Written March 17th
2am: Crash! What was that? The wind is blowing unbelievably hard and I have to wonder if all of our dishes are crushed and strewn about in pieces on the ground outside the house. The wind had been blowing all day and has only gotten worse throughout the night.
My thought: Oh god!, is my bike ok??? – yes, these are the thoughts when this is now one of only a few worldly possessions that you have going into Peace Corps
3am: So cold. How is it that a heavy blanket is not enough to keep me from being cold in Thailand. It is so hot here that you would think that I would sleep without the blanket most of the time. Brrrrrrrr!
My thought: Can I sleep through the coldness? Do I have any warmer clothes? Eh, I can stick this out, it really can’t be thaaaat cold, right?
3:30: It’s that cold. Thank you PC drivers for bringing over my 2nd bag today containing my super comfortable pajama bottoms and zip-up sweatshirts. You are my hero.
My thought: Why didn’t I put these on earlier…so comfortable... Heaven hath been reached.
6:30 Seriously, I have to get out of bed and bike to school in this? It’s freakishly windy and it has started to rain. And, I have to admit to my family that I am cold for the first time since coming to Thailand.
My thought: Maybe I’m becoming a Thai…maybe next time it is really hot I won’t sweat…yeah right!
7:10 I start getting my bike ready to go. My dad comes up to me and advises me that I shouldn’t need to go to school because its raining. (In Thailand, many things are cancelled or postponed according to rain – unfortunately, PC does not follow this philosophy – I have to go to school)
My thought: I wish my dad could call the school and tell them I wasn’t coming like they could when I was 6 years old…sad day
I don’t know if anyone in the states understands how unbelievably cold I have been today, including at this moment as I sit in my room. My computer is my only heat source that the moment. I definitely appreciate the heat that we have had more now, but I would be fine with the cold if I had a fire (or heater), blanket, and a warm up of coffee or hot chocolate – yum.
When I got to school this morning, I don’t know if I saw a single person walking around in short sleeved shirts. Everyone had dug around in their bags to find the warmest items that they brought with them for this very day. Our teachers, who are Thai, were bundled up in winter jackets shaking with cold chills. One Ajaan advised me that it was 18 degrees out. They said that this was a cold temperature even for the cold season (the cold season is over here). Translated, 18 degrees is 64 degrees. Yes, I know that you are probably laughing because this is definitely not considered such a cold temperature back in Washington, but it is FREEZING here. Think of it being 93 degrees one day and 64 the next; this is a huge drop in temperature.
(Pause: sorry, was warming my hands on the bottom of my computer for a second)
Now, I will tell you, I would be ok (not great, but ok) to be outside for short periods of time in this freezing weather and then enjoy the lovely warmth of being inside. The issue with this is, is that training took place outside today. I was outside from 6:30am-3:30pm. It was freezing; goose-bumps and all were abound on everyone there today. Now think about the fact that not only was it cold, but it was also windy and rainy at times. No fun, I promise you. It’s a little better indoors now; I get to avoid the wind for the most part and the rain, but there are no heaters here, and that is what I crave right now. I guess I will have to settle for a pair of socks, 2 long sleeved shirts, and a pair of jeans, a blanket, and my computer to keep me warm…ah, the trials of Thailand. J
In other news…
For those of you who may be curious and not yet know, I did pass my language test. I was sure that it was not going to go well. I felt like I was stumbling through the conversation and didn’t know how to answer questions. Not only did I pass, but I exceeded the expected fluency level, reaching Intermediate-Mid. YAY! Go me. I am super excited about that. Now I want to start learning to read the language. PC has given us some books to help us start to learn, so there is a good place to start.
On Monday I become a true Peace Corps volunteer. The US ambassador for Thailand is coming, and all of our counterparts from our sites will be there. After the swearing in, I can call myself a PCV. Then, on Wednesday, I will be off to my site to start my 2 years of integrating into my Tambon and working on community development. It is scary to think, that in just a few short days, I will be the only American for miles around living in a small town. My PC peers will be spread out all over the country, and I will have to depend on myself and my new counterparts, to get me through each day, learn the language, and help the people that I am surrounded by. In many ways, I believe that I am prepared, but I feel that there is more that I can do to be ready.
Once I get to my site, I want to spend the first month getting to know the people in my community and learning the boundaries of my Tambon. I will be learning about both the SAO and village governments and find out who are the key individuals in the community. And who knows, maybe I will get in some dance aerobic or hoola-hooping with the elderly. I’ve got to keep this newly acquired figure in check somehow (and maybe loose a few more pounds). J
Wish me luck!! This Saturday is our farewell party for our host families. Ten of us will be singing a Thai song or two AND acting out/dancing to a Miley Cyrus song, Party in the USA…super funny mind you. I will try to get my host family to take pictures.
Life is still good, just cold, and I am excited for the real journey to begin.
March 22nd
It got hot again; very hot. I kind of started to like throwing on a long sleeved shirt in the morning, but it was still much too cold at night and for the clothes that I brought, so I guess the hot weather will have to do.
I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer for Thailand. We had our swearing in ceremony yesterday morning and received our pins shortly after. I am sure that if anyone visited the Peace Corps website, they would find a picture of our group after it was all over with. There are now 65 new volunteers that will be sent out into all parts of Thailand tomorrow afternoon to start our 2 year journey. Scary.
Tonight is supposed to be a night of celebration, excitement, and sadness about leaving our new friends behind. For me, it is a night of contemplation. I was sitting with a crowd of PCers by the pool tonight at our hotel, ready to have a great farewell evening. People were singing, dancing, and playing guitars. Everyone was laughing, smiling, and having a great time, but I just could not get into it. I keep thinking about these last 2.5 months and everything that we have gone through to get to this point. We all have sat through hours of language trainings, cultural awareness seminars, integration lectures and lessons to learn how to do our jobs. We came into Thailand not knowing what lay ahead of us, not knowing exactly what we were getting into, but that was ok, because we had 2 months to learn about it and experience it. And now, the journey has begun.
March 24th
I moved to my site yesterday. It was a 4 hour car ride to get here (not bad compared to some people who had to drive 12-13 hours – yuck). I got to my host families home and they had remodeled the room since the last time I was here. It is no longer open air and they have screens on all the window. Today they are putting in an air conditioning unit. I made sure that they weren’t doing it for me, because I am hoping to be out of the home by the end of April, and they assured me it was for their daughter who will be coming home from college. Whew! I would have felt horrible if they were doing it for me.
Thai people love to eat. Instead of saying “good morning” or “how are you” its “have you eaten yet today?”. Last night, I was exhausted from everything. I just wanted to go to my room, close the door and have a few hours of “American” time. But, alas, this was not going to happen. First I took a tour of the village with my new host mother, that was fine, but then some of her friends asked me to eat with them. I wasn’t hungry and proceeded to tell them, but they insisted, so I ate some chicken (it was very good). When we went back to the house, my mom wanted to get me dinner; it took me 10 minutes to convince her to please not get me food. I know that it can be considered rude to refuse food, but I also didn’t want to waste any. Then, I went up to my room, put on some comfortable close and started to read…ah, fabulous. “Megan!”…my mom comes up the stairs with my Ron Nayoke (dep. Mayor) and her daughter (so cute), and she asks me what I want to eat. I tell her I am not hungry still. I apologize, but she says that she understands. Great!...back to reading. Twenty minutes later…”Megan!”. Now the tessaban’s secretary is coming up the stairs and asks me about dinner. Again I have to apologize and advise her that I am still not hungry. I felt so bad advising everyone of this, but I really wasn’t up for going out and getting anything. I have been training and working for 10 weeks without any breaks or real weekends. I just needed a little downtime to get used to the idea of what was going on. Finally, I got to have some peace and quiet.
I have been at my site for less than 24 hours. Already I have felt excited, lonely, scared, happy, inadequate, and charged, ready to go. I am currently sitting in my office, working at my new desk wondering how these next two years are going to play out. I am hopeful that I will be able to be everything that they are expecting me to be. I am hoping that I can fill the shoes that they want me to, and bring them something that they were not expecting. I don’t know how this will work out, but I know that I will probably be the one to learn the most throughout these next two years, not them. This is what I cannot wait to do.
This is a Buddha at a temple in Phitsanulok. It is considered one of the most beautiful in the country
This was on a field trip to a self-sustaining farm. I am making Adobe bricks for homes. Super fun, but very messy.
You're looking good, Miss. I'm glad the little netbook is keeping you warm at least.
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