On Wednesday, I discovered that my official Invitation package had arrived. I tore open the UPS package to find a lovely blue folder full of paperwork, instructions for filling out the paperwork and handbooks.
So I spent some time at the library filling out as much of the paperwork as I could and then realizing that I used blue ink instead of black in and so refilled out new forms for my Non-Immigrant Thai visa. Because I will be staying longer than 30 days, I will need a visa. Visitors arriving to Thailand by air who are staying less than 30 days do not need a visa. If you are arriving overland your stay is limited to 15 days. I also needed to fill out a form for a new passport. Personal passports are not to be used for government travel, so I will get another passport.
In addition to learning as much as I can about the Peace Corps and what to expect as that begins, I made a trip to Portland’s infamous book store, Powell’s, to pick up some books about Thailand. I got the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s Thailand and an older copy of Eyewitness Travel Guide to Thailand. The Lonely Planet guidebook is brand new and was recommended reading by the Peace Corps. The Eyewitness Travel Guide was used and had been marked up which appealed to me.
I dove into the guidebooks and other reading about Thailand, learning about the different regions where I might be living. Learning about festivals that I will hopefully have a chance to participate in and National Parks that I want to visit. While the southern part of the country is known for its resorts and beaches, the north part of the country has caves and mountains and is well known for cooking schools. I would be thrilled with any part of the diverse landscape of the country.
After going over the paperwork with my family this weekend, as I visit them to go to Games 3 & 4 of the World Series (go Tigers!), I will send it off and wait for the next batch of instructions.