Plane sick! I was so dizzy to spend around 20 hours on the plane from Phnom Penh to Bucharest with a three time transit. It was about four days that I could feel a bit better after travelling. It is my first time travelling by plane but it makes me no surprise beside trying to take plane sickness medicine to prevent headache and vomit. However, there was a bit nice scene on the way from Amsterdam to Bucharest that I could see the cloud so close and the ground so far from the sky.

Weather sick is my major problem living in Sibiu. It is summer here but it is just like winter in Cambodia. Morning is cold, a bit hot with sunlight at the afternoon and cold again at the evening and night time. It is really hard for me to adapt at first because I feel so weak with the cold weather. Nevertheless, after a few days, things are alright. Now I can enjoy my time much with that weather. Still, I always have to find the sunlight to lay on so it can makes me feel a bit fresh.

Besides, food sick is also comes into account. Main thing is about the very different taste of food that I can hardly eat. Food at the cafeteria is quiet tasteless with too many oil and not much meat but vegetables especially potato. Actually, I like potato in Cambodia, but not anymore. It is too much for me now. Luckily, there are many mart and super market here that I can find some nice things to eat with not so expensive price. Now I bought plenty of things, include chips, nuts, chocolate, fruits and meat to store in the fridge.

Rather than just illness, weather and food, home sick is what I can hardly face. Only few days living here, I miss everything in my country especially my parent, relatives and my boyfriend. Every night my brain is automatically asking myself what am I doing here? Why do I have to leave them? What should I do next? Sometimes I even feel I really want to go back now. Ah! So stress! Whatever! I can find the right answer to all these question. I get to make a move on with my life. I have to find the best thing for myself and my family; and this is the righteous thing to reach my goal.

Well, it’s been a week now and thing seems to turn a bit better. I don’t feel sick now and I can enjoy some nice places nearby like the park and the square. This Tuesday I start a Romania class, although it is a bit boring but it better than too free for a month until my academic class -public relation- start. Moreover, I also feel comfort with life condition here with a nice cheap dorm with enough accessories and free washing machine. Besides, I also enjoy spending time to know more people. Just hope that my communication skill is improve so I may be able to do good in my PR class too.

Besides, spending about four days here before class start, they guided me to tour around town to know my school faculty, dining place, and mini mart, etc. It is a very kind of them that makes me feel much familiar here in a very short time.

In sum, I think that life here, particularly, with the help from Mrs.Preda satisfied me a lot. Therefore, I can spend a very precious and great time in this very nice city to focus and get a good degree in pursuing my study.

Who say after the rain everything’s fine? It’s not true at all to me. Everytime after the heavy rain there is a sewage flood all along my way home. I have to walk my motor sometime if the sewage water is too deep that my motor stopped working.  Because of this main problems in town, now Japanese gave dornor to us to repair the sewage system. During the constuction everythings are terrible.

Many of the road are blocked .  Some road that alreayd finish its sewage sysyem repairing are in bad condition- it becomes too dusty.

Besides the process of sewage system repairing that cause bad to traffic and town view, the construction of Centre market also causes problems to traffic. Half of the road along Centre Market are blocked.

Well, it is a constuction time so sooner the city will turn to be better and nicer. However, within this while I have to spend 1/2 more of my time stuck on the dirty road and traffic jams. Also, I have to be flexible in finding my way home or I will be blocked in the road end.

That’s it for Phnom Penh during this raining constuction month. Let’s see what happen later.

@Boramey

“You are smart and you must be strong, you are an elder child and you have to be in part of settle things up”, my mom keeps saying these words to me for almost 20years. These words did not make me better but it become a pressure to me. It seems like I cannot do any mistakes. Did she ever care I am just a kid and I need time, chance and care rather than blame to correct me? Maybe because of her influence makes me sometime feel I’m so strong but in fact I’m just a weak girl who afraid to face everything. I was raised in a cold family, everyone likes to shout and always acting cruel whenever quarrel start. My parent is always on and off. They may talk to each other 2 or 3 days a week have fight 3 or 4 days a week. Every happy time happen, my only wish was to make the time stood still. Is it too imaginary? Until now I keep thinking of it.

Trusty! I hope I learn to trust people more than this. When I was a kid, I trust and always am positive to everyone around me. But time changes! Friend, family and even myself make me feel nobody can be trusted on earth. Everyone is just selfish and do everything for themselves. It seems like my own story through the song Because of You by Kelly Clarkson. [Because of you, I learn to play on the safe side so I won’t get hurt. Because of you, I learn it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me; because of you I am afraid.] Well, I don’t know who should be blame, or should I put the blame on Akon? (just kidding) Well, if to be blame maybe I have to blame myself first. It’s true that no one can cheat you unless you are that stupid.

Well, life is complicated and struggle! Sometimes you don’t have to care whether other cry or laugh for you. There must be a loser if you want to be a winner. Still, always who you are because you don’t need to care what other feel for you but you gotta care what you feel for yourself. Try to polish yourself just as a gem because at first it was just a stone.

The JXII game is manufactured by CIDC-IT’s “Sabay” brand. JXII is a popular Asian action-adventure fantasy game played on the Internet that is set in ancient China, when the Song Dynasty and Liao Dynasty fought legendary wars. When the game begins, the kingdoms rein chaos, reeling from internal rebellions and foreign threats.

Players can earn points that allow them to progress to higher levels either by successfully answering questions that test their knowledge of the game or by winning battles that test their master of marital arts. They can also earn gold, which they can use to buy items such as clothes and weapons in the virtual world.

 Besides engaging in combat, players can form friendships, fall in love and even marry if they choose. In gaming jargon, JXII is known as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

Prak Anorn, has been playing JXII for about five or six months now. He’s managed to reach level 72 of the game, which he believes goes to level 90. The 12-year-old spends about two to three hours every Saturday and Sunday playing the game. But he insists it doesn’t affect his school work because he only plays on the weekend.

Bun So Meng Hong, 15 and a Phsar Derm Thakav high school student, say he plays JXII about two hours a day at an Internet café. He began playing about four months ago and has reached level 53. Many of those who attended the JXII party took part in friendly and spirited competitions with prizes awarded to the best players. They also had the chance to enter their names in lucky draws for phones and T-shirts.

Besides free game testing and the gift give-aways, gamers were treated to performances from top Cambodian Hip Hop artists such as Pou Klaing, Youngster and DJ ADDA, who told Economics Today she unveiled three new songs just for the occasion even though she doesn’t actually know how to play JXII. Since the “beta” launch of JXII in Cambodia late in 2007, over 15,000 players have entered the exotic virtual world of ancient China to try to prove their bravery, cunning and mastery of martial arts.

©Boramey

First of all plan a move. Phnom Penh may look like an abandoned city as most of the residents are leaving for their hometown. Most parts of the town are quiet. You should set up a plan and make sure you have somebody to stay with if you don’t want to be haunted in this hushed city.

Then make your move before New Year. If you need clothes or anything, you’d better go shopping at least two weeks or one month earlier as everything may be the double price. Save some money so you can afford to buy a rain coat to protect yourself from water-throwing on New Year’s day.

Beside, you can enjoy a lot of music from your neighbors to celebrate, sometimes even weeks before the big day. It may bother you but it can save electricity from having to turn on your music player. However, don’t enjoy it too much like the cicadas. Go find some foods to store like ants. Most markets will be closed for three days, and you have to be prepared if you don’t want to look skinny after New Year.

While a market is a daily kitchen for street-boys, they usually eat the foods that are left from people, so where else is their reserved kitchen if it is closed? Well, that is why they too have to make a move. Neither far from a market nor outside town, pagodas are their temporary kitchen. There is going to be plenty of food that people bring to pray for the monks. Lucky for those guys, even though they are not monks, they can share the monks’ food. For the moment those guys are around, you should move watch your shoes too. There always shoes stolen but no court to judge besides issuing these two words: “be careful.”

After these preparations, it should be time to move for your New Year fun. Although the town is quiet, there are also some places that can entertain you. Wat Phnom is one remarkable area where many people play popular games and dance. However, make sure you join a real popular game, not a popular gambling game, if you don’t want to spend your time in detention.

At sundown, many people join this celebration but among those huge crowds, there are bad people who take advantage of innocent people like you. Don’t be careless with your property. With only few police versus large groups of people you’d better bring only a little money, no phone nor nice shoes if you don’t want to go back home with an empty pocket and one shoe. A special alert for women is to bring a male-guard so you won’t experience a stranger’s dirty hand with baking powder on your face like me.

For those who go to the countryside, you should pay much attention to the road. In previous years, people have died when escaping from water-throwing and got into accidents, some with broken necks and unconsciousness. So, you had better stay calm and make a smart move if you still want to join the next New Year.

©Boramey

“It is really interesting and very exciting to me as it is the first time I’ve seen dancing water like this in town,” says 19-year-old university student, Phaty, her eyes fixated on the jets of water at Wat Batum Park. “I spend most of my weekend here with my friends. I love to see this amazing view with the crowds of people.”

There are at least three places in Phnom Penh where water, lights and music converge into as Park, the National University of Management (NUM) and Independence Monument.

By far the most popular is at Wat Batum Park, which is packed most evenings and weekends with people seeking out rest, relax-ation or a place to carry out their regular fit-ness routines.

The park has always been a popular Phnom Penh gathering spot, but the crowds have grown even larger since the water fountain show was added. “

“Before I never spent much time here, but ever since this water fountain (was installed), I love to spend my weekend time watching it,” says grade 12 student, Sokunthea.

Almost 5 hectares of Phnom Penh, which totals 375 square kilometers, are devoted to parks and leisure places.

©Boramey