Give me some sugar

I am now a volunteer!!!!!!!!!!! We were sworn in on Saturday which was not only a momentous day for my group but also for Peace Corps Thailand as a whole. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Peace Corps Thailand/America relationship - which is no small deal. Our relationship with Thailand is the longest running and most successful relationship throughout the Peace Corps World. The ceremony was graced, as many of the Thai staff would say, by the Princess' presence and were told that having her there was one of the greatest honors. It is hard for me to gauge the true essense of her royalty and importance simply because I am still ignorant about the depth of the Thai government but I was no doubt humbled by the fact that we were there. More and more I come to appreciate the depth of my job here and the ceremony aided in the removal of one more layer of the things I take for granted. The ceremony supposedly made national news so if you want to do some searching, I'm sure you could find some more information. That very day though we were all swept off to our individual sites so goodbyes were very brief.

My site: I am currently staying with a host family, though I do have a house for rent waiting for me. I do not yet have the address but will get it to you as soon as I possibly can. So, if you were thinking of sending me anything for my birthday... dont sweat it - I'm in Thailand, that is birthday present enough :) My house for rent (baan chow) comes with absolutely nothing.....which is no surprise when comparing to the states but here in Thailand it is more of an exception. I am going to be moving into my baan chow on Thursday and am very excited....I get to run where and when I want and to eat when and how much I want....I can wear what I want to bed and I can just sit and relax! I haven't worked at all since I moved to site and it has been fantastic! I went to two parties yesterday - one was similar to an end of the year party in the states but so much more fun! The second one was for the new teachers so I got to give a speech and sing kareoke. I sang country roads. As I was starting my song I was told "By John Denver. He dead already". Country roads all right.

So I want to tell you all about a little holiday here in Thailand called Songkran. And when I say little I mean huge. And when I say holiday I say it with confusion because I don't understand what exactly is being celebrated....there goes my American mind thinking there needs to be answers. We've been told that April is so hot you honestly think the sun is going to kill you like it does the trees. The Thai's solution for reprieve is a couple-day holiday where they nearly extinguish all water supply to have a country-wide water fight. They say that you are soaked for days and farangs are an especially susceptible target.....yaaay. I am honestly really excited about the water part of this whole charade but I am mostly excited because I don't have to be riap roy.....and for those of you who know me well enough and know how much I love playing in water, being more excited about not having to be riap roy is a big deal.

So I think the bed that I am sleeping on at my host family has bed bugs. I am very very itchy and the bites are most definitely not from mosquitos.....

So the plan: I will be doing 2 three day english camps within the next two weeks, two teacher training seminars, lesson planning for the first six months of school, and working on the curriculum. Also, I learned yesterday at the party that meth is a very big problem in this area so I will think about that as a secondary project.

For my family. If you have not yet heard, Matt just shipped off to the Army yesterday. He is so incredibly excited and sees this as possibly the biggest adventure in his life - most certainly the biggest up to this point. I hear a happiness in his voice that I haven't heard for a while and through his happiness comes a point for me where I relinquish all my sadness and feel excitement for him. I think it is going to be good for him - very good. When I figure out where he is, I will let you all know. Could you be sure to let him know you are thinking about him and maybe send him a letter from time to time? He considers you all more family than is own. Through times full of challenge, support is so imporant - so lets all be there for him ok?

I feel like there was so much more I had to say, and there most likely is but I have come to a loss of thought right now. Considering it has been so long since I last wrote, this probably doesn't adequately fill you in....sorry :) With a smile of course cuz there is nothing you can do! But if you think of questions let me know ok....I like questions.

For Penny, yes of course I remember meeting you! I am so excited for you! Congratulations - sincerely. One thing that I have learned through experience already and have been told from other volunteers, is to not compare your service and self to other PCVs' services. They are so incredibly different and so incredibly unique. When I was assigned to Thailand, I was so sad. I wanted to go to Mongolia or South America - certainly, Thailand wasn't going to bring to me what I wanted and what I expected from the other countries. And now that I have spent three months here, I realized that I was right, Thailand doesn't bring me what those other countries could have. And that is more than ok - not because its Thailand (I would say the same for any country) but because it is simply what is it is. Eastern Europe is going to be fantastic for you. Enjoy it for what is has intrinsically for you. Keep me updated ok? good luck!!