I took Japanese lessons for 3 months. My teachers were all very kind and taught us carefully so that we could communicate with Japanese people. I was very happy as they understood how we felt about our disabilities. If we got bored during the lessons, they made a joke or two, or let us communicate in our own languages even if they could not understand. It was a lot of fun.

But my Japanese is not very good yet. Sometimes I got confused, as the Japanese spoken by a Japanese person, and the Japanese I studied, seemed so different. For me it was a good opportunity to participate in seminars, marathons and meetings for persons with disabilities. I could not speak or understand perfectly, but I got to learn how Japanese was spoken.

In December 2004, all of the trainees went separate ways to individual training programs. The first organization I visited was a Center for Independent Living called HANDS Setagaya. The Center for Independent Living (CIL) is an organization to help persons with disabilities live independently in local communities. At HANDS Setagaya, I studied peer counseling, accessibility issues and associations for persons with disabilities. But I did not understand why these activities were considered necessary, so I asked my coordinator the points I did not understand about the CIL program, and asked if I could read some papers written in hiragana to help me understand. She found them for me and when I read the documents I understood the meaning of CIL.

Living overseas is a great opportunity to learn and experience other cultures. The home stay and the skiing program were such opportunities for me.

I experienced my home-stay in December, 2004 I stayed with a Japanese family in Hokkaido. I had never seen snow, or vast spans of snow-covered land, or mountains before. Snowfall was so beautiful. The people in my host family were such nice people and looked after me as if I were a small child.

The mother of the host family would cook breakfast every morning, and took me to many places until their son came home. I had never skated before and loved it, it was so much fun. Over the New Year’s period, my family took me to a temple to introduce me to some Japanese culture, and taught me how to make bouquets for the New Years’ celebrations. I like flowers as they have very positive meanings.

I love Japanese culture, it is so beautiful. It is a little bit like Cambodian culture. I find it very unfortunate, though, that young Japanese people do not seem to have much interest in their own culture, and inclined more towards American and European cultures.

I then went to a skiing program. This was also a first for me. I saw snow during the home-stay in Hokkaido, but never skied. So this was a wonderful opportunity to experience skiing for two days. It was a little difficult but nevertheless a good experience.

I studied CIL programs with Mr Chimura in Osaka. Mr Chimura was always visiting the government offices to talk to authorities. I had no confidence to talk to such people. Mr Chimura told me that he did not have enough time to teach me, so I asked him to teach me at night, and discussed CIL programs everyday until three or four in the morning. On Saturday and Sunday, we went to USJ and the Osaka Castle, as part of the ILP program.

In Independent Living Center Aruru I studied movements for persons with disabilities with Mr Higashitani, and we participated in a seminar, where there were a lot of people with or without disabilities. He taught me how to organize workshops for persons with disabilities, to enjoy themselves. At the Independent Living ‘Muchu’ Center, we went to a sports center where he taught me how to play bowling. I had never done that before and loved it.

In Nagoya, I was with the staff of CIL to learn how NGOs in Japan are organized, and about Japan’s social welfare system. We also visited a company that makes wheelchairs. This company sends wheelchairs to Cambodia as well.

At KOYUKAI, I studied computers and Braille printing for persons with visual impairments. I did not know how persons with visual impairments printed Braille books or used computers, so it was very interesting to learn. I hope that someday in my country, persons with visual impairment will be able to use computers and read/write Braille just like the people in Japan.

Here I studied with my teacher, Mr Hara, what activities are involved for children with disabilities. Mr Hara was very warm and kind. He made drawings and explained to me. I only spent five days there but learned a lot, including rehabilitation methods, know-how that would be extremely beneficial for the children with disabilities in my country, and for my organization.

I learned Daisy (Digital Accessible Information System) technology for persons with disabilities, at JSRPD’s information center. I also learned how to make Webpages at Ohyata Employment Support Center. I was very happy to learn this, because, with this technology, I can change the lives of persons with disabilities back home. With the aid of technology, persons with visual impairment or other disabilities can freely use computers and participate in the technological society.

The stay in Japan has become a precious memory for me. The 10 months went by so quickly, I know that there is even more to learn about what would benefit persons with disabilities in my home country. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Duskin Ainowa Foundation who granted us this opportunity to someday become leaders in our home countries.