Hi everyone,

This is Aey (Chalida Nakornchai), a new graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I majored in Chemical Engineering and had little experience in community service prior to this program.

After experiencing a few moving moments yesterday, we’re back to the usual routine again. We started off the day at 7am, walking over to Wat Phnom to do morning journaling, and circle exercise. The topic of the journal today was to focus on freshness and newness of the same road that we have walked for 9 days.

After the morning routine, we arrived to CLA to begin our evaluation session for the first concert. Phavine and Reaksmey reported the responses from audiences and performers and led the discussion among high school and CLA students to find ways to improve themselves for the next concert. Most of the audiences and performers were satisfied with the overall outcome of the event. A student audience asked to have more students involved in the performance next time. From the discussion, students came up with some problems and suggestions such as having a higher stage so audiences in the back could see clearly and explaining the meaning of the circle painting.

At 10:30am, students and mentors were split into 2 groups. The first group went to visit Sopheap Pich, a Cambodian sculptor who made art works out of bamboo and wires. The remaining of the team stayed at CLA for Will and Kevin’s workshop on public speaking. The workshop developed on the previous public speaking workshop and focused on preparing scripts for speeches.

At lunch, all the mentors went to a trendy Vietnamese restaurant near CLA where Vina ordered so many dishes for us. The afternoon was the time for concert preparation. I took students in my group out to Bak Touk high school to plan the decoration for the place. We had fun driving around to find a helium balloon seller to come help us decorate the venue, and on our way, got to buy crickets and coconut juice. J At the wrapping up session, everyone seemed to be tired but prepared.

Dinner was quite a treat as we got invited by some important government people to a fancy dinner. The seafood feast and luxurious location took us by a pleasant surprise. We left the restaurant recharged, albeit too well-fed, though I believe none of us complained.

We closed up the night with a workshop which turned into a profound discussion about our future and goal of life. Everyone was asked to share what we think we want to achieve in life and whether we know a way to do so. The night became more memorable once we were randomly paired up to say appreciation to each other. While listening to these acknowledgements, I developed a different vision of each team member and felt that our connection was strengthened by it.

We started off the day with the exhaust that still lingered after the first concert. I felt the energy level of the group was not back to normal level yet. We struggled through the morning with some mentors taking naps during the workshop. In the afternoon, I was a bit more energized by my lively mentees who never seemed to be tired. Finally, the discussion at night took me off from tiredness and made me start thinking more about my future and the reason I joined the project. It was a perfect closure of the night which brought a sense of both curiosity and serenity.