Teaching American Youth About Cambodia

The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), my host institution, provided me the opportunity to present about Cambodia to a number of primary school students, high school students, and teachers at St. Peter School in San Antonio. I first provided some general facts about Cambodia including the geographical area, overview of lives in urban and rural areas, religions, currency, and political system. Then, I gave a quick overview of the education in Cambodia. Last but not least, I talked about Cambodian culture such as foods, traditional clothes, and sports and attractive places such as Angkor Wat. I also taught students some words in Khmer (Cambodian) language.

Through this presentation, I gained some important personal and social experiences. Personally, I have learned to fit the presentation to the audience. Since the audience was made up mostly of young students, I shared information in the simplest terms and made it interesting. I encouraged the students to study hard as they are currently studying in a place where many students around the world dream about. I advised them to never limit themselves to only where they are. They should go out and explore the world.

I was surprised that the students were very brave and actively participated despite the fact that they are young. After seeing this, I better understand how to encourage students to be brave in my home country. This opportunity allowed me to not only share about my country, but also enabled me to learn more about the United States and the ways I can encourage students in Cambodia to be more active and participate.

Thanks to World Learning, UIW, and St. Peter School for this great and memorable opportunity!

Students listening to Waddhna’s presentation
Waddhna presenting about Cambodia to students

Written by Waddhna In, 2018-19 Global UGRAD student from Cambodia at the University of the Incarnate Word