New Year is near...

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

A year has passed by again...we're about to enter 2010. Yaaay! Expect alot of fun & cool things from KhSA in the New Year. & I'm sorry i haven't been proactive in putting up more pictures. I actually loves pictures. But it's just hard finding the right ones and uploading it. lol

-Sok Chhouy
Internal VP '09-10

Post-Thanksgiving Meeting Blog

The Thanksgiving themed meeting was a success! Thanks to everyone who brought in food to share and themselves most importantly. We couldn't have done it without you! :)

That's about it for the shortest blog entry ever, there's nothing else going that I can remember on the top of my head right now...

But, one important matter:

Ty Huynh, your lovely co-vice president of KhSA also gave a very important message about being involved, informed, and proactive in school. An excerpt of her email is below.

"I gave a very strong (almost scary), passionate speech (sorry if I scared anyone, my intention was not to scare or upset anyone) on Thursday and here are a few key points to remember:

• A university provides resources to its students in order for them to succeed, for them to pursue their dreams, for them to be successful. Take advantage of the resources available. These resources were made for you. Use it! And when the resource is in risk of being revoked, fight for it to stay! Don’t be passive. Don’t think you don’t have time, make time. And definitely do not sit and wait for things to happen. You’ll never win if you never begin.
o Ever considered the ECC as more than just a place to meet for KhSA? Realize all the resources and support a community like the ECC can provide.
o Ever considered what type of leadership experience KhSA can offer by becoming an officer?
o Ever considered how the many entities of ASUW is not related to politics? And is a great place for not just self-growth but also résumé growth?
• College education is important, but you also need experience. Build your résumé, build your skills and fine tune your skills. Participate in events and organizations that other people spend so much time planning and making it happen. Utilize these opportunities to get experience in:
o Directing large groups of diverse people to accomplish a common goal
o Marketing
o Publicizing
o Budgeting and financing
o Event planning and raising awareness and educating others!
• Attending UW means more than just taking classes at UW. Attending UW, being here on UW campus means you belong to a community, the husky community. Take pride in your community, and take an interest in what’s happening in your community that in every aspect affects you, because you are A HUSKY. It’s everyone’s responsibility to stay informed, and as your senator, I am responsible for keeping you informed. I try my best to make it as easy as possible. But it’s your initiative to take the time to read, watch and listen to what I have to say. Thank you to those who do. Much appreciated. That comes from my heart, as everything else I do."

Officer Meeting Update

We had an officer meeting this last Thursday and it went pretty well! Most of the meeting time focused on the planning the Potluck Style Thanksgivings for the next general meeting THIS upcoming Thursday on the 19th. Make sure you come chill with us, enjoy the delicious food, and learn about Khmer culture!

The officers also had a serious conversation about what we want to do this year in terms of "big events" and how we can dedicate our time to make the most out of everything. I should somehow make the minutes of our meetings available for the general public...we'll work on that. Also, Niroth is now teaching Khmer writing classes on Thursdays. So, if you want to learn how to write and read Cambodian, this is a great opportunity you don't want to miss.

Also in other big news, Sopheap is our Web Master now. He has great plans for the KhSA website and is determined to make it the best student organization website here on campus. So, kudos to Sopheap.

Also shout out to Hork, Allen, and Lenny who I saw at Orange Chicken this week!


Don't forget!!!!!! 11/19: Thanksgivings Themed KhSA Meeting, starts @ 5pm

Hey Hey

Hey, this is Sokha! I feel like I need to do more for KhSA so I will start contributing to this blog.

I will do my best to blog after every meeting/big event/when I feel like it, so I think that pretty much means when I decide to procrastinate on homework which is a lot!

Be prepared.

Historian, 2008-09

First General Meeting

What can you say?...It was such a huge success! I remembered as an officer last year, we thought it was hella packed with about 30+ people. But this year's meeting attendance was staggering. There were about 50+ people coming in. So kudos to all my fellow 09-10 officers for a job well done :]

Afterwards, a group of us had pho at Pho Thy Thy for a hard day's work.

-Sok Chhouy
Internal VP '09-10

KhSA Officer Bonding Night

Theme: A Black & White Affair...a semi-formal event

Throughout the whole day i was really excited for this event. I got off work at 5 and i went to meet up with Tiffany & Somalis at the apt. We got ready & waited for the other girls to arrive. Steven was already there taking pre-event snapshots. Ty Huynh & Chans called to see if we were ready & i had to tell them we were still waiting for Rhona. Finally, Rhona arrived & we took a few prom style group poses. lol. The boys drove by the place & picked us up. They looked good but the girls look amazingly good ;] And off we went to Gasworks for the sunset photoshoot.

At Gasworks, we got some really good shots since the sunset was going down at the perfect moment. We took pixs for about half an hour. And then we had to make our way to Bellevue for our 8pm reservation at McCormick & Schmicks. At the restuarant, we ordered and just chilled & relax. Our food finally came and everyone's meal looks good. Somalis wasn't too excited about her meatloaf and so she passed it around the table. I had the shrimp & scallop fettiucine and it was good but very buttery. Finally our bill came and it was *expensive*. Ahh, plus gratuity & tax is like 3 expensive meals itself. We had a hard time figuring out how to pay because it was all on one bill. But eventually we got it worked out.

After dinner, we took some last minute photoshoot around Lincoln Square. Then i remembered the building we walked by last year's photoshoot. And so we made our way to the Hyatt Hotel and took photos over there. It was a really high class place but we blend in...sorta. lol. The best poses were at their grand staircase that reminded me of Titanic. Fianlly around, 10:30 pm...the photoshoot was done :] Everybody made their way back to my apt to get their stuff and to go to their cars.

Rhona, Somalis, Tiffany & I decided to go back inside my apt and just chilled. We had a really good talk about life in general. But yeah, overall it was a great night. Thank you to our photographers...Steven & Tiffany. And to all the officers for making it such a black and white affair :]

-Sok Chhouy
Internal VP 09-10

KhSA Officer Bonding Day

Location Destination: Lopez Island (San Juan Islands)

Morning Agenda: Meet @ 8:30am at Ty Huynh's crib.
All the girls got there on time except the boys were a little late. tsk tsk. Somalis drove all the girls which included me, Rhona, Monica & Uyen. Oh yeah, today was Uyen's official welcoming event :] Ty Huynh drove all the boys (Chans, Chunneath & Sokha). Finally, we were on our way to catch the 10:05am ferry. The car ride was fun because we got to belt out to some classic tunes like N*SYNC & Backstreet Boys. lol. Well 9:50ish rolled by and we were kinda nervous about making the ferry on time since we were still a couple of miles away. So Ty Huynh who was the lead driver started driving craaazy. haha good times.

As much as we tried, we miss the Ferry by 5 minutes. So we decided to grab some Mickey D's in Historic downtown Anacortes. Lemme tell ya, 10 pieces of chicken nuggets+a crispy chicken honey mustard snack wrap is soooo worth it for less than $4. Alot of inside jokes during brunch :] After eating, we decided to play a scavenger hunt. My team was Sokha, Ty Huynh & Chans. Some of the tasks include finding a different ethnicity than white (it was a hella white place), find dog poop, person with college gear and etc. Ultimately, both teams were tied...but overall it was cool.

Around 12ish, we decided to go back to the Ferry terminal and wait it out for the next one which was at 2:30pm. Riding a ferry is really expensive (about $18 per person). In the car, we just talked & relax. Some of us got out and venture around the area. Omg, one of the best joke was when Rhona suggested that we play Cops & Robber. She mentioned that she play this all the time in Kent. And i was like..."we don't play this in Tacoma". And she was like..."because that's the real shit". hahaha

Finally 2:30pm rolled around and we hopped on the ferry. We went out of the car and walk to the top of the ferry. It was funny when we tried to re-enact Jack & Rose from Titanic. It was a gorgeous day! I think we took quality pictures :]

Once we got to Lopez Island, we went to this Cafe & got something to grub on. After that, we decided to do our main activity which was kayaking. Rhona was my partner. It was really fun! We all kayak through the bay & saw some really expensive waterfront homes. Then we decided to rest at this Shipwreck Island. The sunset was about to go down so we decided to kayak at a spot where we could really see it. I guess KhSA wanted to get romantic <3

We were done by 7ish and decided to go back to catch the 8:20pm ferry to go home. At the waiting area, it was such a good talk. All of us shared our stories about boys, crushes & relationships. It was on a whole new level! Even once we got on the ferry, no one was holding back their thoughts. It was soooo personal & deep. Thank you to all the girls for not being shy & sharing your life & tribulations.

-Sok Chhouy
Internal VP 09-10

What's in store for KhSA this summer?

Since the school year ended, we haven't really figured out who the OFFICIAL 2009-2010 KhSA FamBam Officers team is yet. But we all have an idea of who will be in it...Chans, Ty Huynh, Monica, Somalis, Rhona, Chunneath, Tiffany, Sokha and me. I'm really excited to see how it will be like this Fall quarter and beyond. It's pretty much basically this year's freshman class taking over for next year. Just like a repeat of what happened this year.

It was good holding it down for the class of 2007. I know majority of us (oo7ers) are leaving Office and pursuing our educational goals and whatnot. But KhSA have been an amazing roller coaster ride for all of us since we have been elected in office. There were definitely highs and lows, dramas, personality clashes, smiles, laughters, and struggles. But we got through this year...and still have memories to prove it.

I know 09-10 KhSA Office Team will go through as much crazy drama and moments like we did. However for this summer break, i am looking forward to the exciting events instored for this summer. Rhona is our new Activities Coordinator. I think i taught her well...so whatever she has in mind...it will be Good ;]

Future KhSA Activities that are pending... KhSA Camping trip, Trip to Sonics, Paintballin', and etc.

Sok Chhouy
Activities Coordinator 2008-2009

The beginning of the summer...

Another school year has passed by, there were so many good memories. If i had the chance to post all the pictures that we took...we would have lots of pictures.

Big events passed by like the KhSA Volunteer Appreciation BBQ & KhSA Grad BBQ 2009. It was successful & many people showed up.

Sok Chhouy
Activities Coordinator 2008-2009

Reflection from Vanessa's POV: New Year Show :]

Wow, i can't believe it's all over! Last Saturday was really fun & can i say "memorable" in so many ways. This year was actually my first year acting in the show. The previous year, i only volunteered. It's weird how in one year, everything can hella change. I went from a volunteer to being the main girl in the skit this year. Life is funny that way.

During the show, i wasn't exactly nervous. I knew there were going to be lots of people but i was mostly scared of forgetting some of my lines. I remembered just sitting backstage looking all tense and rereading the script. Overall, it was good...i didn't really forget anything.

My sister also came to the show. She was the only family i had there so that was really special. I remembered during the election thing last year...Rex asked me what i would do if i get stress during the show. And i said i would talk to my sister. And yes, my sister was there for me always. I <3 u Minnie!

Hmmm...the food was good. I was lucky to eat something before we went on stage.

Oh yeah, during the last scene...when Gio aka Chans was spinnin' me...supposely my undergarment showed...that was my short shorts :] Just to clarify o_0

The live band & music was amazing. I really like the music and hella people were dancing. Sorry B, we did not get a chance to dance together :/

After everyone left, it was chill cleaning up even though we didn't have to. But overall it was cool bonding with the cast. We just sat around and got to know each other more. I think alot of us are closer now because of everything that has happened before & after the NYS ;]

Other than that, the show was awesome! I got to spend quality time with the KhSA Fambam. There were lots of stress, laughter, frustrations, and smiles. But most importantly, we all made it and now it's over. I can't wait until next year...lol, we're all in this together!


Sok Chhouy
Activities Coordinator 2008-2009

Post New Year's Show State of Mind

It's all done! :D


I remember plannin' for this back in January, where some of the officers were like let's start on it now. Others were like we have until May. It's crazy how time passes us by.

Last Saturday, we held our annual Khmer New Years celebration at the University of Washington. This year, it was titled: Sleepless in Srok Khmer. This year's show was directed by our historian, Bunthoeun Real, and our dances coordinated by Gina San. As a disclaimer, all actors and actresses names were strictly fictional and any similarities are purely coincidental. :p

Starting on Friday with the intial setup, to Saturday for the dress rehearsal and live performance, the energy level couldn't have been higher. With expectations to out perform last year's show, everyone was on edge. See for yourself:

It was like everyone was expecting something bad to happen. But it never came. The show was a success. The crowd found the show entertaining, funny, and believeable. All I can say is "that's wassup!"

I wanted to congratulate everyone, volunteers, actors, actresses, the fam bam, and alumns. Everyone of you helped bring out the good fortune for this year.



Until next year; thanks for reading,

Alex Meng | KhSA President 2008 - 2009

Bite of Asia

Bite of ASIA @ UW

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BiTE OF ASiA 2009 . UW's ANNUAL ASIAN FOOD FESTIVAL
| | Date: Thursday, May 7
| | Time: 11:00am - 3:00pm
| | Location: HUB Lawn, University of Washington
| | FREE ADMISSION, OPEN TO PUBLIC

We wanted to let everyone know that we, KhSA, will be tabling at this food festival. So if you are hungry and want to see some shows, come out and check it out.

The following associations will be tabling and selling food:

• Alpha Kappa Delta Phi
• Asian Business Student Association
• Chi Sigma Alpha
• Chinese Student Association
• Filipino American Student Association
• Hong Kong Student Association
• Indonesian Student Association
• Japanese Student Association
• Khmer Student Association
• Korean Student Association
• Korean Student Union
• Taiwanese Overseas Student Association
• Sigma Psi Zeta
• Thai Student Association
• Vietnamese Student Association
• Zeta Kappa Epsilon

Visit us to get tickets for the New Years Show! Pick them up for $15 if you are a UW student or employee, or $18 if you are not!

This year's show has a six course meal, with a very fresh play to be performed, plus a live band to dance to!


Thanks for reading,

Alex Meng | KhSA President 08 - 09

Hiatus...

WOW!

Sorry everyone for the hiatus, we have been diligently working on our upcoming NEW YEARS shows performance (celebration) this Saturday, May 9th, 2009.

Every member has been working hard memorizing their lines, practicing their dances, and setting up for the show, that we seem to have lost touch with the internet.

But we are live, and back. More details of the show will come soon, but here are the important details:

Title: Sleepless in Srok Khmer
Date: May 9th, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 5:45PM to Close (~12AM)
Location: University of Washington: Husky Union Building (HUB) 2nd Floor West Ballroom

This event will perform a live play directed and scripted by us, the Khmer Student Association (KhSA), and we will also have a live band to dance, and serve catered food.

UW employee/student tickets: $15
Presale tickets: $18
At the door tickets: $20

Purchase tickets through the UW ticketing office or contact us at khmer@u.washington.edu

Thank you and good night!

KhSA t-shirts and general meeting

PLEASE get you KhSA t-shirt if you ordered one. The shirts are running out fast. Come to our next general meeting this Thursday and relax for 2 hours of stress free fun :)

-onechance

Who: Khmer Student Association
What: General Meeting
When: Thurday March 12, 2009
Where: Asian room at the Ethnic Cultural Center
Why: To relax and not think about school for two hours, then you can study afterwards for however long you want or desire.

Winter Retreat: Mt. Baker 2008 - 2009

So, last weekend, Februrary 27th - March 1st, KhSA had its Winter Retreat for 2009 at Mt. Baker! The purpose of it was to thank its volunteers for helping in fall to raise money ($$$) for KhSA as well be an opportunity for members to get closer. It was a three day vacation for everyone to relax, snowboarding/ski, get away for the weekend, and get to know everyone else on a whole another level.

We had 22 members that joined us this weekend for the retreat.

When the trip concluded on Sunday, let's just say VICTORY!

Friday

"One Chance"

We had two times of departure: 2:30PM and 5PM. The first group of people helped set up the place/cook/explore and claim the early beds haha. The second group got to feast and kick it. We had a traditional family style Cambodian dinner on a Kon Tei where we had Lok Lak, Sa La Machu, Chicken wings, Bai(Rice), and I think that's it? haha After, we set up the Karoake/sound system down stairs to knock. Other member started doing magic/card tricks. And of course we had some people playin 13 and cah'tey. The last thing we had that night before knockin' out, we had our activities coordinator, Sok, present to the group what she called "ABKC." Figure that one out, its like ABDC but Khmer Style. Basically, she divided the people into 5 groups based on bandana colors--no gang affiliation here. From there, each group would battle each other on Saturday night for the grand prize.
When that got done, it was about 2am. And we had to leave by 8:30AM the next day to go snowboarding. Can we say sleep is for suckas?

Saturday

"YOU PLAY TOO MUCH!"

Today, is the day everyone was waiting for. Fresh powder, fresh snow. Baker just dumped roughly 30inches of fresh snow that week. Many of us woke up to one of the members singing and bumpin to some Michael Jackson. We all had breakfeast: sausage, eggs, and hashbrown, then got the cars ready to ride out.

For many of the people, this was their first time, for others this was the first time this season. We was there the entire day, just as a big group mobbin' from the rides to the rental/ticket station. We did divide up into groups between advance/beginnger/and bunny slopers. The snow was crazy good for the day. Not too cold, nor raining or snow, so goggles were not necessary. We did see some guy though do a crazy cliff jump at the end of the day. That was some crazy ish right now.

We got back to the cabins by 5:00Pm. From there we got the food ready, practice for the battle that night, and played card games, freestyle on the mic, and danced a lot of the night away. We got the whole ABKC performance on tape! After that, it just became a dance party with B Real mixin for us! Let's just say the last person that fell asleep was at 4 or 5am.

Sunday

"It's so hard to say good-bye"

Today, was the day we had to leave the wild and get back to the city, Seattle. Many of us woke up real early, like 7 a.m, to clean up the place. We are college kids, keep in mind, so normal time for us in like 10am. By the time everyone was packed and ready, we were just waiting for the clothes in the washer/dryer to finish. So we decided to play telephone in different languages. Let's just say we wasn't succesful in transmiting a message in a group of 20+ people.

Once the clothes were done, we all loaded up, and made our way back to Seattle. Everything seemed to be smooth until we stopped for gas. Particularly, the car I was riding in. We filled up gas for it, but after it didn't turn back on. It wasn't that the battery was dead, it was the starter wasn't turning over. That got everyone in a panic quick....luckily we found out we had to swipe the card to get it turned on--it's a Zipcar. haha

We had our final lunch at KFC, with a bit of Taco Bell, China Express, and A&W. Let's just say that was LIVE haha.

Overall, this Winter Retreat was, personally, one of the best events I've been to in my college career. I hope future office's keep this up as a tradition. This trip was the eptiome of DOPE!

Until next time, let this picture represent KhSA makin it's mark on Mt. Baker!

















Thanks for reading,

Alex Meng | KhSA President 2008 - 2009

Khmer Night: ASC Talent Show + afterparty @ Oasis

Once again, Khmer Night was such a huge success! So many KhSAeeeeers & friends came out and showed love and support to its members.

I'm very happy i intergrated it with the the ASC talent show because it was a HIT! I heard that they had to turn away people because there were no more seats. Hehe, i feel a little guilty for reserving 4 rows for us even though we could've just jam-packed about 3. However i think everybody was a little surprise at how entertaining and fun the acts were. I really like ThaiSA "matrix volleyball". It was neat! On the other hand, KhSA was def representing because they had the crowd swooning with their own rendition of Jason Mraz "i'm yours" and New kids on the Block f/ Neyo "Single". It was too cute! You guys rock and did amazing :]

Also before the show, we sold ice cream during the Night Market. At first, there were very slow sales. Gradually as time passed, we got the team morale up and sold more than our team's goal. Although me and Sophana had a higher goal, it was nice to hit even and make some profit.

The rest of the show was full of energy and entertainment. VSA was the last act and they did a hip-hop dance. They danced to the songs, Tae-yang "Look only at me" and DJ Felli Fel "Get buck in here". Good song choices! Finally, we got to cheer for our fave acts, o0o0o0o KHSA GONE WILD. We were loud, forrealz. But the top 3 finalists ended up being Clairebel Novela from FASA, Bryant the beat boxer from FASA and Eric Wu from CSA. By audience cheers, Eric Wu was the sole WINNER :] Boy, he was really good too! <---he did top of the notch yo-yo tricks. After the show, we cleaned our booth up and gathered to go to Oasis. Holy Crap, it was really amazing!...we had like a whole entourage of 20 people walking with us. It was really fun! At Oasis, we ordered and dominated the upstairs of that place. Then we had a VIP Encore jam session with Bunthoeun & the Jimmy Jons. Fun stuff :] Then by 12 am-ish, that was the end of Khmer Night. Much love and THANKS to everyone who came, supported, screamed, cheered, and etc. You guys rock :] I can't wait to plan the next KhSA social event...

Sincerely,

Sok Chhouy [Activities Coordinator 2008-2009]

21st Annual ASC Talent Show

Hey Every,

Don't forget about the 21st Annual ASC Talent Show. Come with KhSA to one of the most exciting show ever. Why? Cuz I'm in it and Jimmy and Jon and we're going to try to woo all of y'all. Plus you can help KhSA win $300 for cheering for our performance. The Louder the better!!! So come and join the KhSA Scream Team section with your purple KhSA shirts and get live (Sokstaa 2009).

All the info is below! Plus, IT'S PREE!!! lol

Where: HUB Auditorium at UW
When: Friday, February 20th, 2009
7:00pm - 10:00pm

Contact me if you have any questions at realb@u.washington.edu

Your Historian,

BReaL



*Straight from the facebook invite*

For the past 20 years, the Asian Student Commission has been putting on the annual talent show that showcases the raw talent of the Asian communities across campus. This year is going to be the 21st and it promises to be the best one yet. We're all grown up and ready to celebrate these 21 years with spectacular performances. What you thought you knew about ASC has totally changed. The show has become an experience you can't miss. Along with a mini-night market selling urban street fashion, food, drinks, and toys. The show is no longer just a showcase, this year it's a straight up competition where YOU are the ones in charge of voting for the winner of the competition. Be part of the revolution!

...Yeah. It's kind of a big deal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIST OF PERFORMANCES:
1) JaSka | Japanese Student Association
2) Bunthoeun Real | Khmer Student Association
3) Ta-klor Matrix | Thai Student Association
4) Sydnie Kang, Anita Ng, Longfei Jiang | Hong Kong Student Association
5) Eric Wu | Chinese Student Association
6) Bryan Tilos | Filipino American Student Association
7) ZinX Band | Hong Kong Student Association
8) Clairbel Novelo | Filipino American Student Association
9) Ox Dance | Chinese Student Association
10) Chengyuan Ji | Chinese Students and Scholars Association
11) Step Team | Sigma Psi Zeta
12) Elev8 Hip-Hop Crew | Vietnamese Student Association

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUEST JUDGES:
1) Anttimo Bennett | ASUW Student Body President
2) Sabrina Fields | Director of Diversity Efforts
3) Serin Ngai | Playwright, Seattle Art Community
4) YOU! Audience decides the final vote

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIGHT MARKET VENDORS:
+ Chinese Student Association
+ Asian Business Student Association
+ alpha Kappa Delta Phi
+ Chi Sigma Alpha
+ Filipino American Student Association
+ Khmer Student Association
+ Hong Kong Student Association
+ Japanese Student Association
+ Taiwanese Student Association
+ Thai Student Association
+ Pi Alpha Phi
+ Peoples Republic of Clothing
+ Korean Student Association

* NIGHT MARKET STARTS AT 6:00PM
* bring cash, come hungry, grab early seats

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOUR THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
_ONE: Free admission
_TWO: Night market
_THREE: Infamous Opening Act
_FOUR: Competition! Battle! Cheering Audiences!

Lobby Day

Hello KhSA!!!

Before I start describing Lobby Day I just wanted to point out that the President of UW and our ASUW President do a swell job at keeping staff, faculty and students informed about the latest UW news. Especially when it comes to our budget cuts and the cost of higher education. Please check your myUW email to stay informed.

With that announcement aside, UW's second lobby day is coming up next Thursday, Feb 19th. If you are interested in participating, I highly encourage people to go and meet up with representatives to show them what you are most passionate about.

At the last Lobby Day on Jan 23rd, I was able to particpate and I had a blast. This is what happens:

You meet up with the rest of the people who are going at 6 am outside the HUB in their parking lot.

You then split into your groups and receive your iternary for the day and your talking points. Talking points are written up by Richard Lum our director of the Office of Government Relations, and they outline the facts that you are suppose to recite to the representatives you meet that day.

Your job is to formulate what you wish to say to your representatives with the rest of your group members. A mini presentation that takes less than 10 minutes.

There usually is a training session but I am not sure if they are providing one for this lobby day but you will likely be paired up with someone who has already been to lobby day so you will not be completely lost.

It's an easy, fun way to participate in goverment.

If you are interested please contact the Legislative Programming Coodinator Alex Lark. He puts together the groups and takes down the name of the peole who are intested in going.

His email address is: asuwogrc@u.washington.edu

If you have more questions please direct them at me because Alex is bombarded with emails every day. Contact him only to sign up for lobbying.

This is my email address: tyhchhor@u.washington.edu

If you would still like to take a stance but are unable to participate in lobbying day, you can still write a letter to your representatives and senators. The templates are still available but you should add your own voice in to the letter. The addresses and the website to search for your representative according to your legislative district is also available on this website: http://ogr.asuw.org/letter.php

Feel free to shoot me an email for more informaiton on this great opportunity.

Thanks KhSA!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope everyone finds true snaeha one point in their life.


---

Ty Huynh Chhor
Senator

The Winter Retreat 2008 - 2009

So, the date, the transportation, and the lodging has been secured! We now have a definite date for this year's 2008 - 2009 Winter Retreat!

This year, we are having it at Mt. Baker. We will be spending three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) from 02/27 - 03/01. This retreat is to show appreciation to our members for their efforts in helping us raise funds for KhSA this year. Thus, KhSA will be sponsoring part of the financing for the trip--roughly half the cost! Also, it allows us and members an opportunity for members connect with one another on a whole 'nother level.

I wish I could tell you the cost straight up, but that is something the members will hear first, LIVE and DIRECT, at our general meeting this week--Thursday, Feb. 12th, 2009. So come to the meeting if you want to know it. The price is definitely something even a broke college student can work with.

Costs cover

• Food
• Transportation
• Lodging

Costs DON'T cover

• Lift tickets
• Snowboard or Ski Rentals
  

We have 25 spots right now. Priority goes to those who have already expressed interested. However, we will be setting up a waiting list. Send us an e-mail if you want to be on the waiting list!

Thanks again fam,

Alex Meng | KhSA President 2008 - 2009

KhSA Officer's Bonding Night

On Friday evening, we had our first officer bonding night which was a semi-formal dinner :] It was really neat! The plan was to go to Bellevue, have dinner at Joeys, do the photoshoot, and then have an after-dinner activity at Alex's place.

Me and our other officer Sophana decided to go to the mall with my roomie Nikki. We were there for quite a while looking for stuff. By the time we got back to campus, it was already about 5 pm. We went to Sophana's place and met up with Julie and Gina. Ty Huynh was on her way from home. And the boys had a get-together at Alexs beforehand. Even though we were suppose to be ready by 6:30 pm, hehe, it was more like 6:50 pm. What can i say, we're girls :] Also there was alot of funny miscommunication...thinking back to it now, it was humorous.

My favorite memory was when the boys picked us up from Terry Hall. There were two cars line up with two boys each plus Gio in it. Chans and Bunthoeun were the drivers for each car. Once we walked out, Alex and Jon stepped out of the car they were in and held the back passenger door for us. It was really cute and gentlemen-like! All of us got situated and off we go to Bellevue.

Once we got to the restuarant, we had to wait a little bit because Joeys didn't accept reservations. We walked to Bellevue park but once we got there, we had to go back. Our table was ready! We ordered food and chit-chatted. Oh yeah, the bleu cheese french fries were really good appetizers. And to let time pass by, we played KhSA version of "telephone". lol. That was quite another memorable moment. Finally, we received our food. Some officers loved their entrees while others were okay. Mine was mediocre but hey it's food :] hehe. Oh yeah, Chans ate the most out of everybody...a chicken entree and a lobster entree. 0.o he even ate the lettuce.

After dinner, we had our photoshoot near the fountain. There are alot of great pictures. Nack is such an amazing photographer, thank you soooo much :] Hmm, after that it was time to unwind at Alexs. This time, i got a ride with Gio, Alex, and Ty Huynh. It was cool chit-chatting with them. We finally arrived at Alex's apt and it's pretty spacious. We ended up watching "ABDC" season 1 with Jabbawockeez and Kaba Modern performing. Yaaay, finally the rest of the officers arrived with their late night snacks. Then some played Poker while others played Guitar Hero. And there was people like me who ended taking a nap on the couch. lol. Only because i slept at 6 am the night before. Overall, the night was very chill and it was really a bonding experience. I can't wait to plan the next one, and that will probably be more laidback/casual.



-Sincerely,

Sok Chhouy :] [Activities Coordinator]

Hi KhSAer`s

If anyone is interested in being apart of the marketing/advertising committee PLEASE contact me via e-mail at chansp2@u.washington.edu.

An education outside of school

Unless you are subscribed to our mailing list--if you aren't, you should join now--you probably haven't heard about our association hosting Khmer language classes for those interested in learning Khmer.

This class is highly recommended for those who want to learn/practice/review their Khmer. You can expect from the class to learn to read, write, and speak Khmer. Our schedule is based on a book we use for beginners learning Khmer.

There are two different types of classes right now: 1 is for beginners that meet once a week for 2 hours, and the second class is for advance students that meet once a week for 4 hours. The latter class is intended to prepare themselves to take the proficiency exam at the University of Washington in spring. Passing the proficiency exam, allows students to receive foreign language credit if they pass it.

Our teacher, Lok Gru, is a volunteer in from the White Center community, who helps KhSA host these classes. Without him, this wouldn't be possible. He comes every Saturday and Sunday to teach the beginner and advance class. Originally from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, he studied in Cambodia, obtaining a degree in History. He enjoys teaching Khmer to younger generations to help preserve the Khmer language as well as drops some Cambodian history on them as well.

If you want to get involved and start learning Khmer, send an e-mail to khmer@u.washington.edu, and we can set you up!

Thanks for reading fam,

Alex Meng | KhSA President 2008 - 2009

Startin' Fresh for 2009

Wassup members and the Khmer community,

We, the Khmer Student Association at the University of Washington, are starting something new this year: something to show everyone what goes on in office: KhSA's own personal blog.

The purpose of this blog is give everyone a better idea what goes on in office, our thoughts on current events, and an opportunity to answer any questions you may have for an officer or the office team. Everything is welcomed.

Future blog posts will come from officer, so if you want a particular officer to post more, let it be known!

Thanks for reading and come back soon!


Alex Meng KhSA President 2008 - 2009