My First Labor Day: Trip to Kompong Speu

My first involvement in Community Event was at Kompong Speu.
I believed the old saying that "the first experience is the most clumsy once".

After communicating with the primary school's principle by phone, i had done the announcement to classmates and professors that the school we were going to visit named "Sdach Poun", in khmer-The hidden King. So everyone, especially my History Professor, Sombo Manara, was wondering about the school's history: what was the school's connection with the king?
After all, i was misquoted the school's name when little kids recalled their school's name, Scach Poun, in khmer-The pile sand.

Luckily, May 1st 2006 was the International Labor Day, so many friends could join our event. With smiling face everyone was chatting and getting to know each other.

Suddenly, I felt shocked again when we arrived the school as the a little kids stood at the gate to welcome us as we are the high ranking officials. It was out of the agenda and i never ever wish to have such arrangement. "Everyone is equal", so i do not prefer such arrangement.

After having few talks with kids, our team was divided into small group to communicate and educate kids on different topics such as health, education, environment, and other social issues. After that, we also encouraged kids to help protect environment through planting tree.

Finally, this events gave me a lot of lesson-learns and even motivated me to continue to organize other events. What shocked me again is that the Khmer rural kids did not know where famous Angkor Wat located. When our professor asked them, they replied Angkor Wat is in Kompong Speu, at where they are living. So it reminded me the joke that we repeated in Vietnamese sound that "Angkor Wat is located in Bongbeu" (Bongbeu is referred to Kompong Speu). Then, we gave them the correct answer that "Our Angkor Wat is located in Siem Reap". It was so fortunate that the books we brought for them attached with Angkor Wat image and even the money (500Riel) we gifted them is also printed with Angkor Wat picture.