I FIND IT HARD TO SAY

Please help me help others!

2009-07-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On Wednesday, August 19th, I will be leaving on a jet plane traveling thousands of miles across the Pacific to the birthplace of my parents and the land of my ancestors, Laos.

For the first weeks of my one month trip I will be placed at an English school in Xieng Khouang province, working directly with the youth and high school students through a program called SEALnet, a non-profit committed to community development in Southeast Asia. The area is generally rural, though the school itself is in the city, Phonsavan, in the heart of Xieng Khouang province. The area is most known for the millions of tons of unexploded ordinance (UXO) left over from the Secret War. Though these kids already exhibit the courage and willpower to live in one of the poorest countries in the world, we wanted to equip them with skills for self-empowerment to better themselves and their communities. Thus, in its first year, Project Laos will be working on leadership development while providing tutoring in the English language.

In doing community work, there is always a cost, whether monetary, time-wise, effort, or energy. In order to perform my duty to the global community, I am required to raise $150.00 before August 7th. I know, $150 is really nothing compared to the other amounts people have to raise for charity events. But instead of paying this fee myself I wanted to open up this $150, which goes directly into the cost of running the project (materials and such), to the people who believe in the cause, who believe in making change in Laos and other third world countries, and who support the work being done by college-aged students who want to give back to the countries that gave them life in America.

If you would like to donate, you can contact me directly or click the link below to make a PayPal transaction. Just to let you know, PayPal charges me transaction fees so I don't get the full amount. But if you're far, far away, and would still like to donate, by all means, please do. :)

Thank you so much for your generous support of the project and my personal journey back to Laos. Feel free to ask me any questions about the program or my journey at by emailing me at lchanthaphasouk@gmail.com.

Tentative Itinerary:
Aug 19 - Depart for Bangkok
Aug 21 - SEALnet Orientation in Thailand
Aug 22 - 15 hour train ride from Bangkok to Thanaleng, Laos
Aug 23 - Flight from Vientiane to project site in Phonsavan, Laos
Aug 23 - Sept 3 SEALnet Project Laos
Sept 4 - Depart for Luang Prabang
Sept 6 - Depart for Vang Vieng
Sept 7 - Depart for Vientiane
Sept 15 - Depart for the US, home. :)

I'm An Old Soul

2009-07-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

So on Friday while everyone was sleeping in and enjoying the federal holiday, I was off to Downtown at 7:30am to catch one of the development sessions for my internship program. You can hear about the details at my intern blog.

The topic was presentation skills. And how to improve them. To keep things short, they ended up taping us and critiquing how we speak and what to improve on. We also talked about what made us effective speakers. One of my fellow interns said I was "calming," and the facilitator went on to say I was very grounded, and that I demonstrate "a wealth of maturity beyond my years." Really though, I think I'm an old soul trapped in a young person's body, which explains my more than frequent homebody-ness sometimes. (I'm working on it!) It was good to receive some positive affirmation after the whole "this is what you need to work on" shpeal (sp?).

The comments reminded me of something I have posted on my wall at home. It's my senior gift from varsity volleyball, a picture of each player on the team and the coach, and a special message from each of them. From my coach... "Leslie was not the tallest player or the hardest hitter, but she brought stability. Never too emotional, she serves as the "rock" that the team leans on. Her presence on th court settles down the other players." From another player, "Leslie, you were the person who kep the team together." And another, "You were the rock and glue that kept me sane and level headed."

To be honest, I never really understood how they would ever conjure up those things about me. After all, I was the emotional wreck that cried myself through the growing pains of being a teenager, while juggling the load of being a daughter, friend, student, athlete, leader, and the list goes on. It reminds me of how far I've come as a person, and how much I've come to appreciate myself as who I am, and not who I want others to perceive me to be.

Which reminds me. In the past year or so I've been so concentrated on what I should do with myself, what career path lies ahead of me, and how I will go about securing all my wants and needs of the future, that I've neglected the strength that reverberates within me the most. The ability to be that calm in the storm. The ability to be the rock that people lean on. The ability to bring and be stability.

The internship program has really been an invaluable experience in terms of being able to help me reflect upon myself, something I rarely find time to do during the hectic life of a college student. It's refreshing. And it's giving me a better picture of what I want to do my life: something that is stable and brings balance.

That's all I can ever ask for.

I'm Back!

2009-07-04T14:34:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm back to the blogging world, after being required to blog for my internship. I realized how therapeautic blogging was, and also wanted to reconnect everyone! I also realized that there were thoughts arising that I wasn't comfortable putting on my intern blog, so I created a personal one. I plan to update frequently so please, please come back and visit!

So here's what's going on in my life:

Just finished my 3rd year at UCLA. I'm currently double majoring in International Development Studies and Asian American Studies. I'm graduating next year. (gasp!)
This summer, I'm back in the OC interning fulltime for OCAPICA in Garden Grove on Monday through Thursday, and I'm in Little Tokyo every Friday.
In August, I will be going to the motherland for the FIRST TIME! (Excitement!!!) I'll be helping out at a school in Xiengkhouang, Laos for SEALnet then traveling and visiting relatives afterward.
I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do post-grad, but leaning towards Education, with an emphasis on Higher Ed Admin, or Student Affairs.

That's the short recap of where I've been, what I'm doing this summer, and also where I will be going. If you're an old friend or colleague and wanted to reconnect, feel free to email me. Thanks for reading! Later days!

Donate to Project Laos!

2009-07-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On Wednesday, August 19th, I will be leaving on a jet plane traveling thousands of miles across the Pacific to the birthplace of my parents and the land of my ancestors, Laos.

In order to perform my duty to the global community, I am required to raise $150.00 before August 7th. The $150 goes directly into the cost of running the project (materials and such). Everything else is funded by corporate and fiscal sponsors.