Hello, Bong!
I know your real name isn't Bong. Around here, we call everyone Bong — it just means "friend."
So a cultured, well-mannered lady like me will say, "Hello Bong!" and "Thank you, Bong!"
And the word Bong doesn't split into male or female. The world is big, isn't it? I think Cambodia keeps things simpler. Why do we need he/she when it's pointing at the same thing? Simplicity matters.
Alright, I'm joking. Actually, wait — I'm not joking. That's really how I feel. But I still want to understand those differences so I can learn and grow.
The world is moving too fast. My country keeps falling behind. So when they invited me to join Freakyyy, I think I said yes the quickest. But I did wonder why. I even asked Teddyyyy about it — because why would a team that strong want me? The others can handle rentals and all that stuff so much better than I can.
Oh, and a quick introduction: I was a property agent for four years before I went out on my own. (So please find me if you're looking for real estate here!)
I got lucky moving through it all, and even though it still counts as forward progress, I knew I was behind in what I could bring to the table. It hasn't been the smoothest ride either, because of the impression everyone has of Cambodia.
I'm fine with presenting a perception, honestly. I've had my own moments too. But the saddest thing is when people don't even look. I don't mean they don't read the news. Most people read about Cambodia, but "look" in the sense that they don't actually know a single thing about it. Perception wins over reality.
Freakyyy As A Confidence Booster
My reason for joining Freakyyy is to show you the beautiful side this country has to give. They convinced me: everything in the world has its ugly parts and its pretty parts. What I bring is the path to the pretty side, as a local, done perfectly — cheap rent, affordable manpower, working through the rigidity (which is the common perception) but showing my reality (a less developed country).
To be honest, I always used to feel less than, back in our old settings. There were so many things I couldn't explain because I simply didn't know.
Whether that came from lack of exposure or just perception — I'm still figuring that out. What matters is that I was taught there's nothing wrong with not knowing. What drags us down is when we don't try to keep "finding out."
Something Ted told me, I carry it close. I don't think it's common knowledge that our median salary here is $500.
"The reason somebody can look at $200 and see it one way as loose change, and another person sees it as everything — most people boil that down to wealth. But it isn't just about that. It shapes how people spend, how they act, how they form their beliefs going forward.
It's easy for one to teach people about saving money, planning for the long term. But it's one thing when you have the bandwidth to do that, and another when you spend your whole day just thinking about how to get past the next one. Calling it a matter of wealth is an unintentional insult. We don't get to choose how we're born. I can explain it theoretically, but you wouldn't truly get it, because you can picture it but you don't feel it. We all add value by teaching one another."
Most people learn how to move forward. We look backwards. And I don't mean looking back out of romanticising or condescension. I mean by looking backward, we learn, so we can move forward with stability.
Do you understand? I don't, still. Not fully.
But I feel it.
And maybe that's exactly why Freakyyy works. Not because we all come from the same place, but because we don't. When you couldn't read the Khmer documents, I could. When I couldn't navigate what you navigate, you could. That's not a gap. That's the deal. That's how we saved the markup, found the housing, built the path.
We found it. Now we just need to show the world it exists.
Perception over reality?
No. Reality, finally seen.
I feel it enough to give it everything I have.
Pich | Freakyyy.com