Tag: reflections

A young girl wearing red robes and headdress and heavily made up sitting in a palaquin

4 Travel Lessons I Learned in Peace Corps

April 3, 2015

There are all kinds of lessons that you learn in Peace Corps. From your first day, you are learning a new language, to the lessons that are passed down through volunteer lore (top two being: “It’s not if, it’s when,” and “Never trust a fart.”) You learn the cultural norms and celebrations of your host country and how to navigate around.

I’ve been in Nepal for about a week now, and I’m realizing that some of the lessons I’ve learned from my Peace Corps service are showing up in my life traveling here.

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See What I Saw: A Photographic Chronicle of 27 Months

March 20, 2015

Today is officially my last day as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Even if I could sum up that last two years in words, it would likely be a novel, or at least a novella. Can you put the last two years of your life in a blog post? Didn’t think so. So, harkening back to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a gallery of picture highlights from the last 27 months. (Click on any picture to enlarge.)

(Apologies to my readers who are in locations with limited data and Internet connectivity. I suggest skipping this post and coming back to it when you have decent Internet.)

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5 Lessons I Learned in Thailand

March 13, 2015

After living in Thailand for just over two years, I have picked up some very valuable life lessons. As an American, Thai culture can often times feel like everything is upside down. However, living in a different culture allows you to reflect on yourself and your own culture in a very unique way. These are some Thai ways of life that I want to continue to incorporate in my life.

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My Peace Corps Service is 50% Complete

February 18, 2014

There have been a flurry of time marking milestones happening over the last couple months. First, there was New Year’s Eve and Day. Next came the one year anniversary of coming to Thailand. Then there was my 26th birthday. Friday was Maka Bucha Day, or the first Thai holiday that I have had a chance to celebrate twice. Finally, Sunday marked the day of the half-way point of my service in Thailand. I have now been in Thailand longer than I have left here. more “My Peace Corps Service is 50% Complete” …

Reflecting on My Life on My 26th Birthday

February 11, 2014

This past Saturday was my birthday. I turned 26. I had read about a craft beer party that a beer import company, Beervana, was having in a city not too far from my village, Khon Kaen. So that is what I did; I went and drank delicious Oregon craft beer, ate pizza, drank beer from a brewery in Khon Kaen, and ate bruschetta and potato salad in dill sauce. I stayed at a hotel and took a shower with hot water. It was a good birthday. more “Reflecting on My Life on My 26th Birthday” …

Selected Sentences from My First Year in Thailand

January 14, 2014

I’m terrible at journaling. I usually only do it when I’m having a really difficult time and so I rarely have any recording of when I’m feeling really good. But, I bought a Moleskine planner that has lines for each day, not a lot, but enough to write a short paragraph, and set the goal for myself to write at least one sentence or something to sum up each day. I’m proud to say that I was able to do it for the whole last year, and so I looked back over what I wrote as I reflected on my last year in Thailand. I wanted to share some of them here with you, to share with you what a year in Thailand feels like at the end of each day.

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Reflecting on My First Semester During Bpit Term

October 8, 2013

My first semester of working in Thai schools in now on the books and completed. Last Thursday the students had their second of two days of testing and the school shut down for the semester after that. Officially, by the government, school was supposed to go until October 10, but I’m not complaining. We’re supposed to go back on November 1. It is officially bpit term, literally meaning “closed term.”

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My Peace Corps Service is 25% Complete

August 2, 2013

Yesterday marked Peace Corps Thailand Group 125’s 200th day in Thailand as well as our 25% mark. I’ve been busy with a teacher training and start a two-day student camp tomorrow, but some of the small moments during the teacher training gave me pause as I can see them as a small success.

It inspired me to think of all of the little successes I’ve had so far, both in terms of work and personal. From my original perspective, I probably would not have considered myself very successful at this point. But that is something that is a part of Peace Corps service, reevaluating and redefining what success is. That is not to say that I’m lowering my standards or expectations, merely reevaluating them. Here are some of the things that I am proud to count as a part of my service so far:

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To Make a Connection, Just Shout “Hello!”

July 5, 2013

“Hello!”

I hear this word often. Daily. Hourly. I’m called to as I walk the ten meters to the store. As I bike the two kilometers to school. As I bike the three kilometers to the market. As I walk through the market. As I sit at my desk trying to lesson plan. As I ride up to the school. As I walk to lunch. As I return from lunch. As the students leave to go home.

“Hello!”

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