Because my time here is Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer has officially drawn to a close, I’m feeling a bit sentimental. I previously posted a video that used this song, but I wanted to post the official music video as my farewell.
Today is officially my last day as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Even if I could sum up that last two years in words, it would likely be a novel, or at least a novella. Can you put the last two years of your life in a blog post? Didn’t think so. So, harkening back to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a gallery of picture highlights from the last 27 months. (Click on any picture to enlarge.)
(Apologies to my readers who are in locations with limited data and Internet connectivity. I suggest skipping this post and coming back to it when you have decent Internet.)
more “See What I Saw: A Photographic Chronicle of 27 Months”
Way back, two years ago, when I found out I was going to be spending my service in Northeastern Thailand, my host family from training took me out to a ส้มตำ (som dtam) restaurant and ordered a couple different kinds of this spicy papaya salad and told me, “People in Isaan eat this a lot.”
They were right (it’s on the lunch table at school every day), and they introduced me to one of my favorite Thai foods. Som dtam is a spicy salad made with shredded, green papaya. It literally means “sour pounded,” which makes sense considering the unripe papaya is kind of sour and to make it, you pound up all the ingredients with a pestle and mortar.
There are so many different kinds of som dtam, with a variety of regional specialties (Isaan-style includes fermented fish and rice-paddy crabs) and even one made with a bunch of different kinds of fruit. I’m going to share a recipe on how to make my favorite version: som dtam Thai.
ก๋วยเตี๋ยว (guoi dtiao) is one of the most ubiquitous street foods in Thailand and is a kind of noodle soup. It’s probably one of the most customizable Thai dishes out there, from start to finish. You get to choose the noodle size, whether you want broth or not, the kind of broth and the meat. Plus, at the table you can add flavorings to your bowl as you like it.
Guoi dtiao is a dish that is Chinese influenced, as so it is one of the rare things in Thailand that you eat with chopsticks (there’s also an Asian-style spoon for the broth). This dish is pretty strictly eaten at street stands, and so rather than give you a recipe for guoi dtiao, I’ll give you the steps to ordering your own bowl.
Thai is not an easy language for a native English speaker to learn. First, it’s a tonal language, which means that if you change your inflection you change the word. Second, Thai uses its own unique writing system. This system is not particularly intuitive and, as this video argues, may be the most complicated in the world.
Thailand is well known for its silk. It’s made from silkworms’ cocoons that are turned into thread and woven into beautiful and intricate patterns. But what is this fabric used for? How is it worn? Traditional Thai clothing, and what is understood to be traditional Thai clothing, is a really interesting topic with a somewhat unsuspected history.
Thailand is famous for fabrics, specifically its silk. In the video I made showing the process of making silk from the silkworm to the loom, you can see one woman weaving a somewhat intricate pattern. Traditionally, there are some main patterns that are used in Thai fabrics.
I have a confession to make. After 23 months in Thailand, I still don’t know the names of many people I interact with, and I am well past the point where I could say, “I’m sorry, what was your name again?” And you’re probably thinking, can’t you just listen to what other people call them and figure out their names that way? But, even still, I just don’t know.
However! This is not a social flaw! There are a couple of very legitimate reasons for why I don’t know people’s names and why it’s not rude of me to be in such a position.
Recently, my parents came to visit and we went to visit some awesome places here in Thailand and I got to tell and show them all about Thai culture. There were a couple of times that they had some misconceptions about Thailand and Thai people, just like many Peace Corps volunteers did before they arrived and many people around the world do. This is not uncommon and I thought I’d share some of the common misconceptions about Thailand and Thai people.
more “I Thought in Thailand…: Misconceptions About Thailand”
A quick glance at social media, and you’ll find the “Ice Bucket Challenge” spreading like wildfire. Ostensibly, it’s meant to raise money and awareness for ALS, a debilitating disease. Meanwhile, Thais (and Indians) have made the “Ice Bucket Challenge” their own by making the “Rice Bucket Challenge” to give away a bucket of rice to a family in need. Check it out!