Writer. Fighter. Lover. Dreamer. The doctor's say she's generally functional.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Day 8 - Phnom Penh

Greg (prep boy from UK) and Cameron (surfer boy from Aussie) left for Sihanokhville for the night - Emma (girl from Canada)went with them and I felt like a protective parent. So I'm at the hostel with Uta (Germany) and her friends, quickly got my own room for the night, so I wouldn't have to share with Jitten(Laddoo) - they were heading to some museums today and Uta asked me to come - didn't have the chance to tell her I can't stand the guy. Headed to a nearby guesthouse for some lunch and chilled out - Gin and Tonic with a Lime that i plucked from a tree - truly, there's beauty in simple things.

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Made my way to the river to meet a very, very important man. My mum's friend, Shirley, has an Ambassador husband. And her husband's friend is this man. So a few weeks ago, I gave him a call before I went - we arranged to meet when I got there. Then I googled him, and found out this:

Roland Eng

H.E. Roland Eng, "Ambassador-at-Large and Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia. Ambassador Roland Eng of the Kingdom of Cambodia, joined King Norodom Sihanouk, then in exile, in 1979 in France to spearhead the Royalist cause during the Khmer Rouge regime. He later volunteered at the refugee camps along the Cambodian-Thai border before becoming a freedom fighter with the Royalist forces inside Cambodia. Ambassador Eng worked closely with the UN under the UNTAC operation and, in 1993, was elected to the National Assembly as MP for Kampot province. He was later appointed as Minister of Tourism and then as the first Ambassador to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore upon restoration of diplomatic ties since the end of the country's civil war. The Royal Cambodian ambassador to Washington from 1999 to 2004, Ambassador Eng is currently Cambodia's Ambassador-at-Large and Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia."

Well, yes.
So with much excitement, I met him today. Brought a sample portfolio to show him - and he was impressed. Like, impressed as hell. Me, impressing the Ambassador at Large of Cambodia. Me, this girl, this girl with undone hair, an unironed shirt and shorts and sandals, with bites and cuts all over the place, this girl, impressed the Advisor to the official advisor to the governmenet.

Well HELL YES!

Everything he asked for, I had. Websites and blogs? There you go, UrbanWire. Journalism? Well here's Tribune, Hype, Hyper, Teenage, Lime, etc. Marketing? Here's a campaign I did for Coke. How about Advertising? Well, where shall we start?

Got a degree? Yes, RMIT from Melbourne.

And we haven't even started talking about Humanitarian and Volunteer work.

Basically, I made the damn right selections for my sample portfolio. And I see how good an education I have had with the EXACT right work experience. Mum & Dad, Mr Yee, Jenny, Stephen, Mel, no words need to be said. You guys. =)

So he calls this guy called Sam who from the UK, he's in Siam Reap doing NGO work. So I chat with him on the phone, tell him abit about myself, school and work, and work and work, and work and school. Had enough, quit my job, took my money and went into the wild. And that's where I am now. Oh, wow. he said. When do you need to be back? And I said, I don't.

So this guy is coming to Phnom Penh on Friday and I'll meet him then. And we'll chat about what I can do.

I told Roland (His Excellency Roland Eng) my plans - Singapore to Saigon, Saigon to Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh to Siam Reap, Siam Reap to Laos, Laos to Thailand, and take the train home. Well that's a good plan! he said. A very good plan.

He gave me his namecard and said, in any journey you take, if anyone stops you or causes any trouble, show them this. A get out of jail free card? Not quite, he said, but with a smile. So now what happens is, I go to Sobhhana Foundation tomorrow to check it out, meet Sam on Friday to discuss what I would like to work on (freelance journalist for Phnom Penh Post, Marketing, Writing, Editing, etc.) and I say this with a little help from my friend, Noel.

I'm feeling supersonic,
give me gin and tonic,
you can have it all but how much do you want it?

Is it my imagination
Or have I finally found something worth living for?
Is it worth the aggravation
To find yourself a job when there's nothing worth working for?
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen

How the hell is this happening???

5 comments:

  1. WOW! so you not coming home any time soon? Then I am coming okay? BTW I think you need to e mail aunty shirley!She's also quite excited and called me from Egypt,so I gave her an update but not in full.

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  2. oh hurray, retta! but how exciting.
    i love you!!!!

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  3. Amazing. Good things come to good people.

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