feels like home to me

I’ve been at my site for 3 days now.  So far I have been to a graduation dinner, wedding, and funeral.  I’ve met a million people and I don’t remember any of their names.  I’ve been speaking more Thai than I ever thought possible.  I rearranged the furniture in my room and unpacked everything I brought with me.  I even hung up a poster.  And most importantly, I am loving my new family.

Yesterday we were all sitting around the living room, everyone with a different book.  I was studying Thai and they were all trying to learn some English.  It was really cute.  I also taught them how to play Uno and I have never seen any group of people love anything as much as they love Uno.  We have played for a couple hours each day – no signs of stopping anytime soon. 

front of the house

 

where we play uno, get on the computer, and hang out

dinner table

 

bedroom - complete with winnie the pooh sheets. this monster of a bed takes up about 90% of the room

 

the rest of my room

cutest thai kid ever. my 3 year old cousin Naam Dtaan, which means "sugar"

 

my little sister Took Da

 

family game night

 

Naam Dtaan and my new Mom : )

too legit to quit

I am now legit.  I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer.  All 52 members of Group 124 who arrived in Thailand in January were sworn-in today.  I am so proud to be a part of this group of amazing people.  WOOHOOO! We did it!

"Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed—doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language.

But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace."

John F. Kennedy

PC Country Director of Thailand

where are you from what, right??

Peace Corps Thailand has an amazing language program.  Our teachers are amazing.  In 9 weeks of language training here, I have learned just as much as I learned in years of Spanish class.  Before coming to Thailand I never expected to learn this much, this quickly.

To evaluate our language acquisition, we have a Language Proficiency Interview (LPI.)  The LPI has been in the back of my mind ever since I began training.  I knew it was coming...and on Saturday it happened.  Naturally, I freaked myself out and got really nervous.  I was mixing words up and asking really weird questions.  At one point, I think I asked someone... “Where are you from what, right?”

We get scored based on criteria for different levels.  There is Novice (low, mid, and high) Intermediate (low, mid, and high) and Advanced (low, mid, and high.)  To “pass” in my program, you have to get at least a Novice High.

Intermediate Mid!  I got a little teary eyed when I opened this envelope just because I didn't expect to score this high.  All this hard work has paid off and now I officially qualify to be sworn-in as a volunteer next week!

:)

Is this cauliflower?

Thailand is really starting to toughen me up.  When scary/creepy/things I don’t like used to happen at home I would either scream at the top of my lungs or yell, “MOM!”  Now I'm not quite as bad..

It is officially hot season.  I thought it has been super-hot the whole time I’ve been here, but boy was I wrong.  With the weather change, my attire is changing too.  Instead of wearing a t-shirt and capris to bed I have downgraded to a tank top and underwear (sorry for the image but it’s necessary for this story.)  I was laying in bed the other night trying to sleep and I feel something bite my butt.  I get up, turn on the light, shake out my sheets, and check all over the floor.  I’ve got a bite, but no bugs to be found.  So I turn off the lights and lay back down.  A few minutes later, there is excruciating pain in my arm.  I jump up, rip off my clothes and there it is.  A centipede. 

Don’t let this little guy fool you.  He may be small, but his bite kills (or just hurts really bad.)  He got me twice on my arm.  It hurt so bad that I called the Peace Corps doctor to make sure I wasn’t going to die of some strange Asian bug poisoning.  He assured me that the bite is just like a scorpion sting and you just have to wait it out.  Good news – I am no longer scared of being stung by a scorpion.  Bad news – I now am scared to death of centipedes.  Moral of the story: always wear pants to bed.

We have also done a million other things this week.  We ran a teacher training with about 150 Thai teachers from our community.  My group taught them “English for the Classroom” and we modeled a bunch of activities they can use to integrate participatory learning in their classrooms.  We also had a life skills camp and played games with kids to emphasize teamwork and critical thinking.  Both of these events turned out way better than I expected and were a lot of fun!

I also did a lot of very “Thai” things this weekend.  I visited temples.  Fed some fish.  Went to a wedding and had no idea who the bride and groom were.  And I got my first Thai massage!

Wedding.  I ate my first chicken foot here.  It was in a salad - I thought it was cauliflower.

life skills camp!

Massage.  I think she was rubbing my armpit here

feeding some fish