Updates

Pictured: My neighbor and her lime green fields of rice--currently shades of amber and gold.

It would appear the time I set aside to post has repeatedly been compromised for either 'real' work, concentrated r & r, sleep, study, exercise, or random outings. Tomorrow turned into next week and before I knew it, I'd let 3 weeks chalk-full of experiential insights, revelations, and minor catastrophes slip under the radar. Now on a beautiful, breezy Friday afternoon, I can finally sit down to provide a few noteworthy updates.

Big Project in the Works

Since before the epic October vacation, I'd put a huge amount of time and energy into a project involving myself and 2 other Volunteers--those who happened to live nearest to me. Prior to vacation, we took a week to visit each other sites and thoroughly prepare a project proposal, timeline, and budget for our counterparts, Sub-District Administrative Offices, and Peace Corps Administration. This project, though not complex, is slightly difficult to explain. It's less of a project and more of a training which presents a method of designing and executing local projects. This method is what I like to so endearingly refer to as the PDM--Project Design Management. PDM is a Peace Corps model that seeks to enable people to understand the processes of a project and become more interactive in them. The novel part of this particular PDM training project is that it aims to involve local government workers and community group members to design a project together. Since I've been here, I have seen little interaction of the sort--between local official and community groups. They each have their work and their role that usually only traverses when a group needs funding or when the officials need to evaluate something or when there is an official holiday/festival. This leaves an apparent gap between the local community and the local government office. It is our intention then to give these two different groups an opportunity to work together, understand the needs of the community better, and develop a joint project. Additionally, integral to sustainability and the empowerment of our counterparts, the PDM modules will be taught to our 3 counterparts prior to the training in order to have them co-facilitate the training. This way, they get more experience and the participants get more out of it--honestly, how much can I, as a non-Thai foreigner really convey about project design concepts in broken Thai before people start checking out?!

Two-Fold Involvement

I know this may sound pretty dry and boring but, I'll be honest it's the kind of thing that gets me really excited! PDM-eque concepts were a major part of the development project management theories I learned in grad school. To be given the opportunity to continue down that path and apply theory in a real setting is tremendous. I consider it an honor. Even more so, I am lucky to be part of the Committee that edits and teaches the PDM--the Project Review Committee or PRC. We do love our acronyms in Peace Corps! PRC consists of 3 members from PC Group 121 and 3 from Group 120. Along with teaching the PDM, we also review grant proposals for other Volunteers seeking project funding and try to link Volunteers up with potential resources. Proposal writing was yet another theory I learned in school so, of course, I'm happy to continue practicing these skills as well. Being part of the PRC is especially conducive when I hit a low point at site or I'm heading out of my wits with boredom. Keeps me sane. Committee involvement not only keeps me busy at site but it also allows me to travel for meetings and collaboration at other sites.

A big undertaking for the PRC these last few months has been to gut the old PDM model in hopes to make a new, improved, more understandable model. The plot thickens. By the time our joint training rolls around in December, the new model will hopefully be ready to serve as the pilot criteria for our training. Now, it might be easier to understand why this seemingly simple project and my role in it is a bit difficult to explain.

Bottom line, I've put my blood, sweat, and tears into this project on many different levels and I can attribute much of my lack of posting for this very reason.

Enough of that. It's not all that occupies the spaces of my mind and the places in my heart these days.

Saying goodbye to a great man

A couple weeks ago I was saddened and sobered to hear of my paternal grandfather's passing. He was 94. What a great guy, humble and impressionable role model my grandfather was. I had a looming feeling that when I left home in January, it might very well be the last time I would see my grandfather. It just so happened this was indeed the case. I had the pleasure of growing up in the same town as my paternal grandparents and watching my father and grandfather work side by side in the family business. I was even fortunate to attend the same high school he did some 70 years earlier. Early on, I learned many essentials to the human conditions from him--a sense of propriety, consistency, commitment, persistence, and work ethic. Perhaps most importantly, a positive attitude. Long past retirement, my grandfather would come into work and greet everyone with his warm presence and captivating anecdotes then, dutifully get down to business. No matter when or how people near and far would remember meeting this wonderful man. He was one of those people who was always on time and his sense of consistency immeasurable. As the Thais would say 'riap roy maak'. For some time surpassing 20 years, he ate the same thing for lunch and read the Wall Street Journal every day.

Now, reliving my encounters with him and his impacts upon me, I am consoled by knowing that he lead a long and accomplished life surrounded by friends and family. There is no doubt I will forever have his demeanor and good sense etched in my memory. And, I'd like to think I carry a part of him with me, in my own disposition.

I'd like to end this post with one of his fondest quotes:

Press On -The Power of Persistence

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

~ Calvin Coolidge