Tag: village life

See What I Saw: A Photographic Chronicle of 27 Months

March 20, 2015

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.)

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A Taste of Biking through Rural Thailand

November 23, 2014

While most Thais get around on a motorcycle, I have a bicycle that I ride throughout my village. Most of my bike rides are to and from work at the primary school. The school is about 2 kilometers from my house and the ride is through lots of fields. Check it out!

Planning a trip to Thailand? Check out my 2 Weeks in Thailand itinerary. It will take you to all the best spots, making sure you don’t miss any of the highlights.

Thai Children Living without Their Parents

September 5, 2014

In my village, I don’t have many people that I would consider my peers. There are elderly couples, couples in their late 40s to early 50s, teenagers and young children. Young adults are very rare in my rural area, and when talking to other Peace Corps volunteers, this is not an anomaly.

People in my generation are leaving the villages more and more to find work, or sometimes education, in the larger cities. But, unlike in the U.S., where the age of a first time mother is rising, Thais still get married and start a family comparatively young. New numbers from a study that was supported by UNICEF are showing that a large proportion of these kids are left in the villages with their grandparents, with some concerning results.

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Timelapse of Growing Cassava

July 20, 2014

I live in a rural part of Thailand, with lots of rice fields that have other crops rotated in when it’s not rice season. One of the crops planted here is cassava, which in Thailand is mainly used to make tapioca. I decided to take a picture of the cassava field I bike past everyday, to and from school, and create a timelapse. I missed some days, so it’s not super smooth, but I like how it helps me to mark the passage of time here.

In Thailand, It’s More than Fun, It’s Sanuk

June 17, 2014

It’s a repeated refrain that Peace Corps Volunteers hear throughout their service:

No serious!

Mai dtong seriot!

Don’t take serious, na!

Tammai seriot?

Don’t serious!

Don’t serious about me!

Why so seriot? Mai seriot, na.

In case you couldn’t figure it out, taking anything seriously here is strongly discouraged. Even if it’s a serious topic. Especially if it’s a serious topic. The Thai way of life is infused with the concept of sanuk (สนุก). But what is sanuk? It’s most often translated as fun, but is so much more than that.

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