Expat scribe pursues dream job from foreign desk
By Anja Latacz
12:00AM GMT 16 Nov 2006
"Richard Quest, with the BBC, in Bangkok". Those were the kind of sign-offs that fascinated me in high school, when I first dreamed of becoming a foreign correspondent.
The life of foreign correspondents seemed appealing to me; I imagined I would sip cafe lattes all day reading newspapers, and in the evening interview the Thai industry minister for a three-minute TV spot.
However, I did not study journalism, a prerequisite of becoming a foreign correspondent, because a young man with blue eyes caught my interest in economic issues just as the time came to make the choice of what to study at university. Thus, I became a macro-economist, mostly working overseas.
Over the next 14 years, as I pursued my career, the dream of entering journalism never went away. Then I saw an advert for the London School of Journalism (LSJ), in a magazine on a flight back from an assignment.
As my personal passion is feature writing, I decided to take a distance learning diploma in their course on Freelance Journalism and Feature Writing, while still working abroad.
Enrolling online was simple, and a day later I had the first two lessons transmitted via email. For people who are used to learning without a teacher, from text books and manuscripts, distance learning is ideal, particularly if they cannot study at a learning centre for family, work, or other reasons.
In the case of the LSJ, experienced journalists serve as tutors to the students, who are in reality considered as trainees rather than pupils. A one-to-one tutor/student relationship is quickly established, with the student sending the completed assignments (which in my course covered a broad spectrum of news and feature work, as well as script exercises for radio and TV) to the tutor via email whenever is convenient.
Distance courses do not necessarily always have to take a year, or two, to complete. I finished my 12-lesson diploma course in a much shorter time than anticipated. It was a new but pleasurable and efficient way to learn.
I may not become a foreign correspondent after all. But I did end up writing a TV script for Richard Quest (now with CNN) as part of my studies, and who knows, one day, he may be interested in my story for one of his editions of Business Travellers on CNN. Can someone let him know?
The London School of Journalism can be contacted on Http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/4202060/Expat-scribe-pursues-dream-job-from-foreign-desk.html
By Anja Latacz
12:00AM GMT 16 Nov 2006
"Richard Quest, with the BBC, in Bangkok". Those were the kind of sign-offs that fascinated me in high school, when I first dreamed of becoming a foreign correspondent.
The life of foreign correspondents seemed appealing to me; I imagined I would sip cafe lattes all day reading newspapers, and in the evening interview the Thai industry minister for a three-minute TV spot.
However, I did not study journalism, a prerequisite of becoming a foreign correspondent, because a young man with blue eyes caught my interest in economic issues just as the time came to make the choice of what to study at university. Thus, I became a macro-economist, mostly working overseas.
Over the next 14 years, as I pursued my career, the dream of entering journalism never went away. Then I saw an advert for the London School of Journalism (LSJ), in a magazine on a flight back from an assignment.
As my personal passion is feature writing, I decided to take a distance learning diploma in their course on Freelance Journalism and Feature Writing, while still working abroad.
Enrolling online was simple, and a day later I had the first two lessons transmitted via email. For people who are used to learning without a teacher, from text books and manuscripts, distance learning is ideal, particularly if they cannot study at a learning centre for family, work, or other reasons.
In the case of the LSJ, experienced journalists serve as tutors to the students, who are in reality considered as trainees rather than pupils. A one-to-one tutor/student relationship is quickly established, with the student sending the completed assignments (which in my course covered a broad spectrum of news and feature work, as well as script exercises for radio and TV) to the tutor via email whenever is convenient.
Distance courses do not necessarily always have to take a year, or two, to complete. I finished my 12-lesson diploma course in a much shorter time than anticipated. It was a new but pleasurable and efficient way to learn.
I may not become a foreign correspondent after all. But I did end up writing a TV script for Richard Quest (now with CNN) as part of my studies, and who knows, one day, he may be interested in my story for one of his editions of Business Travellers on CNN. Can someone let him know?
The London School of Journalism can be contacted on Http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/4202060/Expat-scribe-pursues-dream-job-from-foreign-desk.html
Second-hand bookstore is firm favourite in Cambodia
by Anja Latacz
Telegraph Expat, London, 18- 24, Oct, 2006
In times when there is so much written about corruption and illegal businesses in South-East Asia, it is uplifting to learn about the successful career of a hard-working businessman in Phnom Penh.
I walked into a relatively new bookshop in town, right next to the famous Ounalom Pagoda, one rainy Saturday afternoon, in search of something to enjoy with a latte at one of the many pleasant riverside cafés.
I had been posted in Phnom Penh by an Australian consulting firm responsible for managing development projects in the areas of rural and social development. I had just submitted a new project proposal to the Ministry of Environment and welcomed a weekend off. The look of this new shop and the friendliness of the owner was very intriguing, so we started to chat.
"It is all about the money," Chea Sopheap said with a twinkle in his eye, but we both knew he did not really mean it.
Mr Sopheap, 36, has a passion for physics and mathematics (the shop is named Bohr's Books, after the renowned Danish physicist Niels Bohr), a passion he felt he was unable to pursue professionally for long in Cambodia. A child of farmers with five siblings, he was the only one to go to university in Phnom Penh, 250km from the rural town of Kampot, where he grew up.
For a short while he was a high school teacher, earning less than US$50 a month. "This money was certainly not enough for one person to survive in Phnom Penh, not to speak of a family," he explains.
Mr Sopheap has an entrepreneurial spirit and is not afraid of taking risks. Some eight years ago he quit government service to work for an expat-run second-hand bookshop in Phnom Penh, which paid about four times the amount the government service would pay him. He stayed for four years.
In 2003 he read, and was impressed by, a book entitled Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! , written by Robert T Kiyosaki and Sharon L Lechter, which encouraged him to open up his own business. "The essence of the book is if you want to become rich and successful, you have to find your own business," he explains.
"I started from zero. I left my job and spent my time buying book stocks here and there from leaving expats with savings made over the previous three years. I built up a stock of about 600 titles at home. I opened my own second-hand bookshop two years ago, and now I have 4,000 titles in stock."
Four years of on-the-job training at the book store was sufficient for him to understand all the requirements of running a private business and providing good service to customers.
Mr Sopheap enjoys chatting with customers, who might be foreign or Khmer, expats or travellers - even French Buddhist monks visit his store from time to time.
His business principles, excellent knowledge of writers and titles, great service and reasonable prices have made his book shop very popular among the expatriate community in the second-hand book market.
"My dream is to earn the reputation of the biggest and best book shop in South-East Asia, but this may take some 10 years.
"I also plan to offer new books along with second-hand ones," he adds.
"When did you break even?" I ask. "Oh, this was some time ago," he smiles.
"So when will you buy your first BMW?" I ask, but Mr Sopheap is nothing if not pragmatic.
"A car at this stage would be a financial burden. I'd rather keep my motorbike. Spare parts for cars are difficult to get and gasoline prices are going up. The motorbike is just enough for me, my wife and my two children."
It is always a pleasure to pass by his shop, have a look at the latest books, and sit down and have a cup of coffee and a chat.
And who knows; maybe his son, often seen sitting in his shop reading children's books, will one day open another branch, in Phnom Penh or elsewhere.
by Anja Latacz
Telegraph Expat, London, 18- 24, Oct, 2006
In times when there is so much written about corruption and illegal businesses in South-East Asia, it is uplifting to learn about the successful career of a hard-working businessman in Phnom Penh.
I walked into a relatively new bookshop in town, right next to the famous Ounalom Pagoda, one rainy Saturday afternoon, in search of something to enjoy with a latte at one of the many pleasant riverside cafés.
I had been posted in Phnom Penh by an Australian consulting firm responsible for managing development projects in the areas of rural and social development. I had just submitted a new project proposal to the Ministry of Environment and welcomed a weekend off. The look of this new shop and the friendliness of the owner was very intriguing, so we started to chat.
"It is all about the money," Chea Sopheap said with a twinkle in his eye, but we both knew he did not really mean it.
Mr Sopheap, 36, has a passion for physics and mathematics (the shop is named Bohr's Books, after the renowned Danish physicist Niels Bohr), a passion he felt he was unable to pursue professionally for long in Cambodia. A child of farmers with five siblings, he was the only one to go to university in Phnom Penh, 250km from the rural town of Kampot, where he grew up.
For a short while he was a high school teacher, earning less than US$50 a month. "This money was certainly not enough for one person to survive in Phnom Penh, not to speak of a family," he explains.
Mr Sopheap has an entrepreneurial spirit and is not afraid of taking risks. Some eight years ago he quit government service to work for an expat-run second-hand bookshop in Phnom Penh, which paid about four times the amount the government service would pay him. He stayed for four years.
In 2003 he read, and was impressed by, a book entitled Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! , written by Robert T Kiyosaki and Sharon L Lechter, which encouraged him to open up his own business. "The essence of the book is if you want to become rich and successful, you have to find your own business," he explains.
"I started from zero. I left my job and spent my time buying book stocks here and there from leaving expats with savings made over the previous three years. I built up a stock of about 600 titles at home. I opened my own second-hand bookshop two years ago, and now I have 4,000 titles in stock."
Four years of on-the-job training at the book store was sufficient for him to understand all the requirements of running a private business and providing good service to customers.
Mr Sopheap enjoys chatting with customers, who might be foreign or Khmer, expats or travellers - even French Buddhist monks visit his store from time to time.
His business principles, excellent knowledge of writers and titles, great service and reasonable prices have made his book shop very popular among the expatriate community in the second-hand book market.
"My dream is to earn the reputation of the biggest and best book shop in South-East Asia, but this may take some 10 years.
"I also plan to offer new books along with second-hand ones," he adds.
"When did you break even?" I ask. "Oh, this was some time ago," he smiles.
"So when will you buy your first BMW?" I ask, but Mr Sopheap is nothing if not pragmatic.
"A car at this stage would be a financial burden. I'd rather keep my motorbike. Spare parts for cars are difficult to get and gasoline prices are going up. The motorbike is just enough for me, my wife and my two children."
It is always a pleasure to pass by his shop, have a look at the latest books, and sit down and have a cup of coffee and a chat.
And who knows; maybe his son, often seen sitting in his shop reading children's books, will one day open another branch, in Phnom Penh or elsewhere.