Jai Yen Yen-ing it! ;)

Hello againnnn! Well where do I start! OH! MY! GOODNESS! Time is flying! I know I said I would write more often but time honestly has not allowed for updates as often as I wished! 

            This journey has already been quite amazing.   I am learning so much not only about Thai culture and language but also about myself. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a super busy body and generally I am working on or involved in about 10 things at one time. When I arrived in Thailand and learned about the culture but most importantly my target group, I was ecstatic.   I would be working with the youth in my new home of Nong Phai doing almost what I have been doing for years now! Are you as excited yet?!  Of course, I have this long list of ideas, activities , programs and functions instantly flying through my head.  The only problem with that is, they are my ideas and what I think my community needs which will not work.  Years and years of social work classes hearing this same sentiment and I forgot in an instance.  The golden rule of entering into a new culture and community: Do not impose your ideas and ideals onto the community without investigating what they need or want. I cannot stress the importance of this.  Originally I came in ready and rearing to go.  I had the fix it itch what ever IT was.  Everyday I came to work and planned another activity or rode around and integrated into my community by meeting people and allowing everyone to know that I am here to help and to contribute.  It didn’t take long for me to learn that the latter of the two would be vitally more important in this culture than trying to come in as misses fix it/ world changer.  There is a saying in Thai culture that I’ve had to embrace “jai yen yen” it’s the way the Thai people roll and after accepting it and taking a pill of patience, it’s not a bad thing at all. ( Jai yen yen translates as cool hearted but is a very common Thai mindset of being cool in the face of adversity or not allowing things to stress you out.) the moment I slowed down and stopped rushing this journey, I began to appreciate it that much more.
            I recently sat down in Bangkok with a friend over some delicious ice cream filled with tons of wonderful surprises and all we could do was laugh every time we discovered a new one.  We just smiled at the idea that we are sitting in Bangkok eating ice cream, and we actually live and work here.  It still feels so unreal at times.  This time last year I just graduated with my MSW and knew that I wanted to work with the youth clinically but wasn’t sure what exactly that meant.  A year later, I am in Thailand working with the youth not yet clinically but its coming haha.  The way these things work is pretty amazing! I am always preaching to my pretty amazing friends and family ( who will be running the US when I return... I have a friend in just about every field so I’m sure ill be set …that was not an accident ;) )  that they need to appreciate their accomplishments no matter how small they think they are ( which it is never really small in fact they are amazing I cant get over it ) and enjoy them while they can but I never really took my own advice  (example: when I first arrived here I was definitely looking into possibilities for the future and I haven’t even started here haha around this time I took a chill pill Yess I said chill pill sounds like I’m 48 instead of 26 huh ) Now taking my own advice everything has started smoothing out for me…I'm getting a little routine going. ( although my bike rides have halted due to pulling my groin muscle…trying prepare for my first 5k). Being thankful for every moment… whether something like biking to the dam( me and my bike are now one) , being able to converse with yii’s and they understand me, eating rat( haha) or having a little beetle looking creature land on my arm and not flinch lol simply picked it up and toss it away,  will make this experience even more unforgettable. 

SIDENOTE: I realized I laugh quite a bit after rereading this but I feel as though every Bhahaha and hahah  is necessary haha

Its been so long don’t want to inundate you all with pics BUT hey why not lol (don’t worry I’m playing just a few)   

Being blessed at Song Kran festival ( Thai New Year) 

Song Kran

Prepping for Song Kran Printing shirts haha for EVERYONE 0_0 

Big Song Kran festival! Me and My Nayok and her kids

Wishing good health and strong life to the elders 

 Song Kran part of the Thai New Years where you use water to bless family and friends but has become exaggerated due to the heat around this time. Now everywhere you go for three day of Song Kran you will be soaked hahah unless you stay in the house! only ones who are safe are yiis( elders/ grandma's) 

My office! I HAVE A PRETTY GREAT BUNCH! 

MY FAVORITE SPOT IN MY COMMUNITY! THE DAM!!! 

Butterflies everywhere around the river! 

 

My favorite bahah 

Beach time! took a boat to an island

Me and my bike rides lead me to interesting places one being this 4 way lolol 

Beach with my second family 

My PHETCHABOON FAMILY love these crazies 

First trip to bkk one night only quick trip nothing major bahaha

CARE PACKAGEEESSS FROM MY SISTERRRR LOVE HER BAHAHHA

SOME MORE OF THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE I WORK WITH!!! A FUN BUNCH DEFINITELY! 

RAINBOW AFTER THE RAIN

He was dancing for me soo precious! 

The reason i reinjured my groin muscle lol 

First trip to bkk missed this bunch! 

Khao San Rd!!!

Dancing in the street 

FOUND A LADY TO BRAID MY HAIR IN BKK! 

MY CRAZIES MISSED THEM 

and again

HOME SKILLET MAYUMI AND I 

FULL WAITING FOR NAY TO FINISH HER HAIR! BEST CHICKEN TERIYAKI SANDWICH EVER bahah

THIS SHIRT WAS MADE FOR ME 

ME AND MY MAMA MIMI BAHAH SHES ALWAYS CHECKING IN ON ME AND MAKING ME ICE MY LEG!! 

MY HOMIES!  in bkk! oh and spinach lasagna and banana fritters

 NOW WATCH ME WORK! working with the kids playing games and teaching english lol didn't know i would be doing that but it went well

It's the simple things!!!!

Hello sorry it has been so long! The Peace Corps has been keeping us busy! So much has happened since the last post! Training ( which included me buying a ticket in Thai and getting to and from Petchabun in Thai) has ended, I was sworn-in and I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer.... I'm sure you are thinking what have you been this whole time hahaha! We were Peace Corps Trainees until we passed our language proficiency interview, all of our competencies and made it to MARCH 22, 2013. This was followed IMMEDIATELY by supervisor conference and then counterpart conference...to use the word exhausted is an understatement but I'm trucking along because I can sleep when I'm not in Thailand lol
         I am writing from my new home! Petchabun, Thailand!!!! I am currently on day 2 at work in the Sub district Administrative Office! Aka the SAO. It has been pretty good thus far! Lots of introductions, pictures, and smiling! Ohhh and definitely laughing at yourself ( a must)!!! I will say thus far everyone is very welcoming and seems excited to have me! Today I participated in a training for caretakers of babies, the sick, disabled and elderly. Lots of laughter, confusion ( on my end hahah) and randomly requesting me to speak Thai... Oh sing karaoke ... Oh and did I forget to mention the infamous question ....mi fan leeo ru yang ( do you have a boy friend) hahahaha fun times! Just a little summary now I would like to share a personal experience with all of my family and friends!!!

      One of my major concerns (although I never voiced it because I did not want any of my lovely friends or family worrying about me) before coming to Thailand ,was how I may have been perceived due to my skin complexion. From books, google, and other sources, i found that here in Thailand the lighter your skin complexion the better. With a bit of reservation I chose to go anyway. I am a firm believer in walking by faith and not by sight! There were so many signs saying "sasssshhhaaa gooo goo" so I prayed about it and went! Also I absolutely love every part of me (minus my huuuggee feet ....thanks mom hahaha)and that didn't happen over night so my thought process was that I would go and make others feel the same haha.
        Since arriving in Thailand I have received the complete opposite of what I was scared of! The people that I have met thus far are wonderfully kind and always call me beautiful ( one person has called me cute lmbo I'm gonna come back with a big head bahahaha) Often I get lots of gawks and stares but I've come to accept it and embrace it due to the surprising conversation that me and my nong saow (little sister) had.
       As we were sitting in our room chatting as we tend to do she randomly asked, Wait so are there others like you in America? In shock, I stop what I'm doing and ask for clarification. She responds people with your skin. EXCITEDLY I answered yessss! she goes on saying that until the day I arrived she did not realize that even one African American lived in America. She stated that this was the reasons for all of the stares when we bpaitiow. At this moment I realized that I am not as aware of the world as I thought. I assumed that everyone was aware of diversity even if it was not around them. I explained the way race relations worked in America as she explained race relations here in Thailand. As often as the PC says how important exchanging culture is i never thought it would be like this. The exchange of culture ,in what I like to call Thai-Lish was amazing! Language was no longer a barrier! As I write I'm still in awe of that night. ( I'm glad I was able to use my beautiful family my mini UN as an example of diversity! )This conversation ended with her saying she was glad she could have me for 3 months ( although shed rather keep me) and she hopes more people get to learn as well. The simple act of being present in another country has opened the eyes of not only me or my sister but every other person who asks majak nai?!( sorry lol where r u from) I am happy to be the messenger on this one! Lastly the cutest thing happened to me.... At our goodbye party the cutest little kid around 4 or 5 taps my leg and points up, confused I get a little closer to his level and he points to my hair. I bend further and allow him to touch my hair and he smiles.

Just a little reminder and last thoughts
...you never know whose world you are changing by just being you (positive or negative) so be the best you you can be!

OH AND OF COURSE PICTURES!!!

                                 

Saying goodbye to my beautiful Supan Family to meet my beautiful Nong Phai Family

Silly lol 

Im official!!! 

Some important adjuns Shes soo funny

This wouldnt have been possible with out him

ADJUN JAREE love her! 

My new desk!

Being introduced to the Roong Piyaban (little hospital)

Giving my little piece of thai

Great ppl lol look how i tower over them lol 

OMG MY TAMBONIES LOVE THEM

 

And here we are! PCV's 

This little pineapple sooo good lol the big one 10 baht the little one 15 b and for great reason lol

Where is the time going!

Sawadee-ton-yen( good evening)

I promise today's post will be much shorter than the last! haha!

Its been about 2 weeks since I have blogged! You have not missed much! Today marked exactly 5 weeks into PST (pre-service training) WE ARE AT THE HALF WAY POINT!  Still training Mon-Sat 7:30-6, getting chased by dogs, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, still riding my bike ALOT but getting much more comfortable lol!, annnd still enjoying every minute! Oh and language is going pretty well...by March I must be at an intermediate low on my Language Proficiency Interview so keep me in your prayers lol!  I also taught English this week and will run a life skills camp next week! They are definitely keeping us busy busy busy!

I just wanted to keep all of you posted and let you know that I am OKAY ....actually I am great!!!!  I will leave my contact info so that if you would like or if you are curious about something....  you can email me or skype me! =)

sudom121@gmail.com
sudom121 skype and if you want my address to write me... msg me on fb,skype, email...ect and i will send it!

Here are some pictures so you can get a better idea of what I have been doing!

At the temple with Mae... they told me I can take pictures and understand that I am not Buddhist but still allow me to observe their ceremonies

My Sunday off hanging with a few friends in Si Prachan playing

 soccer and bball

First day teaching when I was just suppose to be asking a few questions for 20-30 mins! Was there for 1 hr and 30 mins! SOOO MUCH FUN! 

We told them to be silly but they were unsure of how silly or

 what they should do! lol Cru(teacher) Sasha is a little unorthodox lol 

 I taught them hi 5 too lol

Day 2 teaching trying to learn all of their names! lol 

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE!!!! THEY LOVED THIS GAME!!!

BUILDING LEADERS!!! SHE IS SOOO SWEET! 

TRYING TO TAKE A PIC WITH MY GIRLS THE BOYS RAN OVER! LOL THEY BROUGHT ME HEART STICKERS!!!! SOOO SWEET! 

MY TAMBON!!! A CRAZY BUNCH! I PRETTY MUCH SPEND

 80% of my time with them lol

SPORTS DAYYYY!!! We played all Thai games and then a relay race! lol FUN TIMES 

WE WERE INVITED TO WATCH THIS PRETTY COOL PLAY! I did attempt to follow what was going on. Still not sure completely sure bc it was all in Thai!  It was very interesting though! 

more from the play (pic taken by christine) 

THAI DAY WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SANUK MAK MAK! 

ME PLAYING SOME INSTRUMENT LO L

THIS HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THAILAND!!! LOL

 BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS SOOO CUTE MY GOD DAUGHTER IS DRESSED

 UP LIKE AN OLD LADY FOR THE 100th DAY OF SCHOOL LOL! 

OK AND THAT IS IT FOR THIS POST! LOL THE NEXT ONE WILL HAVE A LITTLE MORE WRITING AND DEPTH LOL!! BUT I JUST FOUND AMERICAN TV! I HAVE TO WATCH AN EPISODE A NIGHT TO CATCH UP ON MY CRIMINAL MINDS!!! LOL!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! STAY WONDERFUL!! ENJOY!! AND SHOOT ME AN EMAIL LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ArE DOINGGG!!!!

RA-TEE-SA-WAD!!!( Good NIGHT!)

PS: THIS WAS MY STATUS BUT IM NOT SURE IF EVERYONE GOT A CHANCE TO SEE IT >>>JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAD an amazing VALENTINES DAY!!!! THERE ARE NO MARRIAGES OR BABIES UNTIL 2015( march to be specific) PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND! I dont mind engagements but weddings and babies are NOT ALLOWED UNTIL I RETURN! If you choose to have a baby he/she must be conceived 9 May/Jun of 2014 lmbo! if you have any questions leave a comment or inbox me lol <<<  JUST THOUGHT I WOULD REITERATE THANKS AGAIN Lol