Puan

Now that school is almost here in Thailand, our free time as TCCO volunteers is coming to a close. Before letting us loose, Peace Corps made sure we knew our first month at site may be boring. We even had a session on, "What to do with all your free time." Needless to say, you figure it out. It's necessary to let whoever's reading this in on what amounted to my first taste of freedom in Thailand.


I've spent the last month of my life in, around, on top, under, in front, and behind my house. I bought all the implements any typical farmer here in Thailand owns: a hoe, a rake, a pick, a pa-kao-ma (Thai for, colorful cloth), a watering can, some flowers, some trees, and some vegetable seeds. Can you tell where I'm going with this? For four straight weeks, I spent a couple hours each day working on my yard; all the while, cleaning the inside of my house after tracking dirt in along with me. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me flash back.


My house is brand new. The front yard is fill and the back yard was apparently used as the dump by the builders. What I'm getting at is, the house itself is beautiful and I couldn't ask for a better place to rest my bones for the next two years but the yard, which everyone in the community sees, hadn't been worked on at all. That's where I come in and that's where I bring my Midwest attitude with me. So, for four weeks, I hoed, raked, picked, planted, and even composted. I vowed to get it ready before school started and by gosh, that's what I've been doing. Below are a few before and after photos from the progress I've made so far.





My back yard before...



...and my back yard after.




Compost pile and garden. Notice the walkway
and steps. I used pieces of broken concrete the
builders had thrown out to make a path to my garden.

My front yard before...

...and my front yard after. It's a bummer the
the pictures really don't do it justice. I'm
proud either way.


I'm excited for school to start so that I can finally do some teaching, but now I'm also excited for my flowers to bloom and my vegetable to grow. In my front yard alone, almost all of my plants will have flowers.



The last thing I want to add to this post has to do with something else I've been doing for the past month of my life: playing with bugs. I feel like a toddler saying I've been playing in the dirt first and now saying I've been playing with bugs, but it's the truth. Even though I knew it before, it took me a few encounters with strange creatures to realize, I'm in a tropical climate. There are a lot of plants, animals, and insects here that I don't normally see in the US. For example, while cleaning out my backyard, I came across a dead log that needed to be moved. I picked it up and underneath was a family of seven black scorpions who were very unhappy I had just wisked their home away like a tornado. Two of whom, mom and pop I assume, were the size of my head(that's an eggageration...only one was). Needless to say, they don't live in my backyard anymore. The thing is, insects don't know boundaries. Ants outnumber humans in Isaan 1,000,000/1 and that's the truth. I know because I've got 1,000,000 ants in and around my house. They're a constant player in my everyday life.

The last notable encounter I had happened just last night and thus motivating me write this entry. The principal of my school took me to a house warming party last night. Before leaving my house however, there's a checklist I need to take into consideration, otherwise my universe collapses: 1. is the gas off; 2. are the doors locked; 3. are the lights off; 4. is the water switch off; 5. is all the food put away. I ran through my checklist and I was good as gold. My principal picks me up and we hurry to the party. Once night falls and the party winds down, he takes me back home. I keep my front porch light on at night so my neighbors can watch my house, but there's a downside. We all know all kinds of bugs are attracted to light, but in a climate like this where bugs are so plentiful, it can be downright ludicrous. I rush to open my door and after my door is open, I rush just as quickly to close it behind me so I can keep the bugs out. "Excellent," I think. "Barely any came in with me." I yawn and stretch before going into my bedroom to change because I'm exausted from speaking Thai at the party. All I want to do is shower and go to sleep. I get ready for my shower and head towards the bathroom. Funny thing...

...I left the light on in the bathroom. What I found on the floor ended up nearly clogging my drainpipe. I had to take some pictures.


My friend the praying mantis. Probably my
favorite bug ever.

My friend Mr. Sticky Hands, sitting on my soap

container, eyeing up his dinner on the wall.

My friends the Dumbest Bugs Ever. Despite their

insecure name, they really are quite delicious.

I never know when I'll be inspired to write a post, but as long as I keep having encounters like the kind I had last night, I can't see myself stopping any time soon.