Reasons We’re Better Off Than We’ve Ever Been
Sometimes the food comes in droves. Sometimes it doesn’t. A really long time ago in our service, strange, seemingly unreal things became our new normal. We adopted things that may […]
Sometimes the food comes in droves. Sometimes it doesn’t. A really long time ago in our service, strange, seemingly unreal things became our new normal. We adopted things that may […]
Okay, I know. It’s Friday, even late Thursday night in some parts of the world, but I’m busting at the seam to post some photos, so you can reap some […]
Two months ago in July my host grandmother, Yai, stayed in the hospital for over 5 days. At that time, there was a lot of chaos and anxiety in the […]
It’s a pretty simple theory: anything that whittles the world down into a smaller, more intimate and manageable size does the soul good. We regain our balance from anything that […]
I wake up in the early hours of morning light with the host family downstairs already hustling and bustling about the room. It’s not yet 6:30 a.m. but the day […]
Today has been one of the most difficult days for me in the classroom. I’m searching frantically for someone to talk to about my situation, an old friend in the […]
One of my favorite cultural moments while serving as a volunteer was attending a Hindu Festival in Bangkok last October. I went with a friend I met at Saphaipae Hostel, […]
My newest co-teacher, a 55-year old single Thai woman with a passion to learn English, drags in a phonics book taller than me into the classroom. She plops it on […]
Last February my parents and I Skyped one evening. They asked me which month they should visit me in Thailand. Their options were either of my school breaks: April and […]
Sometimes conversations we have with others are simply conversations with ourselves. If only we heeded half the advice we give to others or gave ourselves half the love we give […]
If I wanted to work or teach in a failing education system I could have stayed in my own country. It has enough of its own problems. If I wanted […]
Breathe, little one, just breathe. Take slow, steady, sips of water. Feel the cool sensation on your lips. Feel it roll over your tongue. You were a stranger at one […]
We all get stuck sometimes. Often life challenges our faith in humanity. Sometimes we’re encumbered by the sad hardships and harsh realities. We forget to hold on to who we […]
Each year Peach Corps Thailand welcomes a new group of volunteers. I arrived in January, as did the group before me, and the group before them. There are so many […]
This is an anomaly to me: sports day in Thailand. Now, I’m familiar with field day in America where energy-thirsty kids flood into the fields and later come home with […]
As I sat editing some photos and videos from my camera I realized the large quantity of pictures I have from Thailand. Frequently, friends and family pester me to post […]
Those who know me know that I’m rarely a woman of few words. For months I’ve searched feverishly for an appropriate medium to share my thoughts. Often times what happens […]
“When you take all the […] paperwork, […] put it on the back-burner and throw out the rulebook; this is where most of the change will come from. [Teachers] are […]
“Julia! Julia!…Julia!” Bong screamed from downstairs. “Ka. Yes. Coming,” I saved my documents, shut my laptop and descended down stairs to the outdoor living area. The house was an interesting […]
Well, as one previous volunteer posted, we fell for the oldest trick in the book. “Cool Season in Thailand.” It doesn’t exist. Period. There is hot, hotter, and hottest. I […]