A typical day of PST (Pre-Service Training)

It’s been a little while since my last update. I had a couple brief bouts of illness, training days have been super long recently, and a combination of these and other factors have been leaving me tired to the point that I’ve even kinda neglected journaling.

We are about halfway through Pre-Service Training (PST), and we’ve all had lots of adjustments to make. It helps to be going through this experience with a large group, not only for the training aspect, but also (especially) for the everyday support and camaraderie. I've participated in some of what would be considered bizarre conversations outside of this setting – most recently, an informal co-ed discussion about strategies and best practices for using the squat toilet, especially in the middle of the night – this conversation was complete with examples and demonstrations. Our group is pretty great, unfortunately, we've lost a couple members along the way, but we've been told that this is a normal part of PST.

Our Group on Sports Day - See Faa (Team Blue!)

We just had our mid-PST reviews with staff, where we were able to discuss successes and challenges and receive individual feedback. Part of my feedback was to keep finding ways to step out of my comfort zone, and to also find ways to manage my time so that I have a healthy balance of work, fun, and me time. Now is as good a time as any to start thinking about time management, and in doing so, I’ll give you an idea of what my average day looks like, as well as a snapshot of what the past few weeks have been like…

4:30 am (dtee sii krung)
Dogs start barking like crazy, the house dog and just about all of the dogs in the village. I assume that someone nearby is heading to work at that time, because it’s every weekday morning, and it wakes me up every time.

5:00 am (dtee haa mong chau)
Community morning announcements time. There is a loudspeaker in the neighborhood, and at 5:00 am, the music begins followed by announcements, which usually last about 30 minutes. From what I’ve gathered, it’s like a radio morning show with music, news, current events, bulletin items, and even an inspirational thought – just without a radio or power/volume controls. If I managed to go back to sleep after the dogs woke me up, then the announcements (or rather the music that precedes the announcements) will wake me up.

6:00 am (hok mong chau)
My alarm goes off, this is my official wake up time. Sometimes I snooze for an extra ten minutes (or 30) before I get out of bed, gather my bath items and clothes for the day, and then head out to the hong naam (bathroom) which is in a separate building from where I sleep.

lovely sunrise

7:00 am (jhet mong chau)
Breakfast time! My host mom and I have breakfast together, and we usually chat a bit. I like this little one-on-one time with her. Breakfast (and every other meal) consists of rice, and a few other options. This morning, for example, we had fried fish, fried chicken, chicken soup, pork, and pak (vegetables). I usually have hot chocolate and a jelly sandwich (or some bread snack) with my breakfast.

7:30 am (jhet mong krung)
As I keei jack-a-yan (ride my bike) to my training site, I pass many rice fields along the way, as well as a school where the kids shout out “Mitch-eo, Mitch-eo” along with “Hello” “Good Morning” or “Good Bye” – my host mom told them my name on the first day when we rode to school together, and now I get to feel like a celebrity for 3 seconds most mornings. Some days I leave home earlier to go to a different site, and on those days, I miss the kids, but I get to witness the most beautiful sunrises. 

rice field on my way to school

lily pads

8:00 am (bhet mong chau)
Language class begins! We have a great language learning program, and our aa-jaans (teachers) are super great, and super patient. I have a long way to go, but I’ve learned a whole lot, evidenced by how far I’ve come with being able to communicate with my family. On day one with my family, I could introduce myself and say what I like to eat. Now I can also tell the time, discuss plans for the day, and talk about various events and activities. We are able to have mini informal conversations, which are sometimes awkward, usually choppy, but always good with a gradual decrease in charades.

We recently had a (mock) Language Proficiency Interview where language skills were assessed in a 15 minute, one-on-one, Thai only conversation with the training staff. I ranked as a Novice High. I need to rank one level higher to meet the criteria of Intermediate Low. Apparently, my pronunciation and fluency are pretty good, but I need to work on tones and sentence structure, as well as continue to build my vocabulary. I’m working on it, with the support of my aa-jaans, my group-mates, and my family.

My Language Group introducing a dish in Thai -- Naam Prik Blaa Tuu >> Chili Sauce and Fried Fish

12:00 pm (tiang wan)
Lunch Time! I usually keei jack-a-yan gap puan (ride bike with friends) to one of the little lunch spots (raan-ahan) in the village. These spots are pretty outdoors-y, but the food is cooked on the spot, and it’s always amazing, and usually about the equivalent of $1 USD for a decent and delicious meal. A few weeks ago, ordering food involved throwing out some vocabulary words, and waiting to see what came of it. Now, I know to say “saai kai” (add egg) instead of “gap kai” (with egg) if I want egg stir fried into my food instead of having a fried egg placed on top of my food.

1:00 pm (bpai moang)
Technical training. Di-chan bpen a-sass-a-mak pa-tana yau-wa-chon (I am a youth development volunteer). During technical training, we basically learn about organizing, managing, and facilitating youth groups “the Thai way” and “Peace Corps way.” We’ve also been doing practicum work, where we go into schools and do activities with the students.  For our first practicum, our aa-jaans served as translators, but for our second practicum, they just observed, so these sessions were designed as “English Classes” and we spoke English for 85% of the session. The Thai students that we’ve worked with are very respectful, super smart, excited to learn, and they know more English vocabulary than we expected them to. It’s been an absolute joy to work with them.

Day 2 of my second practicum w Mr Jim

Teaching our Mo 1 (7th Grade) class about Family in English

4:30 pm (sii moang krung)
At the end of each day, we have time set for “Self Directed Learning” which can be used to do any work related to the five areas of Pre-Service Training (Language, Technical, Health, Safety, Culture). I usually use this time to discuss my progress in either of those areas with aj-aans, staff, or fellow group members, but sometimes I use this time to touch base with the home front. I was told that this qualifies as health – preservation of mental/emotional health and well-being.

5:00 pm (haa moang)
Bpai Bahn (Go Home!) – Sometimes I stick around for a few extra minutes to chit chat (or to make the best of the wi-fi), but usually I just head home. When I get home, the usual greeting is always followed by “Mee ngaang bahn, mai ka?”  (Do you have homework?) If yes, my parents, siblings, and neighbors (any combination, or all of the above) would then help me with my language homework. Depending on how quickly I complete my homework, I’m either told to “gin kaao” or “bpai ab-naam”

Sunset right across from my house

6:00 pm (hok moang yen)
“Gin kaao” literally translates to “eat rice” but just means “let’s eat a meal.” Since every meal consists of rice, the literal translation is usually quite accurate, but once in a while “gin kaao” just might refer to a noodle dish. Conversations usually take place at the dinner time, we usually talk about my day, events in the community, and sometimes even people in the community. Sometimes neighbors/extended family members would pass through and I’d be asked to recite my latest language lesson to them or if they bring their kids, the children would be told to speak to me in English, but they’re shy and they usually say hello, then giggle and run away.

Dinner time gets most interesting when there is an unfamiliar dish at the table. It’s impolite to decline food in Thailand. My family knows that I don’t eat pork or shellfish, but they figure everything else is fair game so I’d be jeered into trying these unfamiliar dishes “Gin, gin, gin. Aroi, Aroi!” “Eat, eat, eat. It’s delicious!” When I hesitate, everybody goes around the table, tasting and saying how delicious it is and that I should eat it. So I tasted the nok (means bird, but I don’t know what kind, my host mom just pointed in the sky), and I tasted the gop (means frog, yes, the pressure was intense). And then the crowd cheers, and everyone asks “Aroi mai?” Delicious, right? My response. “Pet” (spicy). My host mom and I made eye contact, and she said “Mitch-eo mai chob, mai chob” (She really doesn’t like it). They laughed it off, and it was over.

One of the best Thai Meals I've had so far :-)

“Bpai ab-naam” means go take a bath. I’m still taking cold water splash baths, but I’m adjusting. If it’s kinda cool, and there is not too much going on, I might bother my mom to heat up some water for me, but I’ve found that the water from the pipe is always at least a little bit warmer than the water in the reservoir, so I usually resort to that. The squat toilet, I’ve pretty much gotten used to, but I still haven’t found a way to combat mosquitos in the bathroom, they are super aggressive and super biters, especially when I’m most vulnerable. I’m not going to talk about the time a bumble-bee chased me around the bathroom until I opened the door to let it out, but I really do miss in-house bathrooms, with hot showers and sit-down/flushing toilets that don’t get clogged by toilet paper.

7:30 pm (Nung tum krung)
My evening chore is to clear the table and wash the dinner dishes. The sink is outside of the kitchen window, sometimes the next door neighbors are still having dinner while I’m washing the dishes, so we’d yell at each other about what is/was on the dinner menu, and how delicious it is/was. After dinner, everyone usually goes in different directions, or sometimes neighbors/extended family members are around, and they get social, but it tends to involve drinking and gambling, so I excuse myself anyway.

8:00 pm (Song tum)
I’m usually ready to bpai nohn (go to sleep) at around 8pm, but my yai (grandmother) usually watches her soap opera til 9pm, and sometimes the news til 10. The tv is right outside of my bedroom, so I’m unable to fall asleep until she turns off the tv and the lights. In the in-between time, I usually read or listen to music, other times, I plug in my ear plugs and close my eyes, but I still can’t sleep until the lights are off outside of my room. 

Sleeping was an issue for me for a couple weeks, the mattress was uncomfortable, the noises were irritating, and I just couldn’t settle into a good sleep, even with the ear plugs and sleep mask. Sleep aids made mornings really difficult, so I had no choice but to adjust. Adjustment is ongoing, but my sleep is getting better and I’m usually asleep by 10:30.

This is a typical week day for me. It varies, some days I leave home at 7 and return after 6 due to a longer bike ride to a different site. Sometimes we have events in the community and don’t get back home until 10:00 pm. Overall, I’ve been having a good time and making the most out of PST. In just a few weeks, we’ll be saying goodbye to our a-jaans, our host families, and our training community. At this point, we will begin living with a new family and begin the transition to our assigned communities. Part of me is looking forward to that, but part of me isn’t. I’ll try to share more updates along the way.