First week of PST

Sawatdii-ka! 

Greetings from the Land of Smiles.  My first two weeks in Thailand have been a whirlwind of orientation events, meeting and getting to know my 51 counterpart volunteers, and acclimating to the new environment.  We arrived at our hotel in Lop Buri Province (about 2 hours North of Bangkok)  on Jan. 29th.  Immediately following, on the same day, we begun orientation and have been going ever since.  

NOTE: In Thailand, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, it is important to dress and act professionally in the work environment.  Therefore,  it is essential to be Riap Roy.  Riap Roy is not just attire, it is a whole host of demeanors and actions that are appropriate.  Women (like myself) should wear a skirt or dress that hits below the knee or lower, a blouse with sleeves (no t-shirts, tank tops, or strapless), and shoes with straps and a back or closed toes dress/business casual shoes. It is also riap roy to...

*Have both feet on the floor while keeping both legs closed.  Showing the bottom of the foot is offensive and should be avoided.  

*Serve water and other beverages with a straw and/or accompanying cup.  

Here is a brief re-cap of my first 5 days: 

Day 1-2 (Thursday-Friday): Orientation: safety, health, and language.  

One of the most important things we learned was how to Wai.  Wai is the formal Thai greeting.  It is performed in many settings such as: greeting acquaintances, friends, superiors, elders, and family.  Wai-ing is simply putting your hands together and bowing until you almost touch the top of your nose while saying Sawatdii-ka/krap.

On Friday,we received new mountain bikes and let loose on the open road--with our bike instructor, of course! In 3 waves of novice, intermediate, and beginner bikers, we acquired basic training (changing tires, oiling the chain, changing gears, etc.) 

Day 3 (Saturday): We attended a traditional Thai 'welcome ceremony'.  This reminded me of my sorority days--if only for the candlelit setting and formal dress.  Arriving in 'super' riap roy, we were guided into a circular setting while being serenaded by our trainers/teachers.  In the middle of the circle were candles surrounding a Buddhist shrine.  Our leaders recited some Thai blessings and one-by-one they surrounded us to initiate the tying of  Quan strings.  In Buddhism, it is believed when people travel or go about change in their lives, through time and space, they loose their Quan--the parts of a person that makes them whole.  By conducting the ceremony and giving hopes that the quan will return is signifying that all will be restored.  Each string is tied to a persons wrist by different people.  The more strings, the better.  These 'quan' strings should stay on at least 3 days so the quan can return.  They should not be broken off artificially rather, they should fall off naturally.  I squirmed out of mine after 4 days.    

Day 4 (Sunday): I tried roasted crickets today!  They are crunchy and if I were to compare them to something, I would say they have a smokey taste--maybe like very charred meat.  Perhaps. Peculiar, for sure.  There are lots of grub, insects, seafoods, pig, and chicken parts available for eats on the street markets.  Actually anything you can think of is roasted, grilled, poached, fried, and gobble it up.  I rather enjoy the sights, sounds, and some-I'm not that adventurous yet-tastes of the market.  Although, the fruit here is phenomenal.  I have had some amazing tangerines, apples, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, dragon fruit, and mangosteen.  Delicious! 

Day: 5: A culminating day of formal activities and transferring to our homestays.  Today we dressed 'super' riap roy to meet to governor of Lom Puri.  I have a video I will post of this.  One after the other, all 52 of us successfully, albeit imperfectly, recited: "Hello, My Name Is..., and I Am From..." in Thai! Which is: Sawatdiika, Di-chan chuu Heidi namsacun Mahoney.  Majeek moung Sioux City, Rat, Iowa, Bra-teet America.  It was a proud moment for all.  A 'quick win' in our quest to acclimate and speak the language.  

Later on, we met our host families and de-parted from the hotel.  This is when the real Thai experience commenced.  Up until this point, we were reasonably comfortable in the confines of our hotel with hot water showers, wi-fi, and mini-fridges.  

I was very excited to get out and get going--not that I didn't enjoy the bubble.  

The first night with my host family was inquisitive and generally exciting for both myself and my host family.  Formailities, introductions, unpacking, and picture-taking ensued.  

Actually, I didn't spend that much time with the family the first night because I arrived around 5 P.M. Though  I did meet the whole family, extended family, and neighborhood.  The nucleus of my family is:   dad (Pa), mom (Ma), a 17-year old sister (May), and a 22-year old brother (Sha-Dii). Thais are so incredibly generous, friendly, and warm people.  This I did know before, but I appreciated it at a whole new level when I moved in with my host family.  The family opened up a private, very nice room for me on the second floor of their house.  They also provided a brand new dresser/ drawer. 

Days later,  I found out that my host brother had been making a desk customized to fit my room for me to study on!  

Brings whole new meaning to giving, sharing, and being hospitable.  

NOTE: In my homestay, we have a bathroom on the first floor (there are two floors).  The bathroom consists of a western-style toilet (only without the seat and no automatic flushing) 

as well as a large and small basin of water---resembling a small and large 'tub' of water.  

The small basin is next to the toilet.  Before using the toilet, one should take the pale in the small basin and douse the outside of the toilet with water (to clean it initially).  Following use, the pale is filled again and used to flush the contains in the toilet--following by a final cleaning of the toilet by another pale of water.  Honestly, it's not that bad once you get the hang of it.  

Usually there is no toilet paper and it is common to use the pale filled with water to "wash off".  Though, I think my family actually bought some for me to use---just another thoughtful, kind thing among the many they have done for me.  

Bathing consists of using the big basin of water and using a pale (different from the toilet pale) to dump water on oneself and wash, rinse, etc.  Never though, it is possible to make direct contact in the big basin of water.  Because it is essentially a clean 'watering hole' where every uses the pales to clean themselves.  Immersing in it would contaminate the water for everyone else.  So, taking a bath is not possible! It just doesn't work that way.  

I still have yet to find out how water is transferred into the basins!