this typical activity. Fortunately, there was a female neighbor whose age was between 20-21 years old at that time kindly showed me how to ride a bicycle. Since it has been a decade ago, and if I am not mistaken, her name is Lina.

Every afternoon, having finished my homework, I would rush to come down stair and meet my teacher. At first, I did not have a bike, but my mother said she would buy me one if I could score the top rank at school that month. Thus, I had to borrow my cousin’s bike for the time being. That bike had four wheels—one front wheel and other three back wheels, so you would not need any help to keep it stable. I was very excited yet a bit scared that I did not dare to put my feet on the pedals but was encouraged to move forward slowly. It was like flying, and my body seemed to become lighter as the bike went. Lina did not withdraw her hands from the bike though I could do well at the very first day. Her both hands still held the bike gently, and she was smiling happily as if I was her own daughter.

As usual, scoring the best point was not that hard for me, which means I was granted the first bicycle in my life from my parents. It was a tiny one covered by her pink skin. I love pink, and my mother knows it. Every day, I enjoyed playing with my bike tirelessly.

A month later, on one typical afternoon, I was riding my so-called four wheels as usual, when suddenly; Lina came and gave me a very warm smile. She said it was time to learn a more exciting thing. I was wondering whether we were going for a bike expedition outside our village. That was a very funny thought of me because I was always insisting her to go for a long ride. To my surprise, she said she was going to take away two wheels from my bike. I was laughing so hard, and of course I was laughing at myself that I would not be able to ride a bike with only two wheels. However, I could not do anything but to let her show me that new thing. Now, my bike had only two wheels, and indeed I was much more afraid to get on it though it had been with me every single day for over a month. Surprisingly, Lina challenged me that if I could do it, we would go for a long ride to my grandparents’ home, which was four kilometers away. I was hesitated whether to show my other cousins that I now could ride a bike as them or just keep hugging dad’s back on his motorcycle when we went to my grandparents’ home. I suddenly squatted down, took a deep sigh, and thought critically as if a very tough decision in my life was going to be made. Several minutes later, I confidently stood up and smiled back to her curios face. That smile was enough to be called an answer. I got on the bike and started to lift the pedal with my right leg and push the other one with my left leg. It was surely more unsteady, but I could feel her hands holding the bike firmly. I started off for just a few meters and get off the seat because I was too scared that I would fall off if I continue to another meter. I did it over and over again. For the first day, I could only move two meters, but the distance kept increasing day by day. After a week, I could move forward without any help. I was very amazed and proud of myself that I eventually could do it. At the next weekend, we went to my grandparents’ home as promise. I enjoyed riding my bike together with all my other cousins, and we had so much fun. It was the happiest time in my life.

However, that joy lasted for only a day, and the next afternoon, tears and anger paid me a visit. I had just realized that Lina was moving to another province when I asked her to see my ride, and she said she was busy packing her clothes. Crying and being angry, I ran up stair to my room. Since then, I have no chance to see her face again because on the next day, when I arrived home from school, she had already left. Lina left some words for me, “whenever you get on the bike, don’t cry because I am not there with you but smile because I will always stay behind you”.

Time passed without any news from her at all, and now it is ten years already. We cannot contact her since she did again move to another place—America. Nowadays, I smile silently to myself every time that I see a bike, especially a bike with its riders—sisters, though I have not ridden for almost five years now. It always reminds me of sister Lina who is living so far away out there.

Written by Miss. Moniroth CHOUN

A great challenge for our generation

  The Integration of all Asian countries into one community 

2015 is the year that all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries will be integrated into one community.  Some people think that it will give opportunities to all people in ASEAN community to do business, exchange and learn from each other experiences and the like whereas some other people say that it also gives harmful impacts on some countries, especially those developing countries.  In my viewpoint, the greatest challenge that my generation will face is the less job opportunities for Cambodian people.

As I have known, a vast majority of Cambodian people are not well provided with high education, and most of them are those who live in rural areas within the country.  With the lack of industry and technology potential, Cambodia focuses mainly on agriculture as a major sector which can help improve the country economy, but there is a problem surrounding the human resources.  There will be a free flow of skilled workers such as engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs to name a few, yet the knowledge of Cambodian people is still limited, so I think that the integration of ASEAN countries will post a great challenge for Cambodian people.

However, it does not mean that I am pessimistic toward this integration.  Actually, every problem has a solution.  For me, there is a way, and that way is to provide Cambodian people with knowledge and skills relating to all fields.  The country will not be well developed unless skilled human resources are cultivated.  As one of Cambodia’s citizens, and also a prospective engineer in my country, I propose that government should send more Cambodian students in all fields of study to absorb and fetch new experiences and techniques from other countries so that they can share those valuable resources to all people when they come back to their home country.

All in all, I believe that as long as the highly qualified human resources are still limited, Cambodian people will face a great challenge when integrating into one community of all ASEAN countries.