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:
- teaching two groups of 50 teachers about phonics
- sharing with a woman that President Obama’s parents are a white woman and a black man, and talking with her about racism when she was stunned by that fact
- the excitement from my students when they come to my class
- moving into my own house
- learning how to speak Thai
- learning some phrases in a Thai dialect spoken in the Northeast (Issan)
- genuinely challenging the teachers that came to the trainings by asking them open ended questions and seeing them use critical thinking skills
- the delighted shouts of a young student of mine when I arrived home today of “Khun Kruu Kieow Jai!”
- the way my host grandmother said she would miss me when I moved out
- the relationship that I had with my host family in Suphan Buri
- getting SCUBA certified
- navigating the Thai transit system on my own
- only needing medical attention once so far
- learning how to be a strong and independent in a culture that does not value such characteristics in women
- learning how to bend and not break
Some of these are still works in progress. But as I said before, it’s all about baby steps and this is a marathon.