Thanks to Phnom Penh & WDI!

Hi guys! Today, I want to wrap up my internship by writing my final blog!  The things I want to talk in general are my personal opinions on Cambodia and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Since I am from Republic of Korea, I was very confident in living in Cambodia when I was selected as a WDI fellow.  My confidence, I guess, came from my nationality, my frequent trips to Southeast Asian countries, and my previous employment experiences in the navy!  However, as you may predict, there were many new challenges I faced such as weather, language, public order, sanitary facilities, etc. Even though those challenges sometimes gave way to me, I really enjoyed staying in Cambodia. I got to know how to respect Cambodian long culture and tradition, and how they live together.  Maybe, these positive impressions on Cambodia were the main motivation for me to work hard to improve the labour quality of Cambodians.

Ah! I have a special picture for you guys. The landlord of the apartment I stayed was a lawyer as well.  His home was on the first floor, and sometimes I visited his home because his family is so big with 13 members. Wow… I have never seen any family more than 10 members!

Doesn’t this home look so cozy and traditional?  If you read my third blog, you may remember the discussion on Buddhism in Cambodia. My landlord’s home also has a small Buddha statue at his home. I wanted to share this picture with you!  Of course, most Cambodian people are not affluent enough to have a big and clean house as my landlord's.  But, I wanted to just emphasize on the Cambodian’s love for Buddhism.

Thanks to Cambodia’s amazing potentials to grow, many foreign companies and UN agencies, such as Asian Development Bank, UNHCR, or UNDES, are located in Phnom Penh. If you want to work in an international organization, or to employ your skills and knowledge  meaningfully, you may find out that Southeast Asian countries are the best places for you. That’s why the ILO also regard Cambodia as a promising country with tremendous growth potential. Some people may think Cambodian people are not as happy as people in other countries due to poverty and less developed civilization. However, this is totally wrong. Cambodian people know how to be satisfied with what they possess, although the life style is not luxury or splendid, and the value of life in a spiritual aspect.
 

From this picture below, you can see the street foods that Cambodian usually eat out with friends or families. 

Personally, I feel so thankful for all staff in the ILO who were eager to support me whenever I needed help. They were very interested in my studies in the University of Michigan, and WDI as well, which makes me feel proud of being a WDI fellow during my internship. With even broader view toward the world, I am looking forward to sharing my 2014 summer in Cambodia with you soon. 

 

Buddhism in Cambodia

Hi Guys! Today, I am going to talk about the Buddhism in Cambodia. This is because every day I commuted to work, I saw many monks in the streets. I asked lots of questions about Cambodians’ religion.  About 95% of Cambodian population is a Buddhist.  Did you know that there are different kinds of Buddhism?  The Buddhism prevalent among Cambodians is “Hinayana Buddhism”.

You can notice this fact easily, based on the picture of monks. Their costumes represent Hinayana Buddhism. Because I am Korean and my family believes in this religion, I think I am very familiar with this religion, Buddhism. However, how monks are dressed is considerably different each other, so that’s why I could figure out the Buddhism in Cambodia is different with that in Korea. According to my search, the origin of Buddhism was one, but as time went by, the Buddhism was divided into several parts. One of them is Hinayana Buddhism.

Buddhism is a set of system for achieving enlightenment. Cambodian Buddhism emphasizes a belief in reincarnation, and one's position in life is believed to arise from actions in his or her past life. Respect for Cambodian royalty can be in general rooted in this belief. King's high station in life can be interpreted as the result of good deeds in previous lives.

I went to a small temple near my housing. Many buildings and towers were decorated in the style of Buddhism. The small towers in the second and third pictures are for when monks pray every morning. If you visit Cambodia, it is so so so easy to find monks and temples wherever you go. I think Cambodian's live is equal to a life as a Buddhist. If a monk visits a housing in the morning, any Cambodians are very willing and happy to give some foods or money to the monk. They think this is a way of being responsible as a Buddhist. Then, the monk recites the Buddhist scriptures for a while for the person who presents an offering to Buddha. I wanted to take a picture of this scene, but I couldn't because I could interrupt them.   

 

Even though how monks are dressed or the architectural styles between “Hinayana Buddhism” and “Mahayana Buddhism” is very different, people’s minds toward believing Buddha is same in that they want to be happy and they perceive life, death and rebirth as a continuous cycle. I think Buddhism is the most motives for Cambodians to survive from exterior attacks in their history.