Category: World Wanderings

When I was young, I was bit by the travel bug. Since then, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have the ability to not only travel to numerous countries around the world, but also live in foreign countries. These posts include stories about my travels, cultural differences and travel tips.

Wan Wai Kruu: A Day to Honor Teachers

June 16, 2013

Teachers are among the most respected professionals in Thailand. Every school year, there is a day called Wan Wai Kruu, which loosely translates and “Day to Pay Respect to Teachers.” The students spend days practicing, preparing the school grounds and creating the small offerings they give. On Wan Wai Kruu, the students gather in an assembly, and each student, class by class, comes up to the teachers on stage, kneels and wais to the teachers. They give them the flower offerings they prepared and the teachers give them blessings and encouragement for the coming school year. Check out the video to see what Wan Wai Kruu looked like at my school this year.

5 Small Ways My Life Has Changed

June 11, 2013

I have a lot of time to spend thinking and I think about a lot of things: when will I have a meal that doesn’t involve rice, where will I take my vacation to, how many mosquitoes are there in my village, how can I kill all those mosquitoes. But one thing I was thinking about recently was how much my life has changed since this time last year. And there are a lot of big things that are different (I’m not in the U.S.) but I think it’s the little things that are different that make life interesting, to say the least.

more “5 Small Ways My Life Has Changed” …

A Video Trip to a Rural Thai Market

June 9, 2013

I live in a pretty rural part of Thailand. While there are some local shops around, most of them only have shelf stable food items. Fresh produce is available at the market, which is only there two days a week. Curious what this market is like and what’s sold? Check out the video!

Peace Corps Video Blog: 5 Thai Questions

June 2, 2013

Thai people are exceptionally friendly and once they find out that you can speak Thai, the questions start flowing. It can be kind of overwhelming at times, but luckily, nearly everyone wants to know the same things. These are the top five questions.

Bpai Tiao: Enjoying Home Comforts in Bangkok

May 28, 2013

In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.

So after nearly 5 months in Thailand I finally made it to Bangkok for more than a couple of hours. I spent an entire long weekend in the capital city in fact. However, this was one big farang trip. There was no sight seeing done on this excursion. There was an unspoken ban on eating Thai food. And it was a nice chance to rejuvenate.

more “Bpai Tiao: Enjoying Home Comforts in Bangkok” …

A Village Cleansing Tessagan or Festival

May 24, 2013

I was told that school started for teachers on May 13 and for students on May 16. I showed up for work ready to do whatever it was for the teachers to do on Monday and found out that I would have my own classroom, but which of two rooms would be mine was undecided (one room was the meeting room, the other was just built and has no fans). Other teachers cleaned their rooms. After a couple hours, I was told I could go home and not come on Tuesday. OK, Thailand. On Wednesday morning I woke up and it was one of those things where you know that something is happening.

more “A Village Cleansing Tessagan or Festival” …