News!

Ok, so I can't even begin to remember what I've been doing since my last post, because I just found out about my site placement. Yes, that's right, my site, or where I will be living for the next 2 years. I am heading to Si Sa Ket, which is in the NorthEastern Thailand in a region called Issan. the area is flat, hot and dry, and very poor, and the speak Lao in this area. That means I have to learn to speak Lao (I'm actually pretty excited about this). My province borders Cambodia, and I will be very close to Laos. I will be working in a smaller sub-district at the local government office with a counterpart (age 26), I suppose we will figure out this whole community development thing together. I will most likely choose to live with a host family once at site for the first few months, but I wouldn't mind a homestay for two years! My schedule for the next few days is also pretty exciting:

- Thursday afternoon going to Bangkok with fellow volunteers, we will divide into groups once there and do a faux amazing race to get around the city and get to the Peace Corps Office.

-Thursday night we are all going for American food and then to the clubs.

-Friday morning we have sessions at the Peace Corps office.

-Friday evening I will go to the bus stations to catch a bus to visit a current volunteer, near my site (sort of), I will be with another volunteer from my group and we are meeting up with some other Peace Corps people on Saturday to go swimming in the MeKong River!! I am so excited about this!

-Sunday I head to my site to meet my coworkers and check out housing options. 

-Monday night bus back to Bangkok, in order to go to the hospital to have my finger checked out (I'm starting to regain some feeling!)

Anyway, I'm so excited about this small trip and the challenges that lie ahead, this job will be tough but I'm grateful for the experience. If you want to learn more about my future site, just google Si Sa Ket. The information is quite interesting. 

Interesting points about the area:

- they eat insects, field mice and sticky rice.

- Issan people are loud and colorful (maybe I'll fit in).

- Music and traditional instruments are prevalent. 

- the region is traditional but quite open to change and development!

As always, I miss you all but am extremely happy in Thailand, I love getting emails, no matter how long or short, keep em coming!