Dream.Believe.Achieve.

I recently attended the annual Peace Corps Youth Conference with a counterpart and two youth from my community. And, I must say that it was absolutely wonderful! I could not have been more impressed by the work and actions of my fellow volunteers as they put on the conference. This year's theme was Dream, Believe, Achieve and we spent 3 and a half days setting goals for ourselves and discovering assets within. We were divided into teams and I was part of "Blue, We Can" along with two other volunteers and their groups. During the conference we spent a lot of time outdoors playing teambuilding activities as we worked towards a common goal. All the activities were similar to those we experience at school field trips and summer camp, but they were effective nonetheless. These activities were meaningful to the youth as they had never done things like this before, with the exception of "The Great Egg Drop". When this activity was announced, my group groaned, "We have been doing this since 1st grade!" It was hysterical. 

Other activities included making team T-shirts, crafts, relays, a career information session, karaoke and making s'mores!

This conference was not only special for all of its' activities but also for the new experiences for my youth. We traveled by overnight bus to Bangkok, neither of the girls had done this before and then hung out in the Peace Corps Office all morning. They saw how Peace Corps worked and perused our ever-expanding library. From there we traveled the beautiful province of Nakorn Nayoke, the site of the conference. Not only did my students meet tons of volunteers from America but they made friends with Thai youth from all over Thailand. For students who have never travelled before, these experiences will never be forgotten. It was truly special for me to be with my students while all of this happened. 

So what of the conference? Well, my students and counterpart want to train the rest of our girl's youth group in the self-development activities that we learned and then the group hope's to lead similar camps or trainings around our area and expand to the provincial level. I would be honored and pleased to help them with this goal and look forward to seeing what these girls can do. 

What's Up

Well the seven month mark of my Peace Corps service has come and gone and we are quickly entering fall in Thailand! This really means nothing like it does in the States, it is still just as hot as ever with rain everyday. Apparently the cool season will start in late October or early November and I can't wait! The heat really does take a toll on me, believe it or not. This may have to do with the fact that I only have a bicycle to get around with. BUT, I have been getting around! No, no not like that, in a work/professional sort of way. I was out of town for two weekends for required Peace Corps meetings, both of which were productive and fun. It's always good to see other volunteers, but I have found the longer I am here the more I feel like my village is my home and find myself missing it while away. I think my host parents feel the same way and they are always excited when I get home from travels. This is nice. 

Last Thursday morning I left with my Thai tutor and friend, who is a teacher and two students to attend a youth entrepeneur conference about 6 hours away. This was especially exciting because it was sure to be productive but also fun for my group. My students, both 15, had never really left our province before and this was to be their first time to stay in a hotel! I also shared their first visit to the zoo on the way to the conference. It was so special to share this eye-opening opportunity with them. At the conference we learned the basics of constructing and writing a business plan and successfully wrote one in which the students at their school will make and sell EM. EM is an effective microorganism organic fertilizer which is taking off in Thailand these days and is fairly easy to make. If our business plan is approved we will get a small amount of money from USAID to start our business. Regardless of whether we get the money or even start the business, this conference was a success. The students are very bright and really got into the project. 

This Wednesday night I am departing with two more students and a teacher for the annual Peace Corps Youth conference. In this conference we will focus on personal development and of course play tons of games. It is supposed to be one of the best Peace Corps sponsored events. This is also exciting, because as before these two students have never traveled. We will take an overnight bus to Bangkok where we will visit the Peace Corps office in the morning before boarding another bus to the site of the conference. I can't wait!

In other news, things at site are going well and I have found the motivation to begin writing several project plans with the hopes of presenting them to the office in time for next year's budget distribution. I have also been in touch with the nurses and the PHA group recently (PHA stands for People Having AIDS). We want to do an AIDS education project in each of the villages in my area (20 villages) and I have been approved to take two patients to a business skills conference at the end of September. In this conference we will hopefully learn to improve their existing income generation business of raising cows. Both patients are nervous about traveling and studying business as neither went to school past 6th grade. As with the other conferences I believe there will be benefits no matter how small. I am making a huge statement to these women by taking them to such an important event and helping them travel, as PHA are still discriminated against in the area. 

I am off to teach this afternoon, something I have grown to enjoy. The kids are shy and not really motivated to learn English but it's still fun. It keeps me busy and involved in community life. 

So all in all work is good and life is great. 

Hope it is for all of you...more updates to come after the conference!

You know you are a Volunteer in Thailand if...

So, if you are a faithful reader please accept my apologies; I have not updated in almost 3 weeks. Things are going along fairly well here and I actually feel busy and productive...apparently just no inspired to write. I will have you know that I planned and implemented my first small Peace Corps project. With the help of one very able teacher with a medium sized budget, we held a teacher training to help teachers learn skills needed to teach their students more life skills. With the help of three other Peace Corps Volunteers we had four sessions on nutrition/hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, teamwork, composting and recycling and appreciating the environment. And it all went great! In other news I have found a great Thai tutor, have been spending three days a week at the schools, and getting out into the community more. The project ideas are flowing! Things are definitely good. BUT, instead of recapping all of this, I have something more fun for my readers today!

A friend of mine, I guess he was bored, wrote up a list of funny things about being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, most of which are true and not exaggerated at all! I have posted a lot here and commented on them. So here is a shout out to the author, Eric "fried fish" Hoening of Isaan, and some of the best points...ENJOY!!!

You know you’re a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand if…..


1. You see four people on a motorcycle and think there’s still room for more.

This is sooo true. I have seen a grandmother, mother and father, a child and an infant all on one motorcycle. The infant did not look scared or alarmed in the least. Of course no helmets...

2. You actually choose to use the butt sprayer instead of toilet paper.

This is a good one. In Thailand lots of bathrooms have a basin full of water and you use a bucket to pour that water all over you. This is the shower. Also, in Thailand, most toilets do not have flushers or toilet paper, so a hose is provided to hose off one's self (hence the name the butt sprayer) and then to hose whatever down the toilet. These usually spay cold water with a decent amount of pressure, so I guess is sort of feels like a shower. I am not guilty of this one though!

3. You get told that you are beautiful/handsome at least four times a day.

Thai people admire light colored skin, noses with bridges, blue/green eyes and of course blonde hair. Even if you are ugly as sin, if you have these qualities then you are beautiful/handsome in a Thai person's eyes.

4. You can openly discuss bodily functions for hours on end.

It is said that Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world are able to do this. I guess it comes with the territory.

5. You LOVE sticky rice.

Sticky rice is what it is. Made with sugar or glutton or something like that, this rice is served in a basket and one rolls a bit in her hand before dipping it in the other dishes of food. It is quite filling, quite delicious, and quite unhealthy.

6. Anything less than a 12 hour bus trip is considered close.

Ok, so this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the bus rides here are long! For example, on the nicest bus available it takes me 9 hours to get to Bangkok, a mere 470 kilometers away.

7. You don’t really know whose chickens they are, but you have at least 10 chickens in your yard at any given moment.

My family only has 6 chickens and there are definitely 12 outside at this very moment. I don't get it...we hardly ever eat chicken here and eggs or an omelet at a restaurant can be considered expensive.

8. You are called fat and then forced to eat more than you possibly can.

Thai people love to eat, talk about what they just ate, or talk about what they are going to eat next. They also love it when a foreigner shows appreciation for the local cuisine. They also like to talk about how much people weigh or how fat a certain dish will make you. Hence the oxymoron. 

9. You are regularly passed by a 10 year old driving a motorcycle while you labor away on your bicycle.

Uggh, this is the worst. Riding down the hot highway around noon is bad enough, but when a young cool dude speeds by on a bright red motorcycle, you really feel like a dork. The token Peace Corps bike helmet doesn't help.

10. While trying to speak Thai, you have accidentally said that you “pooped a bicycle” 

Ah, a classic! The word for "ride" is a mere tone away from "poop". You get the drift. 

11. You get extremely excited when you can read a sign in Thai.

Reading Thai is sort of like a game or solving a puzzle. It's great at the bus station when someone offers to help you find your bus and you can say, "Oh, no thanks, I can read Thai just fine!"

12. You now feel totally comfortable asking somebody how much money they make.

This is a very common "get-to-know-you" question in Thailand. It's quite proper to ask. 

13. You can’t drink beer without ice.

You don't really have a choice. Either drink it with ice, drink it boiling hot from the heat, or wait around for it get cold in whatever fridge you can find. 

14. Your clothes are never clean, and they only smell good half the time.

When it's humid and you have to hang your clothes outside to dry, it can sometimes take days! All kind of dirt gets on them and they eventually smell like mildew. 

15. You think 75 degrees is cold.

Well, that's just a fact, it is COLD.

16. You have watched all your DVDs with commentary at least three times.

Life in Thailand can be slow sometimes, very slow. 

17. You commonly ask people if they have showered yet.

A common greeting...similar to "hey, how's it going?"

18. You have been in a parade.

Check, I have been in 3. 

19. You have used “tong sia” as an excuse

This literally means "broken stomach" and it can get you out of ANYTHING you might not want to do. The sad part is, is that you normally don't have to lie, a broken stomach is pretty much a constant condition. 

20. You are constantly asked if you are scared of ghosts.

Most Thais are very superstitious. 

21. You know that kids don’t need adult supervision.

True, and most Thai kids have some gnarly scars to show for it. 

22. You now hate microphones.

Uh yes, I can't really talk about it...

23. There are more lizards in your house than people in your village.

These buggers are everywhere, as is their shit...but they are harmless and eat annoying bugs. 

24 You actually start to think that your name is Farang.

What any non-Thai looking person gets called by Thai nationals until they know your name, and sometimes even after they know your name. It means "foreigner". 

25. You can "gin pet dai"

Yes! I CAN EAT SPICY FOOD!

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.