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.
Monk ordinations are not the only time for dancing in the street. On April 13-15 Thailand celebrates Songkran, the traditional New Year. I posted a video of it a couple weeks ago, but I thought I would take the time to expand a little more on what happened during the festival and some of the meanings behind it.
So far during my time here in Thailand I have had the opportunity to go to two different monk ordinations. Or at least the celebrations leading up the ordination. In Thailand, every male becomes a monk for at least three months. There is even government assistance for men who take time away from work in order to become a monk.
After swearing in, we newly minted volunteers got right down to business with the Counterpart Conference. We spent the next couple days getting to know our counterparts a little bit better, communicating our expectations of each other, getting on the same page as far as Peace Corps policy and for the TCCS volunteers figuring out what co-teaching and lesson planning together meant in real time. more “Graduation and Welcoming Ceremony”
As I mentioned previously on March 22, 2013, 47 of some of the most amazing people I know were officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers by the US Ambassador to Thailand. It truly was a day of dreams being realized. more “Peace Corps: Swearing In as a Volunteer”
Did you know that different cultures define the beginning of a new year at different times? For example, the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, happens around September, while the Islamic New Year moves throughout the Gregorian calendar, and this year happens at the beginning of November. Traditionally in Thailand, Songkran, the Thai New Year, is on April 13th to 15th. Check out the video of some of the traditional celebrations in my village.
After a Saturday well spent and feeling pretty productive with the Teacher Training Camp, we came to our technical training on Tuesday feeling like there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
But sometimes that light is a train.
more “Peace Corps Pre-Service Training: Life Skills Afternoon”
Just before we left for our site visit, we started to plan for a Teacher Training camp that we would put on once we returned to Suphan Buri. To say we are hitting training at a whirlwind pace at this point is almost an understatement. more “Peace Corps Pre-Service Training: Teacher Training”
When I arrived in Thailand, I came from wintertime in the US and the middle of “cool” season in Thailand. Now that it’s April, we are in the middle of hot season here. Wondering how hot hot season is? Check out my video blog to find out!
When I went to visit my site, I also had the opportunity to go to the opening of the Ya Mo Festival in Bua Yai. I know that those words probably don’t make sense to you so let me explain. Ya Mo is kind of the patron of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with lots of monuments to her all around the province and a major one in the city. People always wai (place their palms together and bow their heads, a greeting and show of respect) whenever they pass her monument, including when driving. more “Peace Corps: Visiting My Village and Ya Mo Festival”
So after 7 weeks of training we finally found out where we would be working for the next two years. Apparently the announcement is a 50 year old tradition that is a bit of a surprise so I won’t describe that here in case any future Thailand volunteers are reading in the future. more “Peace Corps: Visiting My Village and School”