Sunday July 4th, 2010
By Utara Norng
Since graduating on June 6, 2010, with a Master of Arts in Economic Policy from the Center for Development Economics(CDE) at Williams College, I have been back in my home country, Cambodia for a while now. When I was in the United States, I sometimes felt I was divided into two. One part of me longed to be home in Cambodia because time seemed to pass so slowly in the USA, especially during winter. Ocassionally, though, time flew fast in the USA--especially during fun and memorable experiences.
Now back in Cambodia, to my surprise I still feel as though I am two people. I am thrilled to come home, but I miss so many things in the USA after my one-year experience, which was so full of education. I totally agree with my dearest friend Veronica's remark: "I had an exceptionally good year full of EDUCATION and I don't just mean the academics!" Personally, I gained more during my studies than I expected. The 10 months at the CDE was one of the most unforgettable chapters in my life.
In fact, it was a challenge to make up my mind what I should do for my Master's degree before I decided to apply for the Fulbright scholarhsip. Having dreamed of being a writer since I was a young girl, I seriously considered going for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing before I applied for the Fulbright. After consulting with a few professional writers; however, I realized I was not yet qualified for the MFA program.
Since, I am not yet ready to apply for MFA program; I decided to be more flexible regarding my desire to apply for MFA, but to go for a different Master of Arts in stead in order to shift my new way of thinking of the world as well as to allow me time to ensure my writing maturity. I therefore decided to apply for Fulbright scholarship for Master of Arts in Political Economy for I believe ths program of studies will help me understand about international affiars, international conflict analysis, laws and regulations, growth and democracy, globalization, capitalism and sustainability, security and development, finance, technology, and human progress. Fortunately, I was accepted to do my Master of Arts in Economic Policy at Williams College under Fulbright sponsorship 2009-2010.
Through a random room selection arranged by the CDE I met Veronica, from Armenia. Her room was just in front of mine and one of the smallest--stuffy with a low ceiling. In contrast, my room was like a honeymoon suite and the biggest at the CDE. The first time we met was when she returned from a New York trip with her aunt before orientation began. She became known at the CDE as one of the most beautiful newly-weds, the youngest and most talented student, with the most American sounding accent.
Veronica is such a night owl and I am such an early bird. I called at her door almost every morning to wake her up during the orientation period. We were running late to South Academic Building in order to attend Micro class with Prof. Bakija "You'd better to get some sleep" Prof. Bakija told us because he saw Veronica and I were both half sleeping in the classroom.
It was just the beginning.
In retrospect, orientation was like a honeymoon after having realized that there were much more challenges to come especially during Fall semester compared to the orientation time. After all that, everyone made it despite countless sleepless nights over the 10-month program for our Master of Arts in Economic Policy. Finally, we are all becoming policy economists!!! Bravo and Congradulations to everyone.
Some of our CDE fellows believed that meeting one another in this program was just like meeting people on a bus or a train--you would forget about them once you completed the studies and returned back home. Veronica and I have the opposite feeling. We have so many things in common and--surprisingly--our cultures are quite similar. At the end of the program we joked, "Armenia and Cambodia should be one." Even so, we are quite apart from different continents. We strongly hope that one day we will be able to meet again. Thanks to globalization and internet access the world has become smaller. In reality; however, we may talk less, write less, and share less for we both will be busy with a lot of other things in our daily lives, especially family, work, and friends back home in our countries.
Whenever we start thinking about our time at the CDE, we will definitely and constantly remember the most beautiful things, our hardships, and our unforgettable moments that we both in particular have shared during our 10-month stay together. Our strong bonding friendship has made me realize how touching and meaningful our time was, especially during our though academic life at the CDE.
In parallel, it was also through a random arrangment by the CDE that I encountered Deborah Burns, a very kind-hearted, warm, down to earth and helpful American host. I run out of words to describe how sincerely grateful I am to have met her and her whole family during my stay in Williamstown.
When I started learning to write in my own language, Khmer, I kept countless diaries. The when I started learning English, I began writing even more. In one of my very old diaries, I wrote that I dreamed of being a writer one day and that my book would be widely read domestically and internationally. More than a decade later, my dream came true. This big dream could not have been accomplished if I had not met Deborah Burns and her famiy members through a chance meeting in the USA. I think I am just a very lucky girl. There were always ups and downs for me there; however, Deb was always there for me. We shared a lot of things together--family, work, academics, love, and life.
I told Deborah that because of my work with the Victim of Torture Project(VOT) at the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which focuses on indentifying traumatized victims from the Khmer Rouge regime, I decided to write a book about Ginger, entitled Broken Glass: A Young Girl Named Ginger. The book is about Ginger's world, as a bar girl who survived three abortions at a very young age, and about her mother Malis's world, as a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. Deb's passion for literature, her compassion and that of her family members, and our spontaneous bond through love of writing resulted in Deb and her brother Stewart introducing me to Northshire Bookstore, which published my book in the USA in 2010.
Deb and I are blessed to have met each other. I wish to express my gratitude to my warmest host family Deborah Burns, Janet Keep, Stewart Burns, and James MacGregor Burns for having me as part of their family during my stay in Williamstown. Their family has brightened up my life by nourishing and adding more spices to become one of the most magnificent chapters in my life in the USA.
At the end of my studies, I was given two awards for my unique achievements: "The Multi Tasker Award" for my frequent-flying, and "Budding Author" in the CDE midst. Despite the intensive program at the CDE, I had managed to travel to almost 10 different states. I love to explore and learn something new. In addition, I had managed to get my book published in 2010 and had a sucessful book singing event at Water Street Books on April 22, 2010. The books are currently being on sale at Water Street Books, Williamstown, USA, and the Monument Bookstore, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I have been longing for this day for so many years and I could not have accomplished all of these at once back home. Currently, "Broken Glass: A Young Girl Named Ginger" is being submitted for reviews for the TOM WATSON BROWN BOOK AWARD for books published in 2010.
Upon my returning from my studies, I have found that the program of my studies help accelerating my career and what I have dreamt for. In my Fulbright application 2009-2010, I dare to dream to work in poverty reductio cluster at UNDP. Currently, I am a Social Protection Intern-Development Policy Initiative at UNDP in poverty reduction cluster.
My duties and responsibilities are to assist in the study "Revitalizing Industrial Growth in Cambodia" espcially on social protectiion componet and formulation of the engagement strategies of social protection for UNDP/DPI for the next five years. This study is one of the two studies in which UNDP is in close collaboration with the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) in order to prepare for the 4th Cambodia Economic Forum (CEF). My key functions are: actively participate in the research, help draft teh existing government industrial policies, review the research paper from social protection angle, assist in the formulation of UNDP's social protection strategies, assist in the networking and engagement and engagement of UNDP's social protection strategies.
I am a person who is very afraid of failure and yet at the same time I am such a dreamer. "The future belongs to those who belive in the beauty of their dreams," wrote Eleanor Roosevelt. I quoated this in the chapter called "Dreamer" in my book.
"Climb high, Climb far. Your goal the sky; Your aim the star"-Inscription at Williams College. Without daring to dream of becoming a Fulbright scholar since I was a high school girl, I would not have become one. Without daring to dream of becoming an author when I was a young girl, I would not have experienced the pure complete joy I have now. without daring to dreams, I would not have achieved many goals I have dreamt for so far. In the near future, I hope to pursue my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside. Chance is all I need to prove myself.
