I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 2013 to 2015. I worked as a Primary Teacher Trainer and lived in Isaan, the rural northeast of the country. In these posts, you’ll find information relating to Peace Corps and things related to the program and agency, as well as official Peace Corps work from my time in Thailand. For Thailand specific information, check out the Thailand category.
One of my closest volunteer friends, Brandon, lives in a village that is a pretty well-known Thai tourist destination in Khao Koh, Petchabun. Last year, some of the teachers at my school were talking about taking a trip there at the end of bpit term, but it never happened for whatever number of reasons. However, I did get to make my way there this bpit term since Brandon invited to his house.
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.
Generally, tattoos are a taboo in Thailand, with the exception of sak yant. Sak yant are Buddhist protection charms that are tapped into the wearer’s skin by a monk. Each year, in Nakhon Pathom, there is an annual festival for people who have sak yant to get the magic of their charms “recharged” in a sense, and for people to get new ones. Check out the video!
Ever since I took a closer look at hearing loss in Thailand, I’ve been thinking about what other major health issues Thailand faces. I decided to do some cursory research. (I visited the WHO’s summary Web site on Thailand and looked at the documents linked there.) more “Health Problems Facing Thailand”
Earlier this year I started using this really neat app called One Second Everyday. Basically, it allows you to pick a second of a video or picture of everyday and then you can export them into a longer video. I thought this was super cool and so I’ve been trying to do this throughout the year, similar to my sentence a day for last year. Here’s a video summary of March!
Thailand is loud and part of that is the music that is seemingly always blasting from somewhere. One of the most popular songs right now is ขอใจเธอแลกเบอร์โทร (Koh Jai Tur Lak Bur Toh) by Yinglee. The song tells the story of a woman who sees a man she’s interested in, but because of culture, she can’t approach him. Here’s the music video with English subtitles.
The Thai Youth Theatre Festival was so much fun and I’m so proud of it! One of the activities we planned was a giant dance party for the 140 kids. It was a blast! Check it out!
For the past few months, Thai politics have been in a bit of a turmoil. It started with protests, that escalated into the prime minister stepping down and dissolving the government. The protests continued, demanding reforms before any election. There was an election last month, however it had some issues. Things have continued to be somewhat unstable and there are a lot of unanswered questions about the political future of Thailand. Here’s a run down. more “Post Election Political Instability in Thailand”
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.
My last post was about festivals here in Thailand that I do not want to miss over this next year here, and I left one out. But that is because I tried to go to it this last weekend. Every year, at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom, a couple hours outside of Bangkok, there is the Sak Yant Tattoo Festival. more “Bpai Tiao: Sak Yant Tattoo Festival in Nakhon Pathom”
Earlier this year I started using this really neat app called One Second Everyday. Basically, it allows you to pick a second of a video or picture of everyday and then you can export them into a longer video. I thought this was super cool and so I’ve been trying to do this throughout the year, similar to my sentence a day for last year. Here’s a video summary of February!
Now that I’ve been here for a year, I kind of have a grasp on what some of the big celebrations Thailand has and I’ve heard of some smaller, local festivals. So much Thai culture is steeped throughout the year and released all at once in these annual festivals, from celebrations of victorious battles to honoring spirits and ghosts, from taking pride in local ruins and historical sites to making merit and honoring the water spirits, there is likely a celebration of some kind just around the corner. Here are the ones that I am most looking forward to going to this year.