Cambodia's Impact on Me
On a personal note, I faced many challenges during my research in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia. In particular, it was difficult to conduct interviews and observations for the first time in the field. I had been transported to a completely new culture with a different language, people and cuisine. In addition to navigating my way through a new country, I was sending myself to the countryside with an organization and team I had never worked with before. I barely spoke the local language. I stumbled my way along as I received feedback on my interview questions from a fellow researcher. Once I had a final set (which was revised multiple times during my two months there), I had to work with my translator as unexpected responses arose due to my questions and wording.
I happened to be born in Bangkok, Thailand and spent my first year of life in Penh Phnom, Cambodia. Of course I do not remember my initial time spent in Cambodia and this trip also served as a discovery of the place of my birth and infancy and where my parents lived for four years of their life.
I happened to be born in Bangkok, Thailand and spent my first year of life in Penh Phnom, Cambodia. Of course I do not remember my initial time spent in Cambodia and this trip also served as a discovery of the place of my birth and infancy and where my parents lived for four years of their life.
My Advice to Students
My advice to those about to conduct undergraduate research in the field is: know exactly how much structure you need. My field experience was semi-structured and I was unprepared (from a methods and research point-of-view) for the obstacles I faced as a researcher. I suggest taking a class on conducting undergraduate research in a developing or foreign country. Also, anticipate the challenges you will face in the field. Cynthia Mahmood writes that a researcher in the field should be vulnerable to the people with whom he or she works[1]. Only through experiencing a person’s daily life will they allow you to get to know who they are and not what they do. Several of the villagers I interacted with invited me to share lunch with them. I learned more about Cambodian life during those meals than I did in any of my interviews. It helped that my translator was very inquisitive and share with me what he learned. One family discussed in detail how they made rice wine, while another compared American houses with Cambodian ones. Allow yourself to become vulnerable in those moments and learn what you have in common with your participants.
Cambodia will pull at your heartstrings. The Khmer are strong people who have endured enslavement and violence at the hands of their own fellow Khmer. Many rural Cambodian villagers focus on feeding their family and remaining healthy, day-in and day-out. They could care less for politics half the time. Yet, the Cambodian People’s Party abuses this passivity on the part of its people and pockets hundred of thousands of aid dollars each year. Most Cambodians have few rights and the wealthy class benefits from those in poverty. In Phnom Penh, I saw shantytown apartment complexes and shacks alongside gated and guarded mammoth houses. These inequalities in Cambodia are not easy to witness.
However, the Khmer are the most welcoming people I have ever encountered throughout all my travels. The IRD staff members I worked with helped me with everything the moment I walked through the office doors. Cambodians want to be happy and shun displays of anger or fits of passion. I could never imagine what a Cambodian would think to do if they encountered a harried New Yorker. Every Cambodian sings. They do not care if you have a poor voice or not, they sing anyway and mostly without any accompanying music. Their songs are raw and real. Embrace this side of Cambodia and do not let the crime and corruption cloud your sight of the beauty in the Khmer people.
Lastly, if you decide to visit or work in Cambodia one day, allow the Khmer way of life to influence who you are as a person. I know my appreciation of my family deepened after my time in rural Cambodia. One young Khmer I was speaking with had placed his opportunity to go to university on hold so that he could earn money and send his younger brother to school. A bright, promising student thought first of his younger brother than furthering his own status and career. This value of family over self is not so apparent in the West. Therefore, I ask those about to journey to Cambodia, or any other country, to become vulnerable and open to changing and maturing as a person through new experiences.
[1] Mahmood, Cynthia. 2001.Terrorism, Myth and the Power of Ethnographic Praxis. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. California: Sage Publications.
Cambodia will pull at your heartstrings. The Khmer are strong people who have endured enslavement and violence at the hands of their own fellow Khmer. Many rural Cambodian villagers focus on feeding their family and remaining healthy, day-in and day-out. They could care less for politics half the time. Yet, the Cambodian People’s Party abuses this passivity on the part of its people and pockets hundred of thousands of aid dollars each year. Most Cambodians have few rights and the wealthy class benefits from those in poverty. In Phnom Penh, I saw shantytown apartment complexes and shacks alongside gated and guarded mammoth houses. These inequalities in Cambodia are not easy to witness.
However, the Khmer are the most welcoming people I have ever encountered throughout all my travels. The IRD staff members I worked with helped me with everything the moment I walked through the office doors. Cambodians want to be happy and shun displays of anger or fits of passion. I could never imagine what a Cambodian would think to do if they encountered a harried New Yorker. Every Cambodian sings. They do not care if you have a poor voice or not, they sing anyway and mostly without any accompanying music. Their songs are raw and real. Embrace this side of Cambodia and do not let the crime and corruption cloud your sight of the beauty in the Khmer people.
Lastly, if you decide to visit or work in Cambodia one day, allow the Khmer way of life to influence who you are as a person. I know my appreciation of my family deepened after my time in rural Cambodia. One young Khmer I was speaking with had placed his opportunity to go to university on hold so that he could earn money and send his younger brother to school. A bright, promising student thought first of his younger brother than furthering his own status and career. This value of family over self is not so apparent in the West. Therefore, I ask those about to journey to Cambodia, or any other country, to become vulnerable and open to changing and maturing as a person through new experiences.
[1] Mahmood, Cynthia. 2001.Terrorism, Myth and the Power of Ethnographic Praxis. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. California: Sage Publications.