Watch for Sorn Davin bearing Cambodia's flag at the London Olympics this Friday

Sorn Davin will carry the Cambodian flag at this Friday's opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. Photograph: Ken Gadaffi/Phnom Penh Post

Sorn Davin named as Cambodian flagbearer for Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Ken Gadaffi
The Phnom Penh Post

Taekwondo star Sorn Darvin will become Cambodia’s first female flag bearer at an Olympic Games when she leads the delegation at the opening ceremony of the London Games this Friday.

"Sorn Darvin will carry our flag. She was the most worthy candidate among all our athletes," said Vath Chamroeun, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia.

The towering 25-year-old Phnom Penh native won a silver medal at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia and has wealth of experience in international competitions.

Having landed in London on June 14 and attending a five-week training course under top British taekwondo coach David Cook, Davin is set to compete in the women’s over-67kg event on August 11.

ការ​ប្រកួត​បវរ​កញ្ញា​ចក្រវាល​ប្រ​ចំា​ឆ្នំា ២០១៣​ មាន​អ្នក​តំណាង​ខ្មែរ​​ចូល​រួម​ដែរ

ដោយ​ ៖ វ៉េង ភក្តី
Originally posted at: http://www.khmer79.com/facebook_referral.php?referralID=37165&fb_comment_id=fbc_10150945662258299_22395400_10150947901388299&fb_source=message#f22eb2881fdf23e

​កញ្ញា ​ផានិថ រ៉ា​ម៉ា សុវណ្ណ (Phanith Rama Sovann) គឺ​ជា​កូន​ខ្មែរ​សញ្ជាតិ​អាមេរិក ដែល​បាន​រត់​ភៀស​ខ្លួន​ កាលពី​សម័យ​របប​ខ្មែរ​ ក្រហម​ទៅ​រស់​នៅ​អាមេរិក​​ទំាង​ភាព​ប្រថុយ​ប្រថាន ​ថែម​ទាំង​បាន​តស៊ូជំនះ​រាល់​ឧបសគ្គៈ ដើម្បី​ស្វែង​រកសុភមង្គល​ក្នុង​ជីវិត។

ខណៈពេល​បាន​ជួប​ជាមួយ​ នឹង​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​ របស់​ Khmerican នាង​បាន​ប្រាប់​ពី​ប្រវត្តិ​របស់​នាង​ដែល​បាន​ឆ្លង​កាត់​ ការ​លំបាក់​នៅក្នុង​សង្គ្រាម​ខ្មែរ​ ក្រហម​ និង​សង្គ្រាម​ស៊ីវិល ពីបន្ទាប់​ពីរបប​ប្រល័យ​ពូជ​សាសន៍ ហើយ​កញ្ញា​បាន​សង្គត់​ធ្ងន់​ថា រូប​នាង​នឹង​ក្រុម​គ្រួសារ​ស្ទើរ​តែ​បាត់​បង់​ជីវិត​ច្រើន​លើក​ច្រើន​សារមក​ហើយ ក្នុង​ឆាក​ជីវិត​ក្នុង​ខ្សែ​បន្ទាត់​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា​ ថៃ។

សូម​បញ្ជាក់​ផង​ដែរថា​ សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​កញ្ញា គឺ​ជា​និស្សិត​នៃ​សាកលវិទ្យាល័យ​ កាលីហ្វូញ៉ា ទីក្រុង​ លូស​ អ៊ិន​ចេលិស សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក​ ចំណង​ចំណូច​ចិត្ត​ របស់​នាង​ផ្នែក​ខាង​សំដែង​ និង​ដូរតន្ត្រី ទៀតផង ហើយ​ឥឡូវ​កញ្ញា​ បាន​ក្លាយ​ជា​អ្នក​តំណាង​ បវរកញ្ញា ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា៕

Cambodian Miss Cambodia 2013 official website launched

Originally published at

http://misscambodia2013.khmerican.com

Hello everyone, ជំរាបសួរ!

Welcome to the official Miss Cambodia 2013 website. It is my honor to represent Cambodia in the upcoming Queen of the Universe Pageant in January 2013. My desire is to bring Cambodia and the richness of our culture into greater public awareness, and I can not do this without your love and support.

For me this pageant is not an individual pursuit but rather the coalescing spirit of a community. I would not be able to represent Cambodia on my own, but together we can. This is why I wish you all to join me in this six-month journey. Through blog articles, photos, videos, and other pageant-related content, you will stay informed to all my developments. Also on this site, you will have the opportunity to sponsor me. Any amount is welcome.

Again, it is my greatest privilege and honor to be representing such a magnificent country, such a rich culture, and such beautiful people. Thank you for helping to turn this dream into reality through your support. Som arkun!

Love,

Phanith Sovann

Miss Cambodia 2013 is also on Twitter

Click the link below to follow Phanith Sovann on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/misscambodia13

.

Short biography of the world cookbook winner

Mrs. Long Sorey (L) winner of the World Gourmand cookbook (Photo supplied)

21 April 2010
By Mao Sotheany
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy and Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Under this week’s Khmer Women’s Progam, Mrs. Mao Sotheany is reporting about a short biography and the volunteer work by the winner of the World Gourmand cookbook author.

The Cambodian cookbook penned by a Cambodian woman and her daughter was selected to receive the World Gourmand prize in France. The cookbook was considered as the most talented cookbook in the world for 2009 among a selection of 6,000 other entries.

The French-language cookbook includes about 139 recipes and it also includes photographs. It was authored by Mrs. Long Sorey who is currently retired and living in Cambodia.

The 69-year-old lady was a former teacher during the Lon Nol Khmer Republic regime and she is currently retired. She is very happy after learning that the cookbook she co-authored with her daughter was recognized as a special cookbook in the world, both in terms of quality, printing, cover illustration, as well as photo illustrations of the completed dishes and the ease to prepare more than 130 Cambodian dishes.

Mrs. Long Sorey said: “I am very pleased, extremely pleased! Two Cambodian women wrote the number 1 cookbook in the world. This prize is beyond my imagination, it means more than money to me. I remembered about Cambodia, nobody knew about me, I had a Cambodian flag and they did not know about Cambodia. I showed them where Cambodia is! I showed them…”

Mrs. Long Sorey, the winner of the World Gourmand cookbook, said that the recognition of the talent in this Cambodian cookbook is an important factor to let countries in the world know about the civilization, the culture and the customs of Cambodia, and Cambodian food in particular.

In addition to her cooking skills, she is also very skilled in sewing and knitting, as well as being an expert in wedding marriage clothing. She said that after coming to live in Virginia, USA, in 1975, she was actively involved in Cambodian communities, especially during the celebration of the Cambodian New Year.

Mrs. Long Sorey said: “I dress up in Cambodian clothes to show how Cambodian women dress up, how they carry a food container to take to the pagoda, how we dress up for weddings, and during the Cambodian New Year, I have to do it to show others. People like to cook, they asked me to help so I can earn some extra income on top of my factory salary because I only know how to cook, to work in the household, so in order to survive, I did everything…”

In 1977, Mrs. Long Sorey and her husband, Mr. Long Bota, a former professor under the Lon Nol regime, along with their two children, decided to move to live in France. There, she and her husband were actively involved in the Cambodian community: “… Me and my teacher, we formed the women association to help in the translation work, to help find jobs, to teach cooking, tailoring, dressing up in Khmer. In Cambodia, I used to teach tailoring. People wanted to know, wanted to learn, so on Sundays, my family went to teach others because it’s something we like…”

Mrs. Long Sorey added that, in addition to being a teacher for household work during vacation period and weekends, she also used to volunteer her work in France and in refugee camps along the Khmer-Thai border.

Mrs. Long Sorey said: “When I arrived in France, I continued my study until I became a chef teacher for more than 20 years, up until my retirement in 2001. Prior to 2001, I returned back to Cambodia once a year. After 1980, I volunteered to work at refugee camps along the border because I have 2 months of vacation each year, I went to teach cooking and tailoring to Cambodian women in refugee camps so that when they return back to Cambodia, they have some skill to survive on…”

Mrs. Long Sorey and her husband, Mr. Long Bota, retired in 2001. They currently returned back to live in Cambodia and to offer volunteer work for the Children’s Smile NGO.

Mrs. Long Sorey claimed: “I volunteered to teach at a school where they gather children who scavenge garbage and bring them in to study at the center. I teach them, the younger teachers do not know how to cook Khmer food.”

The two children of Mrs. Long Sorey and her husband are both married now. Her son now lives and works in Switzerland, and her daughter went to live and work in England after her wedding.

She added that as long as she lives, she will continue to share all her professional knowledge to all Cambodian girls and younger generation of Cambodian women who want to learn about savoir-vivre (life), morale and household work such as cooking, dressing up for wedding, tailoring, knitting, etc…

Mrs. Long Sorey claimed that her cookbook is currently being translated into English and in the future, it will also be published in Khmer as well.

Cambodian Student Association Brings New Year to the Twin Cities

Members of the Cambodian Student Association at the University of Minnesota

28 Mar 2008
By Vuth Chhunn and Mary-Ann Em
Asian American Press

“Okay, guys, let’s do it just one more time. The ending was a bit messy,” Sarim Pin urged the other dancers. As the lively, instrumental music began to play, 10 dancers took their places to start again. Since December, these dancers have been practicing almost every weekend to perform for their New Year celebration. They are members of a small student organization at the University of Minnesota called the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota (CSAM).

While New Year’s Day is celebrated for a single evening, this holiday is given much more importance in Cambodia. Every April, children and adults look forward to the most anticipated holiday of the year, in which 3 days are devoted to festivities.

Not surprisingly, Cambodian New Year 2008 is CSAM’s showcase event of the year. “It’s the biggest celebration in Cambodia and we want to bring it here and share it with other cultures,” says Alexander Sok, a public relations officer for CSAM.

One member, Boramy Kim, feels the holiday is an important occasion for Cambodian-American families and individuals to take pride in their heritage. “It’s a meaningful time to come together as a family to celebrate both the blessing of a New Year and traditional culture.”

Through this celebration, CSAM hopes to unite the Cambodian-American community in the Twin Cities, especially in terms of bridging the gap between the older and younger generations. Sarim Pin, the president of the organization, feels strongly about this. “I hope people will see that we, as Cambodian students, are still holding on to our culture and traditions even though most of us here are second-generation Cambodians in the United States.”

Furthermore, CSAM wants to reach out and include the University community and the general public in the celebration. “Through sharing our food, our music, our dancing, our traditional fashion, and our stories, we want to inform and entertain members of the larger community who may not be familiar with Cambodian culture. After all, Asians and Asian-Americans represent a whole spectrum of unique, distinct cultures,” says Mary-Ann Em, vice president of CSAM.

The celebration will take place on Saturday, April 5th, 2008, at the North Star Ballroom on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. Free to the public, the event features authentic Cambodian food, a program of cultural performances, and a Cambodian live band for dancing. Doors open at 6 pm and will last until midnight.

For more information, please contact the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota at
csam@umn.edu.

Far From Home, a Cambodian on Ice

Michael Chau and Tracy Tanovich (Photo: www.SkateyGirl.com)

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
06 February 2008

For Michael Chau, last month’s figure skating medal was nothing new, but it was was something special.

The 17-year-old skater won a silver medal with his partner, Tracy Tanovich, 11, in the Pairs Juniors Nationals, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He earned the medal just 15 minutes from where his family lives, a family he has been away from for five years, training.

The son of Cambodian refugees from Battambang who moved to Minnesota 27 years ago, Chau has been ice skating since he was 7.

“By the time Michael was 12, my wife and I recognized Michael’s talent and allowed him to go to Florida to train as a single skater,” his father, Thyna Chau, said in a recent interview.

The training led to partner skating with Tanovich, national competitions and a bronze in the 2006 national championships.

The two won the Novice Pairs competition at the US Figure Skating Championships in 2007.

“It was very difficult being away from my family at such a young age, but I’m independent,” Chau told VOA Khmer in a recent interview. “I really enjoyed being on my own and getting to be my own person. And Tracy and I have great support at the rink.”

The training has led to a close relationship with his partner, he said, one that he hopes will lead them to the Olympics in 2014.

Chau is now back in Florida, training.

Cambodia by the book

Sue Taylor, library supervisor at Mark Twain Library in Long Beach, above left, and Lyda Thanh, a library homework helper who speaks, reads and writes Khmer, prepare for their January trip to Cambodia to purchase books for the library s large Khmer collection. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Sue Taylor, a library supervisor at Mark Twain Library, displays a book in Khmer. The library hopes to enlarge and update its Khmer-language collection. Long Beach is home to one of the world s largest Cambodian populations outside of Cambodia. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

COMMUNITY: Grants to finance library's search for, purchase of Khmer-language works.

12/30/2007
By Kelly Puente, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - Mark Twain Library staff members Susan Taylor and Lyda Thanh were on a mission to buy more than 1,000 books in the Khmer language.

They scoured Long Beach's Cambodian markets, searched through Khmer Web sites and even called a publishing company in Cambodia.

"We tried everything," said Taylor, a library supervisor who began planning the project two years ago. "But all the Cambodian shops in Long Beach hadn't gotten anything new in the last five years. We'd exercised all our resources."

The women discovered that the only way to find such a large quantity and variety of material was to travel to Cambodia and buy the books themselves.

On Wednesday, Taylor and Thanh will fly to Cambodia with a $20,000 grant to replenish the library's aging collection of books in Khmer, the country's official language.

Over the next two weeks, they will visit more than two dozen bookstores in the cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Thanh, a homework helper in the library, speaks, reads and writes Khmer and will act as the purchaser. For the past seven years, she has been responsible for cataloging all the Cambodian books at Mark Twain.

Thanh plans to have the new books cataloged and ready by Cambodian New Year in April.

"It's going to be a lot of work but it will be so rewarding," said Thanh, 26, whose father was a Cambodian monk and scholar.

'A mega display'

Long Beach is home to one of the world's largest populations of Cambodians outside of Cambodia.

Mark Twain, at 1401 Anaheim St., sits in the heart of the city's newly designated "Cambodia Town," a stretch of restaurants and shops along Anaheim between Junipero and Atlantic Avenues.

"With the new Cambodia Town, the spotlight is going to be on us," said Taylor, an employee of the Long Beach Public Library system for 40 years. "Why can't Long Beach be the premier place for Cambodian books in the U.S.?"

Mark Twain, with 1,094

Khmer books, already has one of the largest collections of Cambodian material in the state. The library is hoping to double that collection.

"We want to have a mega display," Taylor said.

The trip was made possible through grant money set aside five years ago when the city was planning the new Mark Twain Library, Taylor said. The Helen Fuller Cultural Carrousel, a committee of the Friends of Long Beach Public Library, will cover all the travel expenses.

Interest surges

Since its grand opening in August, Mark Twain, the city's first new library in more than three decades, has had 2,222 new library card holders, Taylor said.

The library has also seen a surge in circulation of Cambodian material.

But many of the books are damaged after years of use, she said. The library has not purchased any new Cambodian books in the last five years.

Taylor and Thanh said they've carefully researched what books are in demand by looking through the library's computer system.

Cambodian history, customs, culture, folklore and children's stories are top on the list, Taylor said. "But we'd also love to get books like Anne Frank and Harry Potter, if they have it," she said.

Although they plan to buy mostly new material, they also hope to get some extra copies of old favorites.

One of the library's most popular Cambodian books is a fairy tale called, "The Beast of BongBot Forest," which has been checked out 53 times over the last five years.

Heavy load

Lugging more than 1,000 books back to the U.S. will be a challenge, Taylor admits. The women plan to carry some on the plane and will possibly FedEx the rest.

The women said the reaction from the Cambodian community has been that of pride and excitement.

"People keep coming in and asking, 'Have you gone yet?"' Taylor said.

Thanh said the surge of books can help new Cambodian immigrants and will encourage young adults to get back in touch with their culture.

Parents will now have more options to read to their children in Khmer, she said.

"It really bridges the gap between generations."

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, (562) 499-1305

Tuktuk driver/Poet Chea Cheng describes the sunset in Angkor in an impromptu poem

Chea Cheng, a Tuktuk driver and a tour guide at Angkor, describes the sunset at Angkor in his poem. (2007)

Boeng Mealea ... where our Poet Chea Cheng describes the loss of Cambodian treasures to the dollar worshipping

Chea Cheng, a Tuktuk driver and a tour guide at Angkor, describes Beung Mealea Temple in his poem. (2007)