Not There Yet...

It's been a pretty hectic week. Over the past few days, we've been going through the motions of concluding our Pre-Service Training, going through assessments and evaluations, and preparing to leave the nest. Like all transitions, it has been bitter sweet. On Monday, I completed my Final Review where I was able to discuss my progress, address concerns, and receive feedback from the staff in the areas of Language Learning, Technical Training, Cross Cultural Competency, Safety & Security, and Health. I didn't have any major concerns, and neither did the staff. The staff recognized and commended my efforts in all areas, they believe that I have what it takes and that I will be a successful volunteer, so I was nominated for service without any conditions or reservations. 

Also on Monday, I received the results of my Language Proficiency Interview. I needed a score of Intermediate-Low to qualify for service. The interview was structured as an informal conversation - I answered questions about my family, food, weather, comparing/contrasting America and Thailand, and my life before Peace Corps. I felt like everything was going well, and then I got hit with two scenarios. First scenario was "I am a sixteen year old boy, my girlfriend is pregnant, nobody knows, and I'm coming to you for help." I responded by asking "How many months pregnant is she? Who else knows about this? What do you want to do? Okay, well we need to set up a doctor's visit, and a meeting with both sets of parents to discuss what we are going to do. Don't worry. It will be okay. Thanks for telling me. Bye" I didn't understand the response to "what do you want to do?" but overall, I don't think that I handled it terribly. I didn't expect to be hit with a second scenario, in fact, I think I was the only one with a second scenario, but it was "You visit the community health center and you want to know what the main health concerns are." I don't have the vocabulary to ask the question right out, so I started by asking general demographic questions, then asked how many people come in each day, and then what is the reason for most of them coming in, then thank you and good bye. 

Last Day of Thai Class . This is my second group, and we met at the community health center.
Shame on me for not knowing more health related vocabulary!

I walked out of the interview feeling less than super confident, but still hoping that I achieved the Int-Low requirement. Scoring Int-Low means that I can initiate and respond to common and simple statements, perform tasks such as introductions and ordering food, and express elementary needs. I scored Intermediate-Mid, which pretty much means that I can speak in full and complex sentences, engage in simple conversations, and be understood by sympathetic listeners. I'm very relieved to know that I've surpassed my goal. But I know that I still have a very long way to go. A very veeerrry long way to go apparently.

I went to an event at my neighborhood wat (temple) a couple weeks ago, and got to do a little fortune telling thing, my aa-jaan (language teacher) interpreted the fortune for me and said that I would be lucky in the south and that I would find love in the south. I'm not a superstitious person, but since then I've been obsessed with going to the south. Not for any romantic reason, but just because I feel so lucky and loved in the community that I'm in right now and I want so badly to feel this way all over again in my new community. I've learned a few things about the southern region of Thailand, and the more I learned, the more I had my heart set on where I want to be. The southern region is where the beaches are, I'm an island girl, so for that reason alone, I was sold. Also, Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, but there is a concentration of Muslims in the south. I've heard that Buddhism in Thailand is different from Buddhism in other regions, and I heard that the same is true for Islam. Since I am familiar with Islam, I am very interested in observing and participating in their way of life here in Thailand.

My "fortune" that my aa-jaan translated for me

I've had conversations with my family about the various regions in Thailand. They spoke very fondly of the north (most notably Chiang Mai) and the south (most notably Phueket). They would love for me to stay in the central area, since that is where we live. In reference to the North-Eastern Region (aka Isaan), my host mom said that they don't really speak Thai there. She says that they speak Isaan, and that she doesn't understand them. I confirmed with my aa-jaan that it's not just a little twang or dialect, but it really is pretty much a different language. Language is tough for me. Somehow, with amazing aa-jaans, four hours of language class, four days a week, for the past two months, I've managed to reach a level where I can be understood by sympathetic listeners. Somehow, after being exposed to Spanish for 20+ years, my proficiency isn't a whole lot better. Taking that into consideration, knowing that I can't take an aa-jaan to site with me, I decided that maybe Isaan wouldn't be the place for me.

Soooo.... Today we found out where we will be serving for the next two years. There have been little conversations here and there among trainees along the lines of preferences "I want to be in this region because there are mountains/beaches/major cities/etc nearby." I've said many times, "I really do not know Thailand well enough to have much of a preference or to be picky about an assignment, it's a lovely country and I'm just happy to be here" recently I've added "...but I heard the south is really nice" or "...but I heard they speak their own language in Isaan." Even with all that I've learned in the past couple weeks, the original sentiment remains true. So, when I learned that my placement site will be in Isaan, I just laughed at the odds.

The Big Reveal!!  The staff created a map of Thailand on the floor
and did a fun and dramatic intro and welcome to our site.

Following the big reveal, we (volunteers assigned to Isaan) participated in an Intro to Passa Isaan (Isaan Language) session. The Standard Thai that we've learned should be a good foundation. We've been assured that most of the Isaan locals should be able to understand (even if they can't speak) standard Thai. The sentence structure is the same, a good number of common words, terms, tones, and phrases are very different, but I'm sure I'll get a hang of it once I've been at site for a while. Being from the Caribbean, I would compare Passa Isaan to a bilingual Patois, influenced by Laos and Thai. Standard Thai is spoken in schools, so students, teachers, and other educated/professional individuals will be able to speak accordingly, so I should be fine in the work environment. 

Learn more about Isaan and the Isaan Language by following the links, and wish me luck!