Writing Tour in Chambork, Part Two

After the first morning in Chambork, we first spent our time doing some team-building, and then proceeded to go about teaching students and then relaxing at a homestay in the village. The teaching was divided among genres: poetry, songs, and stories, though everyone pretty much got the same general education. The students clearly knew the basics (being in primary school but taught in a daily regiment), though were inspired to learn more. Though I did not provide much in the way of teaching (since all the teaching was in Khmer), I enjoyed visiting a little library that was built out of bamboo only a couple of months earlier.

Kampong Som, Revisited pt 1

Though I had just been in Kampong Som with Suzanne a couple weeks prior, an opportunity presented itself through my internship at ODC to spend another three days there. The BarCamp conference series had its 2013 Sihanoukville instance at Build Bright University. BarCamp is a delightfully inspiring event series that encourages people of all ages (but primarily youth) to engage in discourse on many topics (but primarily technology). Overall, it was a delightful and only slightly-exhausting trip, as most of the activities were team-building. I got to help my ODC friends Penhleak, Kalyan, and Eric in being present and representing the project. In the case of Kalyan, he finished a presentation on Google Maps early and I was able to do an impromptu conversation on Map Maker. I also got to present on libraries, which was extremely fun. There were also some other shenanigans you’ll see over the next couple of posts. Let’s start with the bus trip from Phnom Penh to Kampong Som.

The 2013 Cambodian Book Fair

Earlier this month, during one of the final days of Suzanne’s visit, I had the opportunity to attend the annual book fair held at the National Library in Phnom Penh. Though it was a three-day-long event, I was only able to show up for the final day. I actually was able to present on digital libraries (for ODC) to an audience of nearly 50 people (estimated). The event was delightful, and I took many pictures to capture the congregation-like feel of the day and its participants.

Bayon Bem Attempt #2

A couple old shots of me at Angkor Wat and an ancient library at the Bayon in Angkor Thom.

And a shot of me with a monkey friend outside the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur.

S-21 Library

Unfortunately closed.