Your Life is Now

Dear readers,
Writing has been on my mind a lot lately, as there always seems to be something to write about. Particularly since I am at the pinnacle (or what I believe to be so) of my service. The breaker finally reached a swell at the bedrock of my shore and I hardly had time to catch the rip off the cusp before it surged back to sea. This is it. I am literally out to sea, waters raging, whale-like eagerness abounding. I hope you are as excited as I am and having the time of your life, wherever you may be, whatever life is showing you at this very moment.

All the hype
With less than 7 months or so to go, it’s evident that things are either going to be largely successful, solemnly unsatisfactory, or somewhere in-between. Not unlike the buildup to a marathon—I believe I’ve mentioned that before. I say this is the pinnacle of my service because literally everything I have worked towards in the past 18 months is coming together... almost all at once. It’s not like I haven’t been doing anything up until now but it has not been until very recently that the seeds I begun to sow so long ago are now finally starting to blossom. Albeit, there were those seeds that for whatever reason—defunct and/or debilitated by the elements—failed to grow. That was bound happen. Good thing I planted a large garden with many different varieties.

For some of my contemporaries, the clock is ticking and countdown has begun. In this way, I feel like there is a split between those Volunteers who have done some significant things at site and are now well on their way to planning and moving towards the future and those who are just now starting the experience and see great changes in their sites and in themselves while they near the finish line. I can’t help but pointing out again my one-time marathon experience and how I somehow got this undeniable sense of renewal and burst of encouragement when I hit mile 21 and made that final determination to go all out the last 5 miles. It’s evident, I consider myself a member of the second group of Volunteers. It’s not like the future isn’t on my mind but the moment-to-moment experience is so enriching right now, I can’t help but to delight in it. Of course, it’s not always happy-go-lucky, the last month has been very demanding but as I’ve work through the hurdles, I can feel the breakthroughs.

And that brings me to now. Here’s an abridged version of what’s been going on:


PHA Hope Group
My fellow Volunteer and I facilitated two prosperous business trainings last month—1 of which we lead as trainers, 1 of which was lead by the group leaders. Following which, the group has meet twice to complete their first quarterly production of soaps and on August 20, they filled almost 300 bottles to sell. Next week, we will meet with group leaders to debrief the project since it’s inception and decide which changes need to occur to ensure the group thrives in this quarter and the next. This project has really come along beautifully and it’s hard to put into words how great it finally feels to see actual proof it’s working. Already, we can see a big change in member’s confidence and initiative in business.

Funding Applications—1 submitted, 1 to go.

Youth Group Training
I’m working on one smaller-scale project with the local youth environmental conservation and herbal remedies group made up of 20 adolescent students. Since it started 3 months ago, this group has grown leaps and bounds. It’s a great pleasure to be able to work with them and help connect them with funders. The main purpose of this group is to propagate local wisdom and develop occupational skills by inviting community elders to teach students about herbs/medicinal plants and their uses. The students are also making natural products from herbs and learning traditional healing techniques like Thai massage. It’s so refreshing to see something like this happen at my site. The elders and adults need this project as much as the students. If the funding application is approved, it will go towards a 10-day training in October and a new dryer used for drying herbs.

Daycare Water & Sanitation Project
The other funding application is still a work in progress but hopefully it will get completed and sent off in a couple days. I’ve been working on this one for a more complex project since the beginning of July, maybe earlier. It all started a couple months ago while I happened to be chatting with a man about my role as a volunteer and a daycare teacher overheard me talking. She became very vocal about some of the persisting issues at the daycare concerning water and sanitation. Every year during the rainy season, flooding causes mold and unsanitary condition, ultimately forcing to close the building for weeks at a time. What’s more, she complained that the water system was either dismal or non-existent (no sinks or running water other than the bathroom and no source of clean drinking water).

When I told her I would do my best to help, she seemed doubtful but gave me a famous Thai half smile anyways. Following that discussion, I went to work. I asked around and emailed the coordinator of Water Charity (an organization that supports water & sanitation projects of Peace Corps Volunteers). In the least, I gathered they would probably be able to help out with improving the water system. At least 4 times, I visited the daycare to take pictures, interview the teachers, and play with the kids. I got my supervisor involved; at times, one might suggest I was being ‘obnoxious’ towards him to get a budget written and sit down to talk about planning this project. He was hesitant to say the least. Finally, the push I needed came when I got a site visit from the country director. While he was here, I suggested we look at the daycare. What did it for my supervisor was not just that the director was here but he had taken particular interest in this project. Obviously, he came to realize it was a priority as well because the next week, we sat down and did some serious planning. This week, I finally received the final budget (around 65,000 Baht) for a flood remediation and water systems improvement project at the daycare. All that’s left to do is translate the budget from Thai and put the finishing touches on the proposal. Hopefully I will get it off to PCPP (Peace Corps Partnership Program) by the end of the month!

Teaching. Children Frenzy... oh my!
Yes, it’s true. The stones around my non-English teaching mote have finally begin to quiver and tumble. Not all the way yet but the outside forces are definitely starting to break down my defenses. I made a commitment to teach at this area school one day a week for 3 hours until the regular English teacher returns from her having-a-baby sabbatical. Last Monday, I taught English for 3 hours, 6 different Grades, 1 hour/2 Grades. It was... intense. Nevertheless, I felt pretty darn good about it. I could probably get used to the routine. For the most part, the children are great and very eager to learn. Sure there’s the occasional hooligan but after my first go, I think I’m sarcastic and guileful enough to handle them. I see this developing into more youth interaction. Perhaps, I’ll even get 1 or 2 world map projects under my belt before I leave. In the very least, I decided I want one of my very last projects to be a Youth Life Skills Camp. It’s just in the cards; I can’t fight it anymore.

Committee-Related Developments
Since I’ve been a part of the PRC (Project Review Committee), I’ve worked with about 15-20 Volunteers on proposals for funding sources with the other committee members (not including my own). Judging from this experience I must say it’s been a very practical experience. In grad school when I took proposal writing and worked with a local organization to develop a standard application template, I really thought I knew what I was doing. Yet, now I know I had nowhere near the experience and understanding of funding proposals as I do now. True, it hasn’t always been easy and I definitely haven’t always gotten it right but at every mistake, I learn a little bit more. I mention this because it has and continues to take up a lot of my time and perhaps, one day in the not so distant future, this will be a part of my career.

P-D-M-ing
The other big thing I’ve been working on with PRC is the PDM Workshop (Project Design & Management—we love our acronyms in Peace Corps). Oh, the PDM. I love it and I hate it at the same time. Hate is meant to be in an endearing way... like how you hate it when your significant other leaves the toilet seat up but you love them despite it. The current PRC that I belong to has been working on revising the PDM practically since the time of Shakymuni Buddha and you’d think by now it would have reached an enlightened state. Well, it’s getting there. The recent attention to the PDM is to get us geared up for a PDM Workshop with the new group 122’ers and their counterparts. As the original masterminds behind the PDM, the PRC will be leading the workshop with Peace Corps Thai staff working as translators and Thai facilitators. Really, I think all I can say without getting way too ahead of myself on this that it’s something that has consumed (I’m talking devoured, exhausted) my time and energy on and off in the last month and a half. Not to mention before that when we put in countless hours to revise the old PDM from group 120 (RIP). Sufficed to say, when it’s all said and done you can bet I will breath a great big sigh of relief. Although, I hope it’s more than that. I hope it’s everything we want it to be and more, that we feel truly satisfied with the information we present. Most of all, I hope the 122’ers can use it and their counterparts absorb every bit of it. Ultimately, so they can start a project as a result of going through the workshop. Then, maybe then, our work will be accomplished.

Other Randomness
Have to say, I’ve grown really fond of my fellow volunteers and my service isn’t my service without them. Sure, I don’t see them often but they’re my people, my family. I talk a lot to other Volunteers these days and as we work our way down the summit that is our Thai Experience, I realize just how much I appreciate them as friends, as Volunteers, as human beings. Having the opportunity to read through Volunteer funding proposal, has given me a front row seat to a variety of projects and I must say, I’m very impressed and I’m extremely proud to have served with my fellow Volunteers. As the months peter on, I hold them dear to me while realizing that this experience, good, bad, ugly, and altogether life-changing, will bind us together for the rest of our lives. No matter what happened before, no matter what comes after.

In leftover, marginal news, I’ve been traveling a lot recently. This weekend will be by 3rd away from site. Part of the absence is due to a weird, random skin condition. Not to worry, it’s not super serious and the travel hasn’t deterred me from doing work. If anything it’s made me more productive at site. I somehow got some VIP time in with the provincial governor and I don't want to be too presumptuous but I'd venture to say we bonded while toiling in the field! (pics coming above)! I do what I can.

On the plus side to all the crazy going back and forth, I’ve been eating healthier (perhaps, the increase of food choice), getting amazing sleep (when not on overnight buses) due to the exceptional sleeping weather during the rainy season, and making more time for exercise & prayer. Life is balanced. Life is good. As of now ;)