The first few days of PST II was actually counterpart training. Our counterparts came with us and Peace Corps had training sessions set up to teach them more about working with Peace Corps volunteers and what sort of work we can/will do. I hope that the counterparts found the training useful & will now stop asking me to “write a project proposal for youth.” We actually celebrated the 4th of July while the counterparts were with us. Peace Corps had set up a “barbeque”…which consisted of spaghetti, fried fish, and mashed potatoes – a little disappointing to all of the volunteers who were looking forward to hamburgers and hotdogs.
After the counterparts left, we had language sessions in the mornings, and more training sessions in the afternoon. That weekend, they arranged a fieldtrip to an orphanage (see previous post) and then they dropped us off at the bridge for some site seeing & shopping. It was really nice to spend some time with the other volunteers…it really helps to know that you are not the only one having “issues” at your site. That you are not the only one struggling with the language or with the culture or with work.
After spending two weeks in Kanchanburi, we spent a weekend in Bangkok. Have I told you yet how much I hate that city? It smells, it is loud, it is expensive, it is dirty, and have I mentioned that it smells! At least I was able to see some movies…Die Hard 4.0 (aka Live Fast Die Hard in America) and the new Harry Potter. We also did some shopping and got in a McDonalds & Starbucks fix. I was also able to get to Pontip Plaza and buy some DVDs (they sell copied DVDs for about $3.50…you can even get movies that have just opened in the theater although I would not recommend it as you may see someone’s head cross the screen as they get up to go to the restroom). And most importantly, I was able to pre-order the Harry Potter book. They are going to ship it to my house & I can’t wait!
Getting home was pretty interesting. I had called my counterpart on Saturday to let her know that I was taking the night bus on Sunday and would get into Nan on Monday morning. She told me to call her when I got into Nan she would come & pick me up. Well, our bus left at 7:00 pm and we got into Nan at 4:30 in the morning. I figured that that was a little early to call so I decided to wait for a little while. She ended up calling me at 7:00 and told me that I had to catch a songtao (a truck with two rows of benches in the back) to my site (in other words, she didn’t wan to come & pick me up). Well, it turns out that the songtao to Santisuk only stops at the bus station once in the morning and I had just missed it. So I had to get all of my stuff to the local market where the songtaos regularly leave. It is about a 45 minute drive from Santisuk to Nan, so had my counterpart left at 7:00, I could have been at my house by 8:30…I didn’t get home until 12:00 in the afternoon. It was a REALLY long day! But now I know that I can do it by myself & that I don’t have to rely on other people for a ride into town (although I had stopped at the grocery store & by the time I got home, my milk had soured in the heat).
Shopping is so much fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment