Week 6: A workshop for SMEs
My Work
The ideal week would have gone something like this. I would have had three days to fine tune research and analysis before the event I was presenting at for ODC on Thursday. Since I am at the halfway point, research is still an ongoing process, and I wanted to have the most information to present and discuss. A calm three 8-hour workdays would do just the trick.
Instead, it went a little something like this. On Sunday, my boss got called away for a personal emergency, leaving us with no director to give the opening and closing remarks. Not to mention all the guidance I was hoping to have when hosting a workshop in a country I have only lived in for 6 weeks. And as of Monday morning, there were still no affirmative responses to the workshop. We had wanted this workshop to be an intimate place to share experiences, but zero responses was significantly undershooting the goal. Since I was the direct link for many of the participants (who had yet to respond to the invitation), I spent much of Monday reaching out to them to gain meaningful attendance.
Further, I was directed to attend the International SME Day event. So, I lost another day in the office. Considering my research is directly on SMEs, I was hoping that this would be a valuable networking and learning opportunity. The event was not very productive to my goals for the week, extending my workday late into the evening. Finally on Wednesday, ODC and I roped in 10 participants to the workshop (honestly about 8 more than I could have imagined).
Thursday’s workshop went very well all things considered. Many of the businesses were learning about laws that impacted them for the first time which brought questions and concerns for their business’s future. Further, there were other organizations in attendance whose priorities are to help SME growth by offering business, legal, technological, and/or financial advice. This combination helped the businesses network with like-minded individuals and learn about the resources available to them.
Lastly, while presenting businesses with some of my findings may have been the draw for businesses to come, the most important part was seeing what work is ahead to help these businesses. I learned a lot on how each company does advertising and work in the digital sphere, how much they know and don't know about the laws. Many of them rely on informal modes of communicating and storing data, so talking about the GDPR and its potential impact on the other countries looking to enact something similar was very eye opening for some businesses. Especially businesses that operate online or are trying to break into the international economies. The ODC team will hopefully be able to use these anecdotes and information to better the economy and SME connection long after I return back to the United States.
My Travels
To celebrate the fourth of July weekend and escape the crazy work week, I headed to the coast to an island off the Sihanouk province: Koh Rong. Even though I was pretty sure that it would be quite rainy (or at least cloudy) for the weekend, I was excited for some time at the beach. Sihanouk is about a 3-hour bus ride and then a 45-minute speed boat ferry before arriving on the island. As I was waiting for the fairy, I met a fellow solo traveler named Zofia from Canada. She had been traveling for 2 months at that point and was just about halfway through her trip. Zofia was just one of the many backpackers that frequent Koh Rong and its southern, yet more quiet companion Koh Rong Samloem. It was the first time this whole trip that most people I ran into spoke fluent English. Zofia and I shared a few meals and afternoons together, and it was lovely hearing about her travels of southeast Asia and her plans for the rest of the trip.
Koh Rong’s tourism is just beginning to blossom. In fact, the three days that I was there, a whole new section of a beach sidewalk was built for the bungalows and hostels buried in the jungle. In about 10 years, I am sure the relatively chill atmosphere will be much different than it is now. While hearing of the new expansion plans upset me at first, I have seen how much Cambodia relies on its tourism. The pandemic had not been kind to the tourism sector, a sector that Cambodia heavily relies upon for income. The country has just started to rebound after almost 3 years of extremely low numbers in places like the islands and the temples in Siem Reap. Getting rid of large swaths of the natural jungle for construction that will increase the number of jobs and income to the country and its people is a sacrifice that really all Cambodians are willing to make.
One of the hostels holds an event every Saturday with music, beach games, and food/drink for all the backpackers to come and socialize. Admittedly, this is a popular event and one that I had not even known about until Zofia had mentioned it to me. Shows how much research I was able to do before this weekend trip. We walked to the event together, meeting others along the way, including two other girls that would form our team to compete in sack racing, tug of war, and other sandy events. I met lots of worldly souls there throughout the afternoon and even had a pretty impressive pulled pork sandwich!
As Zofia and I headed back to our beach abodes, we ran into a little food and drink stall that held several newborn puppies. The owner allowed us to hold them and stay with them as long as we wanted. We absolutely loved hanging out with the five puppies that were chilling and later even found that there were two more tucked away. Dogs are prevalent. in all of the places in Cambodia, on the island and in the cities. Every single dog I have seen has a calm demeanor, however, as much as I love dogs, it is best to stay away from most of them. Fleas can be the least of your worries when it comes to ailments that might be contracted. But the puppies have just entered the world, so risks aside, I could not give up an opportunity to pet an animal.
Koh Rong during the low season offers few activities other than early sunrises, long walks, outdoor meals, and beach lounging. One of the popular activities is seeing the bioluminescent plankton. Through some inquiries on the island about tours, Zofia and I learned that the approaching full moon offered too much light pollution to see them. But, we were told that it would be possible in the early evening before the moon gets too high if we walked down the beach and found an area without light. It had “monsooned” most of the afternoon, so we did not make it very far down the muddy road. And when we were confronted by a small neighborhood dog gang, we conceded that there would be no glowing plankton for us. We were able to split a pizza from the Italian restaurant before calling it a night to rest one more evening on the island. For being a Cambodian island, this was the most Western food I have had since arriving.
Heading back via fairy to the main island, I felt rejuvenated for the next month ahead but also felt little hints of sadness in missing out on the weekend activities back in America. I am sure that leaving at the end of the month will be a bittersweet send off. But, this internship has absolutely flown by, and I look forward to the coming weeks.