The 14th lecture of the Global Career Series was the last one for 2014. It was a study tour of Cambodia and was presented by three seniors from Komazawa Univeristy, Ms. Iwai, Mr. Kondo and Ms. Yoshida.
They are currently students in Professor Tsuboi’s seminar at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Letters, Komazawa University. They talked about their study tour experience, which was held for a week in September, at which time they met with people from the Royal University of Phnom Penh and an orphanage to learn about the current state in Cambodia.
They started by telling the audience, “Please relax and enjoy listening to us who are average students at a university.” Then, they each talked about their first impressions of Cambodia, and their stories brought a sense of affinity to the audience members, all of whom were close in age.
They gave quizzes titled “Cambodia Quiz” at each turning point in the talk, so that the students could listen with interest, and the lecture was conducted in an amiable manner.
They realized that the students at the Royal University of Phnom Penh spent a lot of time studying as a way to “escape from poverty.” The Cambodian students openly admitted that they had entered university without a clear purpose and had thought back then what they should study there.
In reference to Cambodia`s status as a developing country, they reported that a Japanese business person had built a company that grew and sold peppers and contributed to developing the local area, and preserving the traditional life there. They also talked about the rapid growth of an exclusive residential district, increasing number of luxury cars and the expansion of its Wi-Fi networks.
They said that they understood the relations between Cambodia and Japan and that Cambodians respected Japan. He concluded that foreigners could experience many things by visiting their country.
“Any knowledge can be acquired from direct experience when we visit the actual place and feel the air. I bet ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’” they said emphatically.
A question and answer session followed after the lecture. The students in the audience felt inspiration after listening to the lecturers, who were close to their age, and asked questions, “What do you normally study?” “When you visited Cambodia, what was different from your previous knowledge about it?”
Finally, the lecturers said, “Go abroad to discover who you are and Japan!” This message was impressive to the students who were studying global perspectives.
Other students in Prof. Tsuboi’s seminar also observed the lecture. They possessed a sense of warmth as they watched their peers and the students.
