As it gets closer to the graduation year, pressure built upon each student, including me. Through all the hard work we’ve done to develop our self and help our country, is killing us all with the huge amount of stress. So on November 16th, I got a really cool opportunity to actually pause from all of the load and relax. Thus I went down to Kep province with the Liger Marine Research Team (LRMT) for a three-day yoga session with professional yoga trainers and many other people from all over the world. As I mentioned above we were there to relax, so along with yoga courses, we also have the meditation session. It’s not my first time doing yoga but it is my first time doing meditation; so it’s really hard for me at first because the main point of meditation is to relax both mental and physical actions, but I am terrible at relaxing my brain and stop thinking about stuff. However, after two meditation session with the trainer, I finally find a way to actually relax my brain and feel the meditation. Another challenge that I face while going through the course is still learning to relax when I got free time. The thing is that at Liger there no time for relaxing during the day which means that there are always things after another to do, but at the Vagabond Temple, we got more than four hours a day of free time which is insane! But the whole point is that the given time is for us to use that time to relax our mind by doing stuff that is not related to our daily life such as reading. A key take away that I got is the skill to relax through meditation, which I found really helpful for my study life.
I like to play many kinds of sports, and one of my most favorite sport is ultimate frisbee. I like playing this game because of so many reasons but one of them is that it’s one of the only sport where and male and female playing together as a team. Another reason is that frisbee is a game of friendly meaning that by playing this sport I made so many friends. So as a senior I am leading an After School Activity (ASE) where I teach the junior how to play frisbee, but most importantly showing them how frisbee is a mix gender sport and how easily they can make friends from playing this game.
Agency is a really important thing for Liger. Over the years, Liger has created and given many opportunities for us in terms of changing Cambodia. However, we can’t, change this splendid country instantly. But the opportunities that Liger has provided us in these last few years, has helped us make many positive changes in Cambodia. The changes that we created are not huge. However, these small changes are building blocks that lead up to big changes in our country. This year, Liger has provided us many opportunities that potentially could help Cambodia in a really positive way. For instance, I’ve involved in many explorations that potentially make changes in Cambodia, like Game Design, Waste Management, and Khmer Rouge.
Education is really important for Changes. This is the first exploration of the year, and the exploration that I think could really create positive change in Cambodian education is Game Design. For this project our team working to design a game that both fun and educational for government school students. While designing this game I felt really strongly that this game could really change Cambodian curriculum. The game that we’re designing is a game that contains two major aspects. Well, first it helps students to review their lesson in the class by answering the question in the game. Second, it introduced students to Climate Change. The game mechanic work by players answers the question in the game to get point. Players could use those point to implement solutions due to climate change such as wind turbines, solar panels, Hydropower and more. When players implement those solutions they would earn something called carbon credit, where the player with the most carbon credit will win the game. While player implementing the solution they will read a small introductory paragraph about the solution that is implementing. Not just that students reviewing the content that they’re studying and climate change, the game also require students to use their critical thinking/strategy to win the game. This game would create a new style of learning for students, which not just sitting classroom listen to teachers talk. This changing in learning style would help students to develop their strength on critical thinking and study with more fun. By this new way of learning would lead students to big success.
Game testing at Chbar Ampov high school.Students having fun testing our game.
Trash is always a huge problem for Cambodia. In the last decade, Cambodian people got a much better education and understand we even more about this problem. They always want to make it better but there’s lag of solution. For my second exploration, we worked on this problem. We got an idea of running a waste management business in the community around Liger. It impossible to run this business in seven weeks. However, there’s a quote says “Million miles start with the first step”. So our first step in order to start this business is to write a feasibility study. A feasibility study is a study to see the possibility in term of doing something. In this case, we try to see is it possible to start this business. Which mean establish and make a profit out of it. In order to write this feasibility study first, we go out into the community and observe the trash pile around our community and analyze what in those pile. We see that about 80% of those trash and organic. So we decide that we’re going to make a composting/recycling business. Then we start to write our feasibility study for this business. At the end of the exploration, we have written a FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR A WASTE MANAGEMENT/RECYCLE FACILITY IN CHUMPOUS KAEK VILLAGE. Even though we haven’t done any of the physical work to start the business but, writing this feasibility is a huge step. It’s locomotion for our business. Unfortunately, we couldn’t establish this business yet this year, however, we going to continue this project next year. This business is potentially a huge solution to trash problem all around Cambodia. It going to help Cambodian people to clean their environment.
We’re observing a trash pile near our school.Writing our feasibility study
Khmer Rouge, the third world biggest genocide, is happening in Cambodia for about 3 years which from 1975 to 1979. However, many Cambodian doesn’t really know much about it. So Liger had created a four rounds exploration learning about Khmer Rouge. After we learn whole lots of content, we’re going to make our final product to share with other people on sharing and other events. I actually learn in the last round of Khmer Rouge. For this round unlike any other rounds where they learning in depth about each specific part of Khmer Rouge, we’re learning about the whole picture. Which contain before, during, and after the Khmer Rouge. After we learn all the content in class, we finally work on our final products for our exploration in order to share it with other people.
In the past Khmer Rouge exploration, there’ve been so many amazing products that are unique and really powerful. These amazing products include plays, audio tour, painting and small museums. My exploration makes a variety of products; most of our products are just some new information about Khmer Rouge such as Khmer rouge timeline, a 3D design of S21, and a map with Khmer Rouge zone leaders. But our biggest goal is to run an event with DC-cam in Phnom Penh in order to spread more information about Khmer Rouge. This event going to happen next year since we don’t have enough time to do it this year. However, this event going to be a really powerful event in term of sharing Khmer Rouge information through young Cambodian. This event is more than just presentation to groups of people, we try to give them as much information as we can by play and experiential presentation. By this event, we sure that Cambodian will know Khmer Rouge even more detail. Also, this will help guide young leader to not step on the footprint of those terrible leaders again.
Trip to S-21 prisonTrip to Choeung Ek killing field
In conclusion, I can see that I’m a change agent. Throughout my three explorations, I’ve been working to change the style of learning (game design exploration), helping to clean the environment by writing a feasibility study for a composting and recycling business, and working to share Khmer Rouge’s information to young Cambodian. Follow this small actions, could make really big positive changes in Cambodia.
As a literacy assignment, our teacher asked us to write a two pages essay about our personal experience of “Coming of Age”. So I decided to write an essay about an aspect that made me felt like an adult; which is independence.
Independent
Independence is the beacon to maturity. It took me about twelve years to gain my independence my family and the world. For twelve years, I was just a kid that only wanted to have fun. For twelve years, I lacked independence, bravery, and maturity. Ten years in a small world just home and school disrupts me from seeing the immense universe full of creative steps and dazzling path. Until one day I found an amazing place that helps me to have my position today.
I was born on December 10, 2002, in a village of Chumposka-eka. As the big brother in the family, I didn’t get as much attention as my brothers. I grew up in a family that valued education and encouraged me. At age five, my mom decided that it was time for me to start school. however, my first school was full of corruption and wasn’t a place I would go by choice. Time passed and I adapted. In fourth grade, everything changed. In 2012, my mom gave me a huge opportunity to take a test for a scholarship at Liger Learning Center. I was hopeless about passing the test because I had not been very successful in school. I remember back then in a class of forty students, I would be the thirty-third student. Nevertheless, the test for Liger was not the same material from school and I actually did pretty well on the test and received the scholarship.
Within the first two years at Liger, my mindset completely changed. I used to be this kid who’s doesn’t like school, doesn’t have many friends, and have really bad scores in class; Within the first two years at Liger, my mindset completely changed. Being independent is a massive challenge for me at first. Due to the lack of independent before Liger, I was really inept at utilizing my independence, but as I got older and worked harder, I became more adept. Project-based learning really helped me use my time more wisely.
When I was thirteen, it was the first time ever in my life, where I felt so much of the freedom from my parent. It was back in summer of 2016. In the middle of the break, I got phone calls from my Phnom Penh-Liger-friends inviting me to attend a small party with them. Those phone calls make me really happy since I had never been invited to any party by myself. However, during this happy moment, I had a feeling that my parent won’t ever let me out there by my own. Follow this thought makes me afraid to ask for my mom’s permission. Nevertheless, the energy of the party, the energy of wanted freedom, and the energy of friendship is much stronger than this small though. So I dispatch the fear and walk bravely toward my mom asking for her permission. For this first attempt, I was so happy since my proposal got accepted. Disputed the happiness and hide emotions was my idea, but I guess the stupid smile still leak out. Her permission is like a ticket for roller coaster ride through amazing adventures.
Finally, the party came. I was so excited for the day despite all the rule that was given by my mom, about what I should and shouldn’t do, that postpone all the fun thought that I had. The closer I get to the party the more I get pumped up. With eight people at the party, it was the best party yet I ever attend. After the party end, we decided to go to another place to relax with wifi and air conditioner in town. While walking through the town, I felt no longer as a kid. The level of independence I got at that moment is enough to change me. Then we arrived at the destination and having fun. Due to all the fun I had during the trip, I just realized how powerful is independence.
Independence is a key to unlock all of the characteristics leading to adulthood. Additionally there no need for the insanely huge amount of independence to become an adult. For example, within just a single trip that my mom allowed me to go by myself, was enough to unlock the characteristics of an adulthood. So I believe that independence is all we need to be an adulthood.
In any science class at Liger, we’re always doing some sort of experiment/lab in order to extend our knowledge and understanding. For instance, in a physic class, we were learning about coefficient of friction. So we made up a lab for this content. The lab was simple; so we have a plank of wood with a bunch of surfaces such as deference type of send papers and fabric. For the sliding objects, we got paper clip box, a puzzle block, and a domino. Ideally, we try to determine the minimum angle at which the object start sliding down the ramp. So basically my team slightly drop the object on the ramp with a certain angle and see if the object is sliding. If the object is sliding, we then degrees the angle of the ramp to find the minimum angle then record it.
To Spray or Not To Spray, is the first exploration of the academic year that I’ve involved in. In this exploration we focus on a topic of pesticide. We work tirelessly in order to make a magazine for our final product; to spread the awareness of what is going on here with all pest control at Liger . We knew close to nothing about this topic, so we search all through the internet and trips to gather all the information we needed for our articles. As the result of hard working, we created a magazine with 11 articles. Out of the 11 articles, I wrote an article about all category of pesticides which called Insect Assassins. Writing this article is pretty challenging for me since I needed to google every single aspect of the article. At the same time, I learned so much from my article which makes me really happy about my work and hopefully it will teach other students about all the thing I learned from it.
In the process of writing the article for the Dispers magazine, the To Spray or Not To Spray team took a three day trip to Snoul, Kratie province. On the way there the team stopped at a bunch of agrochemical shops to see what type of pesticide did they selling in their shops and asked for information that we needed. Once we arrived our destination, we just get some rest and be ready for the next day. The next day came and we all excited for it. So we jump on our bus and settle off to the organic farm where all the activities are happening. At the farm we start off by walking all around seeing all the crop they grew there. Then we help the worker there to plant some carrots which were very fun. After that our team started to interview Ramon (farming director) for what we need for our magazine especially about the organic pesticide. The conversation had with Ramon gone amazing, questions were asked and answers were given. After the long conversation we had, it’s time for some more action. So we headed to the carrot farm again to harvest the one that is ready. It is everybody’s first time so we got a lot of fun with it. As much as we have fun, we learn a lot from this trip. One takeaway that I got is to experience new technique of farming using only organic by all of those hands-on activities we’ve done on the farm. At the end of the trip, we gather about 55% of the information needed for our articles which pumped us all up to do some more writing.
Working to grow carrotsAsking RamonHarvesting Carrots!!
One thing that I like about Liger is independent learning. So we do not just learn in the class with our facilitator there to guide us, in fact, we got opportunities where we’re practice by our self to develop our skill in and outside of the class. For example, math is such a hard subject and a struggle for me and the only way to get better at it is to practice as much as possible. So our teacher introduces a really powerful website to us called Khan Academy. In this website, we can learn new contents with video and practice what we had learned in class with many problems. By using Khan Academy it’s really helping me to improve my understanding of math with the tool that they provided. So now math is no longer a huge struggle for me.
A math problem about congruent trianglesAll subjects available
Liger 2017-2018 academic year kick off pretty different from last year. The first week of school Liger start with a brand new schedule called the resourceful week. For the whole week, we were working on skills that would help us with our future project like phone call etc. My most favorite part of the week was city scavenger hunt. So basically in a group of four students, we traveled the city in order to complete our mission without any adult with us. My team had a mission to buy a medical equipment and to copy some chapters of an AP statistic book. It was a good challenge for all of us since it’s our first time traveling the city by our self. In order to complete the quest, we all work very hard get what we need which is the urine test kit. We walk into a bunch of pharmacies to find it but there’s none; we take the opportunity to ask the people who work there if they know any other place where which would sell this kind of stuff, so they point us to the bigger pharmacy which located at the Olympic market. While we’re on the tuk-tuk to the market, we came up with an idea which calls for help from the Liger’s nurse. We found her number on our name card and start calling. It turns out really helpful, the nurse told us directly the name of the shop and we get what we want. Next, we settle out to find a printing shop to copy chapters of the SP statistic book. After we copied the book we headed back to a Brown Coffee to end our mission. I learned so much from this trip but most importantly is that I’m now much more adept at going out into the city by myself doing whatever I needed to do.
Me with my teammates sitting out at a park waiting for the book to copy.
