My interview with Cambodian Students Association in Japan

“Sharing Experience”, Graduate Student in Japan as First Secretary of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Japan

Interview with Cambodian Students Association in Japan, CSAJ Newsletter, Issue No. 3, Sept.-Dec. 2010

Q: Could you tell us how you think about your student life in Japan?

A: Well, when I first came to Japan, I had to learn from zero. I observed everything and did what I could do here, which I could not in Cambodia. It was a mission of my study, which was not only studying at school but also involving with working environment and social activities. When I saw my Japanese friends did a part-time job, I followed them; when they did internship, I did it, too, and I also joined the club activities at school, went to the international conferences, and went travelling. My concept was that we had to absorb the knowledge and experience as much as we could, save it little by little, because it was a rare opportunity to get a scholarship to study abroad, especially at an industrial country as Japan.

Q: As you have said previously, upon your returning to Cambodia, did you found the job immediately?

A: As I returned back to Cambodia, there had not been governmental job applications yet for applying until 6 months later, so I decided to find part time job as a teacher. But unfortunately, I could not find one. Owing to my experience, it was not an easy task. As I returned as a student, I knew nothing about job skill, especially, my major is not business management or accounting, which is relatively easier to apply for companies and NGOs. Until 6 months later, I passed job application into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Q: What do you think are remarkable obstacles and achievements in your career life that you want to share to our students here?

A: As I observed, upon our returning to our home country, some of our students usually feel irritated to our country, see things in a negative way because they have still have the perception from Japan. I do not think it is good to look at our country in that way, since we have yet to understand our country well and by thinking negatively, it does not contribute in helping anything. We cannot ask the whole institution to change for us, but we should change ourselves for the institution. Work first and try to change later. Criticizing without action is not a healthy development. We need to be humble in our working place, do not show off your idea too suddenly because we have not known our job situation clearly yet. Also, it is not a good idea to be proud of ourselves much as we come from Japan in front of other people; otherwise, we will be left with negative impression for people around.

About my achievement, tell you the truth, I never got a reward from studying, nor did I pass outstanding student exam. Even after I passed a scholarship to Japan, I also did not have much confidence in myself that I could do it during that time, but what I am proud of myself was my thesis writing in Japanese. It was a souvenir and an achievement which is hard to accomplish. Another, involving in social activities, when I was a president of CSAJ, I coordinated with Brastel Company to build a school in Prey Veng Province.

Q: As mentioned, you used to be a president of CSAJ 2006. Could you tell us why you worked for it? Was it helpful for your present career or life?

A: As a student, I always wanted to connect with professional society. If I had not joined the activities, I would not have this connection with the outside world and know many people. There is a big gap between studying and working. By joining the association, we can prepare ourselves in advance for the working society. Furthermore, it was part of my training in leadership. I believe leadership is not that you have to order people to do what you want. You cannot do that because it is a volunteer association. Leadership here means how you can involve people and work together to achieve a tough goal. Leadership here is not ability from birth but it is an ability that anyone can be trained little by little through working. Moreover, by involving with various student organizations, I also open myself to receiving influences from many people. We can get news from them, share experience to each other, and learn from people we respect. We can get news of internships, international conferences from our association, among others.

Q: Last of all, as one of our seniors, do you mind giving a short message or some tips to our prospective graduates who want to find a job in a governmental position?

A: My tips, I have only two. One, try as much as we can to absorb all the knowledge here which we cannot do in Cambodia. Learning does not mean that you only have to go to school. It is meaningless if we know nothing about our real society. To my opinion, I would appreciate experiences rather than a piece of certificate we received. Coming to Japan, is not to save money but to learn and earn experiences. My second advice, I would request our students who return to Cambodia, please do not criticize our society without studying about it first, like a proverb, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Also, do not expect so much and we should avoid criticizing without doing any contribution.