About Thavry Thun

My name is Thavry Thun (pronounced tah-vree toon), and I was born in Cambodia on the 4th of October in the year 1989. My home is in the countryside, and I am from a simple farming family. We are a happy, hard-working family. I have two brothers and no sisters. When I was a young child, I enjoyed drawing, especially drawing portraits of people. I hope you will enjoy my website and be my friend.

Studies

I am currently working toward my Bachelor's degree, studying Information Technologies and Business Management at the University of Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic of the European Union. The degree programs requires three years to complete, and lectures are given in English. I have found many interesting courses to study, and do enjoy my studies here very much. Before I came to live in the Czech Republic, I attended the Information Technology program at Build Bright University (BBU) in Cambodia. During two years of study, I attended both, the Phnom Penh campus, and the Siem Reap campus. At that time, there were no girls attending any of the classes, while there were about 40 boys in attendance. In Cambodia, studying computers and technical subjects is traditionally for boys, so I was very interested to compete in this program.

My Art

Drawing portraits, animals, and landscapes comes as a natural talent for me. I have enjoyed drawing since I was very young, and continue to draw whenever I have time. I want to continue to develop my talent and perspective in art, no matter how long it takes, because I love what I am doing, and my art will continue to improve. I am still using only a pencil, but sometimes I will try to experiment with watercolors. I will persist with my love for art all of my life, because I also have a goal to become an artist and create many different and original works of art.

Writing

I enjoy writing very much, and will also be writing for all of my life. I am gradually working on making many different books, and have already succeeded in publishing my first two story books for young readers through the 'Room to Read' program.

It is my goal to publish a series of small books which will also include my drawings. The books will be easy for children to read, and will tell about real life stories in Cambodia. I am working on a novel, but it is a bigger project for the future.

Living

Presently, I live and study in the Czech Republic, in the European Union, and have been here for over one year now. I live in a city called Hradec Kralove, and it is a small, nice, and clean town. It is about 90 km from Prague, which is the capital city of the Czech Republic. This is my first time to experience living and studying in Europe. I needed to adjust myself to many new things, which I had never experienced or seen before. I study the Czech language too, which is rather difficult for me. The food and weather is very different than in Cambodia. I had never experienced such cold weather before in all my life. Sometimes, temperatures are minus 15 or 20 degrees below zero. I also have many opportunities to meet new friends who come here from all around the world. Before I came to Czech Republic, I lived and studied in Phnom Penh for about one year, and then in Siem Reap for about one year. My homeland village is located in Kandal Province, about 40 kilometers to the south of Phnom Penh. I was born and raised on a small island in the middle of the Bassac river. It is a very poor, simple, and isolated island, with no development. As you browse my website, you can see pictures and read stories about my Island homeland.

Future Plans

In the future, I hope to be an accomplished artist and writer, and wish to have an art gallery. Drawing, painting, and writing are all very important to me. I have accomplished my first dream, which was to see Cambodian children reading and smiling with one of my books in their hand. I do hope to write more new story books, because it is one way I can help to improve Cambodian literacy, and educate our children. Teaching others to love reading, and to draw pictures for people so they can enjoy reading and learn new things is one way I can help people. I wish to be able to speak more than three languages, because I like to communicate with people from different cultures and learn new ideas from them. I also enjoy teaching, and hope to help the people of my country through developing learning opportunities using computers and Internet technology. After finishing my studies, I wish to travel some and develop my career goals, but ultimately, I want to share what I have learned so that all young Cambodians will have equal access to education. I really love one saying that goes like this: "Sharing is Love".