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.
You may have heard of the TED conference and even watch some of the TED Talk videos. There are also independently organized TED events that take place around the world. One of those was held here in Thailand recently. Jon Jandai is a farmer in Chaiyaphum, a province that is not far from me, and he gave a talk asking why we make life so difficult, when it’s really easy. Check it out.
Thailand has been experience some political turmoil over the last year. It began with protests, which lead to the government dissolving. The protests continued and new elections were held, though the election was declared void. Then, in May there was a bloodless coup d’etat, and the junta has been promising to make strides back towards democracy. Recently, they’ve created an interim constitution and appointed an interim Prime Minister.
more “An Interim Constitution and Prime Minister for Thailand”
Vincent: Yeah, baby, you’d dig it the most. But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It’s the little differences. I mean, they got the same s*** over there that we got here, but it’s just…it’s just, there it’s a little different.
Like Vincent Vega rhapsodized about in the Quentin Tarantino film “Pulp Fiction,” here too, in Thailand it’s the little differences. And I know you are sitting there, like Jules, asking for an example, so here are five examples of the little differences of Thailand that I now find jarring when I see them in the American shows that I watch.
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.
On all of my bus trips to and from Bangkok, I’ve passed a large, gleaming, white temple. I’ve always been curious about the temple, but never curious enough to try and go on my own. However, at a recent training, we scheduled in a trip to the temple, which I also built a lesson around. Interestingly, it isn’t a temple dedicated to the Buddha, but rather a monk. Check it out!
When I write about things here in Thailand that have Thai names, I try to include the words written in Thai alongside the transliteration of their pronunciation. I’m sure many readers completely skip over the inclusion of those words and their eyes head straight to the familiar Roman alphabet attempt at how these words sound, and I do not blame them.
These strange lines and loops and tiny plus signs can be pretty impenetrable. During pre-service training, we focused mostly on being able to listen and speak in Thai with a little emphasis on reading, but not much. But now, after 19 months of being surrounded by these strange new symbols, I feel as if I have been transplanted into the shoes of the Kindergartners that I taught in the States who would express utter delight when they could recognize a written word and try so hard to decode the words they couldn’t.
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.
Last week was Mother’s Day weekend, so I took the opportunity to travel to the other side of the country, which has piqued my interest for quite some time: Kanchanaburi. I had heard stories of beautiful national parks and of the storied history of the provincial capital’s key involvement in World War II, and so I packed up my tent and headed west, all the way to the Burmese border.
It seems like Thais are always looking for an excuse to party. (Not that I’m complaining!) A lot of these celebrations, like monk ordinations, include everyone in the village parading through the streets and dancing. The music is supplied by a vehicle that is stacked with speakers and a DJ blaring music. Having trouble picturing it? Here’s an excellent video showing it. Bonus, it includes some great Thai folk music.
Thailand’s fiercely independent spirit and lack of colonization has benefitted the country in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most tangible and visible effect is the fact that Thailand has been the regional economic powerhouse for sometime. However, next year, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economy Community (AEC) goes into effect, bringing a European Union style agreement for free movement of qualified workers among the 10 member nations with the lingua franca being English. This impending development for the region has had a rather significant impact on the work that I am asked to do here.
In Thailand, there is a strong current of enforced nationalism which is most evident in the public playing of the national anthem, or pleng chat (เพลงชาติ) twice a day, and the required standing and observance. A friend said that she was asked recently by the kids she works with when we sing and hear the national anthem in America. All she could come up with was at sporting events and sometimes at school concerts. But here in Thailand, the national anthem is a constant part of my life, I overhear it coming from my neighbors’ televisions at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.. If I’m at the bus station it comes on, everyone stops and stands and the students sing it every morning. So I thought I would give you readers a taste of the anthem here and what the words mean.
There’s quite the trend happening in Thai marketing right now. Lots of companies are making longer videos that are designed to really pull at your heartstrings. They tell these really beautiful and emotional stories, that often times aren’t really connected to what they are selling. This one was one of the first and has gone viral. Definitely got me to tear up!