Despite growing up as a Cambodian American, I had never visited Cambodia, until I studied abroad through the Corporate Social Responsibility Study Abroad program in Thailand and Cambodia. The main reason I chose this program was because it was in Cambodia, and I wanted to explore and connect with the country and culture my family is from. When arriving from Thailand to Cambodia, I was immediately greeted in English. I was initially taken aback. Yet reminded of the discussion I had in my global scholar’s class about identity and how it is evitable to feel lost in terms of your identity, especially when visiting your motherland country. The discussions and topics of global scholars prepared me for such events to occur and despite being taken aback, I did not let that occurrence get me down.
Regardless of being welcomed in English, I still attempted to converse with the locals in Khmer, and seeing their astonishment when they heard me speak Khmer gave me a profound fondness for the language. In the beginning, I would mess up my Khmer, and end up incorporating it with English, but through trial and error, I began to communicate in Khmer more fluently and was able to do basic tasks such as buying food all in Khmer. Being able to speak my parents’ native language in their country without them was difficult, but I learned more about myself and the people around me, as I independently navigated the country without the guidance of my parents. Growing up as a Cambodian American, my first language was Khmer, but as I grew up, my parents began trying to assimilate to the American culture by only speaking English in the household. From then on, I began to lose fluency in my Khmer. Nevertheless, through my experiences navigating Cambodia and speaking with the locals, I reconnected with my native language. While I am not the most fluent in Khmer and can only say a couple of basic sentences here and there, the relationships I made with the locals are something I will never forget.
Visiting the infamous Angkor Wat and other temples in Cambodia, I discovered a lot about the culture of Cambodia and how they treat the religion of Buddhism as a lifestyle. Growing up, I would visit the temple but did not know much of its significance besides the good food. Through the temple visits in Cambodia and the interviews with the monks, I learned about the origins of Buddhism in Cambodia. I discovered the significance of the temple to the Cambodian people and how Angkor Wat is a symbol of the Cambodian people’s heart and soul. While learning about Cambodian society, I discovered that to Cambodians, tattoos symbolize a mix of spirituality, protection, and personal stories, which I had never known before. At the temple, I participated in the throwing water ritual, as I received blessings from the monk. I also received a bracelet that symbolizes protection, faith, and good luck. Through the temple visits, I reconnected with my family’s religion and learned about Cambodian culture.
Through my visit to the local villages in Siem Reap, seeing how local Khmer people lived, I subconsciously felt a sense of reliability when seeing all three generations living under one roof, as my parents would tell me stories of their life in Cambodia living with their family members. While hearing these stories from my parents, I was only able to empathize with them to a certain extent, but seeing in real life, the villages and the Khmer people’s open-mindedness and work ethic, made me think about my family back home and how we should appreciate the little things in life because they made a significant difference.
Overall, my cultural experience in Cambodia through the study abroad program was nothing but life changing. I was able to learn more about my culture, as well as connect with it on a deeper level. Through the village visits, receiving blessings from the temple, and talking with the locals. Without the global scholar’s program, I would not have been prepared for the identity crisis that I had initially faced in Cambodia. I would have continued my Cambodia trip simply giving up. Thankfully, I did not give up and I am glad I did not because I would not have learned about myself, my culture, or my family.
