Playing Catch Up

I have been away from site for the past 2.5 weeks. While this was a welcome chance to get away and see some more of Thailand and a chance to reconnect with the rest of the volunteers, it was certainly a long time to be gone. During my time away ten days were spent at a technical school in Korat for our second round of Peace Corps training. For those of you I have been talking with, I may have explained that this is an important part of the volunteer life cycle. Upon arriving in Thailand we were thrust into 10 weeks of intensive language, cultural, and technical training and living with a Thai host family. After those ten weeks we were again thrust into a new situation; we traveled to our site immediately after we swore in as PC volunteers. The past three months we have been at our sites gathering whatever information we could as part of a community assessment assignment and were restricted in our travel and time off. Next came the long awaited PST 2, and now that it's over I feel that my service or life here can finally start!

Before I open that can of worms, I will backtrack a little to talk about PST 2. Peace Corps put all the volunteers and our counterparts and our teachers up in a hotel at a university about 25k outside of the big city of Korat. This was probably in hopes that we wouldn't party as much, or spend too much time in the city in order to be fresh and awake for all our sessions. PC 121 found ways around this of course and evenings and nights were spent eating, watching movies, playing games, catching over beers and general silliness. It was kind of like being in the dorms again. I loved every minute of it. 

The training itself was also good. Highlights included:

1. a 3-day counterpart conference in which we were trained with our Thai co-workers in project design management, and actually wrote out a project plan in Thai and English (we worked on forming an exercise group at our local health station)

2. presentations from current volunteers on the volunteer life-cycle, bio-gas (a propane substitute made from animal waste), teaching english as a non-teaching volunteer and more 

3. a talk from a US diplomat serving in Thailand

4. presenting what I have learned about my community with my Thai counterpart

5. four days of studying the local dialect in my region (Isaan) with some fellow volunteers from the area

The best part of the whole thing was the 4th of July. Peace Corps pulled out all the stops (well as best they could) to give us a legitimate  4th of July celebration. We had fruit, cake, corn on the cob, hotdogs, pork burgers and even fritos! Combined with this feast was our first annual "No-Talent-Talent Show". While some of the acts actually turned out to be good, most were TERRIBLE and great fun! After the dinner and show, most of the volunteers headed to the university bar called "Hank Over". Upon arrival we were disappointed to hear only Thai music being played. A couple of us, talked things over with the staff and soon we were jamming to familiar tunes. The first song, Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Let me tell you, we went wild. We were up on stage with the mics, dancing between tables, even handing out american flags to the Thai nationals at the bar. These Thai national soon got out their phones to  invite their friends up to the bar to see these crazy farangs (foreigners) literally going crazy. Soon the bar was packed and flashes from cameras were non-stop. Thus we were the entertainment for the night. It is definitely a Fourth of July I will never forget. 

After training about 20 of us took vans from the university to the site of our first round of training to visit our host families. Again another memorable experience. It was such a great feeling to be with my family again. The neighbors and extended family al gathered at our house for kebabs, fried chicken, and french fries...all of which were more delicious than I have ever had in America (ok, maybe not, but at the time, it sure felt like it!). My host dad, never one to talk much or smile much (especially with me), was grinning from ear to ear as we conversed in his home dialect of Isaan. Compared to my current site, our first training site is beautiful and the weather comfortable. It really made me appreciate that time we had there. After this visit "home" I can hardly imagine what returning the states will feel like. As I got ready for bed, my host mom and I prayed together and she helped me hang my mosquito net. I turned to her and said how much I had missed my room and she started crying. Of course I did too. It is amazing that one can find family and love across the world from home. 

After one night there, the volunteers and I all traveled to Bangkok in order to travel back to site or for medical reasons. Though most of us were there for medical we still managed to have fun with Mexican food, shopping, and seeing Ice Age 3 in 3D (actually it was a really bad movie, but still fun). On Monday morning I headed to the hospital to meet with the hand surgeon. I can say without a doubt that the Thai hospitals in BKK are some of the nicest places I have ever been in let alone nicest hospitals. The service is impeccable, as is the decor, and the complimentary juices, coffee, and water in the waiting rooms were pretty nice too. 

A quick recount: I sliced my left index finger open with a pocket knife while opening my bike pump the first week we were in Thailand. I went to a local hospital and got four stitches. Since then the scar has healed quite well but I cannot bend my finger and I have lost feeling from the bottom knuckle and up. 

The hand surgeon was appalled that I had these conditions for the past five months. I explained that the local hospital had said it could take up to six months for me to regain feeling. The surgeon said that a cut of this intensity should have been addressed immediately as I had sliced through the tendon that controls the bending movement of the finger. He explained that general practitioners at local hospitals usually didn't know this. I'm sure this is the case, as I didn't even see a GP but a nurse. The surgeon said that he could reopen the wound and perform surgery. The procedure would be difficult and there was no guarantee that it would get any better, in fact it could get worse (at this point I can bend the bottom knuckle). I opted for no surgery and he supported my decision. It is likely that my finger will remain this way forever, but I'm fine with that...at least I still have it, right?

Returning to site has been slightly difficult and also exciting. I am filled with ideas and motivation from training, but it's hard to communicate these feelings with my counterpart and office as they are comfortable to sit in the office all day and not really do anything with the community. I will be slowly weening myself from the office. I still plan to come in for a bit everyday but it's time for me to break away and take charge. I gave it a shot and it's clear that my counterparts with which to do actual projects will come from the community. Here is what I have planned:

1. Next Friday, I am hosting a teacher training on how to give life-skills camps for 60 teachers from the area. 2-3 other volunteers will be coming to help and we will train teachers on how to teach about HIV/AIDS, recycling, nutrition and teamwork. 

2. I plan on spending at least one day a week at the local health station. Even if it means just sitting around, I will meet more people than at this office. 

3. I want to become a rice farmer for a week. We are approaching the time to pick the rice that was planted last month. This would be a good way to feel active, get out of the office, practice the local dialect, make friends, and finally do some hard, dirty work.

4. I would like to explore the possibility of building a bio-gas model in one of the more rural villages. INSERT BIG DREAM HERE: if this village were able to switch from propane to bio-gas then with the money they saved they could build the fences for every house in the village (something they have been hoping for).

So, sigh, all caught up for now. Planning for the life skills event and studying Thai related to Harry Potter in the hopes of seeing it this weekend (in Thai of course!)

Peace, 

Sarah

Same Same but Different

There is a funny expression here in Thailand, that a lot of Thai people know how to say in English, there are even T-shirts in Bangkok with this expression on it: same, same but different. Now this expression doesn't really make sense at all, but somedays I start to think that I understand it...

On Tuesday I went on a study trip with two workers from the hospital and my counterpart. We rode for about an hour in the ambulance to our provincial capital where we hopped on a bus with the rest of the folks from around our province attending the visit to a hospital about 3 hours away. I settled into the bus (pink and purple peacock themed) and cranked up my Ipod, in the hopes of drowning out the Thai karaoke. Thai music isn't all that bad, but the karaoke songs are TERRIBLE and LOUD and NONSTOP, all of which lead to a headache and a grumpy Sarah. It's no secret that I loathe these bus rides as I haven't been able to hide my true feelings for them from my co-workers. 

We finally arrive at the hospital for a good study of the rape crisis center that they have there and were able to talk with the police officers and counselors associated with the program. It was one of the more productive field trips that I have been on. 

There's a hitch though! When we arrived everyone rushed to the bathroom after being on the bus for so long, including yours truly who had chugged a Pepsi in anticipation of sleepiness during the bureaucratic Thai speeches (sorry if that's too much information, but the story is indeed about the bathroom). Arriving in line, I see that everyone has taken their shoes off. This is a pretty common thing to do before entering a Thai house and even at some government offices and health stations...but I have never seen it at a bathroom. Not really thinking, I take my sneakers off and stand in line in my white tennis socks. It's finally my turn, thank god, and my co-worker points to some slip-on plastic shoes for me to wear while in the bathroom. We all know that I have incredibly large feet, even in America, but these flops were made for a five year old! The bridge of my foot would not even fit in them. At least I had my socks on right? Not so, the bathroom floor was soaking wet from the Thai method of flushing, which is dumping water from a bucket down the drain. Since the toilet is a shallow, squat toilet the water gets everywhere. So, cursing under my breath, I removed my socks and went into this hospital, wet, public bathroom barefoot. It was probably fine, but part of me couldn't help but to wonder what was water and what was eerr not; you see with a squat toilet there is room for error in hmm let's say aiming. Sorry if this is disgusting or graphic to some of you, but just so you know I felt the same way. I was so grumpy from the bus ride and put out by the inconvenience of having to go to the bathroom the Thai way...same same but different no?

Emerging from bathroom hell, promptly sat down on the ground to put my socks and shoes on. The Thai's around me were appalled. Though Thai people sit on the floor to eat at their own home, sitting on the ground in public is considered very dirty. I was just so grumpy and angry that I did it anyway and as I did, I smiled and said, "I am American, same same but different, right?"

The rest of the day was fine, and I am glad I went. I was able to learn lots of new Thai words related to healthcare and get to know my hospital workers better. The bus ride home took 4 hours and the karaoke was again non-stop. Our car to take us back to the village was late picking us up and we didn't get on the road until 8 pm. When we stopped for dinner at a road side noodle stand, the man from my hospital basically played 20 questions with me on what the heck I was doing living in our village for two years. I explained about Peace Corps and my personal motivation for being here and seemed to appreciate it and understand. Then he asked, "Aren't you scared?" and I said, "Scared of what?" He answered, "You know of evil spirits, snakes, Thai bad boys, that kind of thing..." I jokingly replied, "aren't they all the same?" He chuckled and said I would survive Thailand just fine. As we drove on into the night I couldn't help but wonder will Thailand really be that hard to survive?

Land of Legend

I visited our provincial capital this week for a meet and greet with the governor. While I was there he gave me a brochure about the province I now call home. Since I am here to work, and there aren't many touristy things to do around these parts, I have neglected learning about the history of the province. It's not extremely interesting, but the legends and folk tales surrounding that history sure are. Posted below is an excerpt from the materials I got; it's about the legends surrounding the name of our province, Sisaket:

There are three legends describing the derivation of entitling "Sisaket". The first one is the legend of Princess Si, a daughter of Lao's king. Her husband, Phraya Kraek, was the governor of Khmer (Cambodia). When Phraya Kraek went to Khmer, Princess Si was left behind in her own country-Lao. Despite being pregnant she traveled to Khmer with her love and longing for her husband. It was unexpected that she had her baby during the trip. It is believed that a pond where she and her baby took a bath is nowadays "Sisaket". The second legend talking about a powerful Khmer's ruler - Phraya Si Kote Tabongpetch, the founder of Lan Chaang who had equipped with diamond club. Once he was defeated by a holyman, he gave his Lan Chaang to that man and trooped back to Khmer. During the way back to his hometown, he and his fellows dropped by a pond. The pond where his wife rinsed her hair became the derivation of entitling "Sisaket" (saket means rinsing). The last one is about Princess Si Payaktom who left Pimai City to Nakorn Thom. During the way to her destination, she traveled pass through a pond in an ancient ruined castle. She decided to stay over night there. While she was taking off the pond after her evening bath, villagers came by and stunned at her beauty. Thus, assuming that Princess Si Payakthom's hair rinsing in the pond was an auspicious omen of founding the city, villager's entitled their city "Sisaket".

These legends contain some reasonability in entitling "Sisaket" which relate to hair rinse. Still, there is no apparent confirmation since there is some source claiming that "Sisaket" might be derived from "ket tree", trees those overwhelming Sisaket in previous days. 

Please note: This document was translated to English and I wrote it the exact way it was published. This is why some of the grammar or word order might seem a bit strange. 

Interesting Points

Several interesting things have been happening lately...

1. I was feeling kind of empty or unsure of my feeling during my last post, and I suddenly snapped out of it yesterday. I guess I am sort of on an emotional rollercoaster and am still going through different phases of cultural adjustment. But you should be happy to hear that I am not homesick! Thai people ask me everyday and I explain that yes, I miss home but I am not homesick. It is possible to miss something without being sad or "sick". I guess that means you appreciate whatever it is that you are missing. I know that I must be on some sort of emotional ride as I have started writing in my journal and even wrote a poem!

2. Today at lunch, a co-worker asked if I really was going to stay here for two years, and when I said yes, he exclaimed, "you will be so bored, this village is so boring, and what work can you do for two whole years!?" Before I had a chance to answer my counterpart jumped in and said, "Don't worry, she will have work. We are going to do all kinds of projects!". I'm not sure what exactly was going on with this exchange, but it was reassuring to an extent, though my counterpart may have just been answering out of pride. 

3. One of the villages in our jurisdiction is officially to become an alcohol-free zone. I am surprised as drinking is one of the most popular activities in Thailand. I asked about how it was decided and there was village vote to ban alcohol from the area. I'm not sure if this means that alcohol cannot be sold or if it is illegal completely. 

4. Peace Corps is putting on a youth leadership conference in September and I will be putting in an application for several of the members of the girls' group to attend. I am excited about the opportunity and feel like my group has a big chance of going.

5. The village is abuzz with talk of the upcoming mayoral elections. I listen in an attempt to understand, but definitely intend to refrain from commentary and want to stay out of it all together. The mayor is technically my boss, but it seems I should remain neutral. 

6. I am so excited for our second round of training. I am leaving for it in about a week and think it will be a good opportunity to recharge my batteries, really communicate with my counterpart about potential projects, and to reconnect with ALL my fellow volunteers.

Settling

I suppose most of you have noticed that I have not updated in awhile. It's because I really don't feel like I have that much to say. When I spoke to my mother a few minutes ago she said I sounded blase. I am not. I think I have reached a point where I am starting to settle in and things are feeling routine. This is a good and bad thing. While the novelty of Thai culture has begun to wear off, usually something shocks me or makes me think everyday. Some parts of Thai culture have just been flat out annoying me now and some parts have become normal. Work is still coming along slowly, but that's okay. My co-workers know I have an assignment for our second bit of training and are holding off on really getting started on any projects with me until after that...or at least that's what they tell me. My assignment preparations have been going really well. No complaints. I feel like I should probably be a little more attentive to my language learning as I have just been coasting the past couple of weeks. I need to pick up with my studies. 

This past weekend I had the chance to get together with 5 other volunteers in Ubon (one of the region's biggest cities and very close to me) to do "Western" things. We went bowling, swimming, grocery shopping, ate out, relaxed and chatted in the hotel, got beers, went dancing...it was good. As always it was good to return to my village, though it has been HOT lately. 

Things are fine, things are good. Not extraordinary, not terrible, it's just life.

We had another volunteer from out group return to the US, which is always hard to hear about. There is no reason to judge these volunteers and I totally support their decisions. Peace Corps is hard and filled with ups and downs. I guess I am at an equilibrium at this point, which I guess is a pretty good place to be. 

Article from the LA Times

Here is an interesting article about Peace Corps as seen in the LA Times:

More Americans turning to Peace Corps

With President Obama extolling the volunteer agency as an exemplar of public service and U.S. diplomacy, applications have jumped. The idealism is tinged with pragmatism, amid joblessness at home.

By Chris Kraul 
June 2, 2009

Reporting from Santa Fe, Panama -- Peace Corps volunteer Alexandra Hodgkins couldn't be farther from her comfort zone here in Panama's Darien jungle: coral snakes, sauna-like heat and, just a few miles east up the Pan-American Highway, marauding Colombian rebels.

But the 25-year-old New Hampshire native wants a career in international development, and she figures a couple of years helping this poor community find permits and financing for a medicinal soap business will be invaluable experience. It also feeds her passion for public service and projecting a positive U.S. image.

 

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  Peace Corps in Panama

"This is a good way to test whether this is what I want to do," said Hodgkins, who was a community organizer in Boston before she joined the Peace Corps in October. "I like the Peace Corps approach of working with communities, not just giving out presents right and left."

With a mix of idealism and pragmatism, increasing numbers of Americans are turning to the Peace Corps. Some, like Hodgkins, see it as a training opportunity at a time when job prospects at home are bleak. Others have been inspired by President Obama's campaign call to public service, and his frequent mention of the Peace Corps as a good vehicle for volunteerism.

At his commencement address at Arizona State University last month, Obama said the Peace Corps was an American institution that shows "our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity, equality and freedom that have made us who we are." 

Peace Corps officials credit the "Obama effect" for most of the 25,000 Internet requests so far this year for "starter applications," up 40% from last year. 

That's on top of a 16% increase in completed applications submitted in 2008. A new wrinkle to the flood of application requests is that 7% of them are coming from people 50 or older, up from the typical 4%, says the Washington-based organization.

Even as some government programs are being scaled back because of the global financial crisis, the Peace Corps' budget is getting a boost from Obama. If Congress approves the proposed 9% increase in the agency's 2010 budget, the number of Peace Corps volunteers, now at 7,876, is expected to rise.

"We are just skyrocketing in applications," said Peace Corps acting director Jody Olsen, who expects the volunteer ranks to grow significantly this year. "Obama represents what Americans really want to be asked to do. We want to hear how important service is, whether it is domestic or international." 

These are good times for the Peace Corps, which was founded by President Kennedy in 1961. It has had its ups and downs, peaking at 15,000 volunteers in 1966 and hitting a low of fewer than 5,000 in 1982. 

"It's refreshing and uplifting to witness this sort of outpouring of American idealism again, particularly after the U.S. reputation has suffered such setbacks as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo," said Bruce Bagley, a University of Miami political science professor and a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia in the late 1960s.

Olsen said 20 countries that have no Peace Corps presence have asked for volunteers, with specialists in farming, English teaching, and HIV/AIDS and hygiene awareness the most in demand. The requests reflect the agency's proven effectiveness, she said. But budget and logistical restrictions mean that most requests will not be met. 

On a positive note, the Peace Corps is returning to Rwanda, Liberia and Ethiopia for the first time in a decade or more. Here in Panama, the number of volunteers has steadily increased to 160 from 100 five years ago, said country director Peter Redmond. He said the upturn was due in large part to the fact that the country values and seeks volunteers.

But the final number of volunteers the U.S. sends out will depend on whether Congress passes Obama's $380-million budget request for the next fiscal year.

It's not a slam dunk. The program's cost-effectiveness has been a source of debate over its 48-year history, with some critics contending that the Peace Corps is a form of "developmental tourism" and that some volunteers at times drift aimlessly in their communities during their two-year tours.

U.S. diplomat Dale Maki disagrees vigorously. Maki is a former Peace Corps volunteer in Chile and is now an agriculture advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Panama. He said volunteering benefits the United States because it "develops leadership and puts a good face on the U.S. out there."

In addition to scores of former volunteers who, like Maki, have gone on to join the U.S. foreign service, five are members of Congress, including Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. 

Charles Goodsell, a Virginia Tech professor emeritus who is writing a book on the Peace Corps and other government institutions, said the critics are wrong.

"The Peace Corps is very hard work. It takes a lot of creativity to be effective in often lonely circumstances and where the tasks are not perfectly outlined," Goodsell said. "In fact, the whole idea is that individual volunteers not show up with prepackaged plans but find out what the locals really need."

Santa Fe resident Marcelina Noriega says that's what Hodgkins did, helping her cooperative cut through red tape and the application process to get a $20,000 United Nations grant. 

Now the cooperative has its sights set on setting up an iguana farm to sell the skins and meat. "She has helped us do things we had no idea about," Noriega said.

Yemiymah Yisrael, a 26-year-old volunteer from Chicago who has spent three years in Santa Fe teaching composting techniques, extended her stay partly because of the lousy economy back home.

"Several volunteers who have gone home have advised me not to because it's so difficult to find a job," said Yisrael, who has her eye on a career in international health. Before the Peace Corps, she did carpentry work with Habitat for Humanity rebuilding hurricane victims' homes.

Not that the Peace Corps is lucrative: Hodgkins and Yisrael are paid about $320 a month, just above Panama's minimum wage. 

Hodgkins said she gets discouraged at times by the delays and paperwork required by the Panamanian government.

"But if you keep an open mind and try to understand the culture," she said, "then you can do what you came to do."

Kraul is a special correspondent.

More..

I seem to have a habit of posting a new blog immediately after posting another, but I just can't help it. As soon as I stopped typing my last update my main-co-worker burst into the room with tape measure ready to record my measurements. Of course, in usual American fashion, I asked why. She said "it's because we have to report our weights and measurements to the provincial office"...again I asked but why? "It's the health project, we can't have fat government workers! They want to make sure we aren't too fat."

Of course, I thought to myself.