Tag: thailand

Buddhist Wheel of Life at Sala Keao Ku

August 18, 2013

Recently, I went on a bpai tiao to Nong Khai with my friend Jill.  The main thing we did was bike to and visit the Sala Keao Ku sculpture park. One of the pieces that I found particularly intriguing was once that represented the cycle of life. There are sculptures representing various stages of life arranged in a circle, and near the death part there is a Buddha climbing out of the circle. I made this as my own interpretation of the piece.

Bpai Tiao: Nong Khai and Buddhist Sculpture Garden

August 16, 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.

As I posted on Tuesday, last weekend was a long weekend because it was the queen’s birthday which is observed as Mother’s Day. My friend Jill invited me along to visit Nong Khai, the Thailand side of the Mekong River opposite the first Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge of Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

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Mekong River Sunset Time Lapse

August 11, 2013

The border between Thailand and Laos is very frequently the Mekong River. With lots of bends and twists in the river, there are many different vantages for the sun to create beautiful vistas. Nong Khai is a province in Isaan and a busy border crossing, due to its proximity to Vientiane. It also has some wonderful spots to watch the sunset over the river.

Training Teachers on English Teaching and Beyond

August 9, 2013

When I got my nomination for Peace Corps in April 2012, I was told that I was nominated for a Primary Teacher Trainer position in Asia set to leave in January 2013. I imagined that I would be training a large number of teachers on a host of topics, from discipline and classroom management to new teaching methods through monthly trainings at a number of schools. The reality of my program is that my job is more to focus on training two specific teachers at one school in better ways to teach English.

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What It Means to Release a Turtle in Thailand

August 6, 2013

We had just finished a marathon of facilitating two camps for the past five days. I was exhausted from spending each night preparing materials for the next day and making sure that the lesson plans I had written could be easily understood by the Thai facilitators who were not used to using games as teaching tools (turns out, they weren’t understood very well.) Ning, my co-teacher who does get it, turned to me and asked “Do you want to maybe go to Bua Yai and relax and get dinner?” Bua Yai is the next district over from mine, where she lives with her parents and is larger than where I live. I agreed; I really did not want to cook.

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Current Top Thai Pop Song (and Dance)

August 4, 2013

Thailand can be a pretty noisy place, and not just from normal sounds of life. Frequently there are walls of speakers set up somewhere in the village with Thai pop music blasting. I thought you might want a taste of what that sounds like, so here’s the top song right now.

Pay attention, and you’ll notice some specific dance moves in the video – those dance moves are equally as popular.

My Peace Corps Service is 25% Complete

August 2, 2013

Yesterday marked Peace Corps Thailand Group 125’s 200th day in Thailand as well as our 25% mark. I’ve been busy with a teacher training and start a two-day student camp tomorrow, but some of the small moments during the teacher training gave me pause as I can see them as a small success.

It inspired me to think of all of the little successes I’ve had so far, both in terms of work and personal. From my original perspective, I probably would not have considered myself very successful at this point. But that is something that is a part of Peace Corps service, reevaluating and redefining what success is. That is not to say that I’m lowering my standards or expectations, merely reevaluating them. Here are some of the things that I am proud to count as a part of my service so far:

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Moving into My Very Own Thai Home

July 30, 2013

Yesterday was a Very Exciting Day. Nothing really cultural or Thai happened. In fact, this was a distinctly American thing. I moved into my own house where I will live by myself. And I certainly lucked out in terms of rental houses. I might single-handedly be maintaining the image of Peace Corps Thailand as Posh Corps with these pictures and my vacation to Koh Tao. Sneak a peek!

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