If you study at school, you might just sit inside the class or do assignments in the library or coffee shop somewhere. But exploring a new environment is more important.
It is rare to get such a good opportunity. Here, studying with CCIM, I can see myself becoming more active in writing and speaking, two months after settling into the newsroom and going around Phnom Penh to get the news. CCIM has given me the opportunity to go to the field with a mentor.
Here I want to share with you my experience in the province. My mentor and I went to Pursat province to do a cultural story new about the oldest Buddha. It sounds interesting and we wondered how we could reach there, because we needed to go into the forest and climb up the mountain.
We left Phnom Penh at 4 a.m. in the morning and arrived there at 6 a.m. After that we continued alongside people in the community by motorbike. We needed people to lead us to the place we were going.
We drove the motorbikes through a mess of dirt. We reached Kong Va mountain. To get to the top of the mountain was a bit of a challenge because we needed to stretch across rocks to get there. We could have fallen easily if we were careless.
I could see the amazing Buddha statue laying down on the sandstone. It is unknown when people made it. But the Buddha seemed old and was made well. The Buddha looks incredible and alive.
I needed to translate for my mentor. So I noted some techniques from my mentor about how he asks people to get more details about the story related to the Buddha, and I asked him about his experiences. I spent the whole day with my British mentor on the mountain and sightseeing around the community. I felt I improved my English speaking skills and felt more confident connecting with people.
We met different people to interview around Kbal Domry. I felt like a real journalist.
