So since I’ve last updated many things have happened but the two major things that happened were 1) we finished PST (pre-service training) and 2) we were sworn in as official volunteers. Last Saturday we had a farewell party for training homestays and for our training village. I had volunteered to do the Thai traditional dance because why not? It sounded like fun and dance is a great way to convey culture. This dance used bamboo poles and for part of the dance you dance through them, when we were practicing I said that it reminded me of double dutch, just with bamboo poles. If we had to dance in between the bamboo poles the entire time then it probably would have reminded me of the Filipino dance Singkil. In the end the dance was fun, we did a pretty decent job for only about a week of practice, and most importantly everyone loved it. The next day we moved back to the hotel where we started PST at for the last few days of PST. Saying goodbye to our homestay families was definitely a sad occasion for many; and some families did not leave the hotel for a couple of hours as they made sure their volunteer was settled and then prepared to say goodbye.
We met our counterparts that Monday, it was both exciting and nervous because we were one step closer to site but we all realized that our Thai speaking skills were minimal at best, how would we hold conversations with our counterparts?! Some of us luckily had counterparts who could speak a fair amount of English but others had counterparts that spoke very little English, either way we soon found out that communicating was not as easy as it was during training no matter what language we were using. We met group 125 on Tuesday because they were COSing (close of service) while we were swearing in; in fact, we were having a joint COS and swearing in ceremony. It was really good to see them because it gave us a glimpse into our futures. It also was a way to show both us and our counterparts that we could make this Thai-American relationship work. Eventually we will be able to communicate well! We’ll get stuff done together! We could even be friends!
Wednesday was the big day. We were all bubbling with excitement, or at least I was. Two from my training group, Ross and Christina, gave speeches in Thai! I don’t know what most of it said but eventually we’ll get transcripts so I can’t wait to read the translation. The U.S. Embassy’s Chargé d’affaires W. Patrick Murphy (RPCV Cameroon) administered the pledge making us official volunteers. After many pictures were taken and tears were shed we said goodbye to our ajaans who helped us both learn the language as well as the culture, goodbye to the training staff who supported us during training, and goodbye to each other. Wednesday would be the last time we all saw each other until reconnect, from now on we would be the only American at our site unless we were a married couple or if our site had other Americans working nearby (this is the case for one site where there is a UN refugee camp for the Karen ethnic group). It was definitely bittersweet to say goodbye to 63 other people who I got to know and become friends with over the course of PST. Then were placed in cars, vans, and buses and we were then off to our new homes for two years. In my case my home for the next two years will be in the central Thai province of Ratchaburi, more on my first impressions of my site to come.
It’s a official, meet the newest group of Peace Corps Thailand volunteers! 64 volunteers off to work in TCCS or YinD.
The Quixotical Traveler 