Has it been eight years since my Thailand Swearing-In? Wow! Who would have ever thought my 27-month commitment would extend far beyond that. It started my Peace Corps journey for sure. It is such an important point in my past that I wanted to reflect on it again.
Pre-Service Training
It is amazing how much Peace Corps can squeeze into 10 weeks of training. But for those “in it”, it is exhausting, to say the least. It teaches you that serving in the Peace Corps is definitely a 24/7 kind of commitment.
But through it all, you make friendships that can last a lifetime. Kathleen was in the group ahead of us, but she reached out to me several times during PST to make sure I was doing okay. I can’t tell you how much that helped. Ashley and I had met online before meeting in Thailand. We hit it off because of a love for running and cycling. Linzee had just graduated from college but his knowledge and enthusiasm for education were infectious. Andrew joined Linzee and me to form the core of a tech committee.
During PST, our training manager, Chadchaya, had also been promoted to be our Program Manager. Throughout my three years serving in Thailand, she was a source of strength and inspiration. I know my service was better because of her mentorship.
Living with a Host Family
I was given the choice of host families once I arrived in my village. Almost the second I walked into their house, I knew this was the family for me. Everyone was laughing and neighbors were sharing their baby over the fence. Such much love and laughter. Of Samak and Dang’s children, only one was still at home. And he would be one of my students. I loved them all but the person who stole my heart was grandmother. She spoke no English and I spoke very little Thai but we seemed to get along so well. I was blessed to be part of their family for three years.
Language Group
You spend most of your PST time with your language group. The four of us, Ryan, Lydia, Kailei and I spent 4 hours together trying to squeeze as much Thai into our brains as we could. Ryan always made me laugh. Lydia was always so calm. And Kailei was the star pupil. Her Thai was so good, that she gave a speech in Thai during our swearing-in.
Education volunteers
And the other half of the day was spent with my fellow Education volunteers. Our training tried to give us all that we would need to teach in Thai schools. Even though we all had just met and had various levels of experience, the ED volunteers clicked as a group.
Swearing-In
Swearing-in was full of excitement and relief that we were finally finished with training. But we were also a little nervous as we were being taken by our counterparts to our villages as soon as the ceremony was over. It was a great moment to share with my fellow volunteers from group 126. After spending 10-weeks with them, it was hard to say goodbye until we would meet again during our service. Even after all this time, I still miss them.
Where are they now?
Andrew works for the Red Cross and spends a lot of his time helping at disasters all over the US. 
Linzee is still teaching. He and his wife, Charity, are expecting their first child this summer. 
Ashley and her husband split their time between Los Angeles and a ranch in Montana. 
Kathleen went on to serve again in Ukraine and is waiting for reinstatement to Botswana. 
Chadchaya, after many years working at Peace Corps Thailand, has moved on to new things. 
My host family is still doing well. But grandmother passed away last year during the pandemic. 
Sommai is still teaching and traveling all over Thailand with her husband. 
Kruu Oh is still teaching. With her husband, they are raising two girls. 
Sompong is now a grandfather and that keeps him and his wife very, very busy. 
Ryan was a Peace Corps recruiter and lives in Pittsburg with his partner.
I have been so fortunate to have served in Thailand. I had a great host family and awesome friends and colleagues. I learned a lot about Thailand, the Peace Corps, teaching, and myself. And it has led me to serve in other countries like Mongolia and Nepal. So, I’m even more grateful for that.
Are you serving in the PC? Have you served before? Where? What were your memories of ‘swearing-in’? Let me know here, I’d really like to know. 🙂
