Counterparts and Community of Group 130

Every year, during the first few months of service, Peace Corps staff visit the new group of Peace Corps Volunteers at their sites to see how they are adjusting and to meet their schools and communities. This year they took pictures of all of the volunteers and asked someone in their community to share a few words of appreciation.

When Kara is here, we can see that our students are more engaged in class and have more fun when studying English.

Kara Anthony, 130 TESS

Carissa is eager to learn new things, new words, and even a new culture, and she is a fast learner. She never says no to us when we ask for help. She adjusts herself very well with our SAO team. She is able to talk things through with us, which we appreciate the most.

Carissa Anderson, 130 YinD

He is “Geng Maak”. I learn so many things from working with him. He has a lot of good ideas like classroom management, behavior management and how to pronounce words. It’s been really nice to work with him. I was anxious before but now we really work well together and he’s adjusting to the community really well.

Kali Ask, 130 TESS

Andrea has great interpersonal skills. She integrates very well with people at work and in the community. She is very responsible and always participates in all events at site. She has great teaching skills (better than the the actual English teacher at my daughter’s school).

Andrea Aribe, 130 YinD

Teachers, students and people in the community love Halli. She’s very energetic and loves being with students. The students always ask if Halli will be teaching today. Halli integrates very well with people not only in the school but everywhere she goes. She knows how to cook Thai food and traditional southern kanoms. She is so healthy practicing yoga and biking.

Halli Benson, 130 TESS

I loved Nong Saai as if she’s my own daughter.  I care about her safety and well-being. How could one person smile all the time? Everyone in the community knows and loves her so much. Thanks for sending her here. The smiles never fade out from her face. She treats everyone so special and respectfully.

Psian Avilés, 130 YinD

We are very lucky to have Khun Lee-Hoon working with us. She has devoted herself to assist every activity  as much as she could. I saw her working hard during school break and even during the weekend. She was sweating so much when she worked with Kru Sathida and the students on Ecology Class which integrated English and Trash Recycling.

Lee-Hoon Benson, 130 TESS

Alexis is so fun to be around. The kids are so happy to have her here and they will want  her to be at the school for Wai Kru tomorrow. I’m so thankful for her. She never complains about anything. She always comes before the time and when there’s a class without a teacher, she will always gladly help teach the kids for us. We are so happy with her, the kids and I wish that she was here everyday.

Alexis Baker, 130 YinD

Mya’s very kind to all the students and always smiles and plays with them – even with the anubans who can’t communicate in English at all. The kids are very excited to learn with her. I learned some new games and activities to make the class much more fun from her. We are happy to have her here and we wish that she will be just as happy. All the students are excited to have her here.

Ruhamaiah Bradley, 130 TESS

Huai-Dtong is not only good at using his feet to play soccer, he also knows how to use his hands very well to wai people around the community. We are so glad to have him here.

Ajmal Behsudi, 130 YinD

Trevor is very curious-driven because he likes to ask and enjoy learn new things around him. He is very friendly, he is always smiling and he has a great sense of humor. The teachers and students feel so happy to have him here as the first PCV in this community.

Trevor Burba, 130 TESS

Poonam is super friendly. She greets everybody and she has shown us how to be a good planner and she has demonstrated her professionalism.

Poonam Benakatti, 130 YinD

Kru C is awesome. She gives 100 percent on her work and she respects everyone’s opinion. Everyone loves her because she is very nice, joyful and hard-working.

Crystal Carter, 130 TESS

Bryan is very friendly and easy going. The SAO is very happy to have him here, We never expected that American people can eat SomTom like Thai people.  We love him.

Bryan Newruck, 130 YinD

Christine is very well-prepared. She always comes up with fun activities and colorful teaching materials. She is very polite and well-mannered – even more than some of the Thais in this community. She always tries to practice her Thai language with everyone around her. We love her.

Christine Chorney, 130 TESS

Casey has made a lot of friends here. He joined almost every activity in the community. He performed beautifully. He greeted everyone that he met and he has showed us that he tried to learn Isaan. We are so fortunate to have him here with us.

Casey Butler, 130 YinD

Andy is very polite and respectful. He always comes up with great fun activities in the classroom. He always asks for feedback or what he can be doing better.  I generally think that he is so good at his work. I already learned a lot from him.

Andy Cole, 130 TESS

Larissa is like a kitten. She is nice and sweet. However, when she works, she is focused and works hard. She never stops learning Thai. She is willing to learn more and more.

Larissa Delgado, 130 YinD

Kru Tim is very helpful and funny. I have learned a lot from him. We have been working together so well. I feel very fortunate to have Kru Tim co-teaching with me. He makes students and classes so much fun and full of energy. Kids love to greet and talk/shout to him every day.

Timothy Connors, 130 TESS

Cyrus very nice, helpful and positive, he integrates very well with people at school and in the community. He works very hard and takes his teaching very seriously and he is “Kon Thai” He adjusts really well with Thai culture. He speaks Thai and even some Isaan words so it’s impressive.

Cyrus Ebadat, 130 YinD

Berline adapted herself very well to a Muslim culture and to the school culture. She cares so much for the kids. You have to see the work she put into the English room. Its so beautiful and creative. I have learned so much from her techniques. One time while working with her, I was lost in amazement as how she runs the class so smoothly and makes it fun. While I was observing her teach, I was so impressed that I forgot to co-teach with her. It was so enjoyable.

Berline Exume, 130 TESS

Nick is a very good Volunteer. We are so happy to have another Volunteer to continue to do a wonderful job. He’s laid out the detailed plan that he plans on doing. He integrates well with the teachers at the school and he’s very helpful in the classroom. We enjoyed having him here.

Nicholas Evans, 130 YinD

Khaohom ( Clark ) is so fun. She has so many techniques to share with me. She is easy to work with and makes students enjoy learning English a lot more. Sometimes when students know that they will learn English in my class without Kru Khaohom, they are disappointed ! They are so joyful in the class and we will continue to work together to make our English lessons better.

Clarkie Finkelstein, 130 TESS

Cristal is such a role model for the SAO staff because she often reaches out and visits people in the community- she paid community visits even more than some SAO staff actually! Even though she looks quiet, she is very fun to work with.            She gets along well with our team.

Cristal Gonzalez, 130 YinD

Chris is so polite, well-mannered, sweet and humble. She always “wai” everyone first. We are so impressed with how pleasant she is. She always asks if she could do this or if this is culturally appropriate to do. She is very helpful and she even helps with the cooking at the school.

Christalynn Hamer, 130 TESS

Day is very NARAK. She knows almost everyone in the community. We were very surprised when visiting the villagers, many people came and greeted her. She joined us in many local activities and showed a lot of respect to people. We did not understand why Day has changed her clothes many time a day!

Daylisha Reid, 130 YinD

He is so “Liang Ngai” (easy to take care of). We are so pleased to have him with us. Everyone loves him. He always smiles and never stops learning. His Thai is so good that we feel embarrassed that we cannot keep up learning English on that same pace. The kids come to school so early now and when I asked them why, they said they just wanted to play with Kru Phil.

Philip Hendrix, 130 TESS

Zari very nice, friendly, helpful and positive. She integrates very well with people at the school and in the community. She is “Mae Sri Ruen…Thai lady” so her counterpart always jokes with her that she wants to be like that too. She has made a lot of friends in her community and her counterpart is very happy to have her here.

Zari Havercome, 130 YinD

Kru Don works so hard for his students and his co-teacher. Everyone loves him because he is a kind and responsible person. Moreover, Kru Don can eat all kinds of Isan food.

Dillon Kasel, 130 TESS

We are glad to have Laura in the community. She smiles a lot. She is lovely and takes care of herself very well. We do not need to take care of her that much. She always offers help to us when needed.

Laura Hyde, 130 YinD

Mary is so narak. We are very happy to have her here. We feel bad that in the beginning we call her with a previous volunteer name but we know they are two different individual. Mary showed us who she is and she is amazing. The school and students are grateful for Mary. She is so sweet, kind, approachable and super friendly. We are very happy to work with her. Mary narak tii sut.

Mary Kubinski, 130 TESS

Phet Aseem is super cool. He speaks and understands Thai language as a native speaker. He is very helpful, kind and, handsome. He loves the kids so much. Everyone in every part of this community knows Aseem!

Aseem Kever, 130 YinD

Liz is a great example of how a great teacher should be. She is well-prepared, energetic, and very knowledgeable in teaching. All teachers and students love Liz, especially the students who come over to Liz’s house on the weekend because they miss her and want to talk to her. She adapted to the living conditions at site very well and eats whatever Thais eat.

Liz Kutka, 130 TESS

Morgan has a great personality and working style. She is lively and cheerful. We like to hang out with her. She speaks Thai a lot and that is really help when we need to work or plan things together.

Morgan Kubishak, 130 YinD

Nong Nhi is loved by the students and school staffs. She is so easy to work with. She has many games and activities and was so active in the classroom. She even took the time to teach other teachers at the school too. We enjoy having her here and we are so thankful that Peace Corps sent us a top quality volunteer like Nong Nhi.

Nhi Le, 130 TESS

Marty is like our middle child in the family. He helps with the housework. Even though sometimes he seems to be “stubborn”, we think it is fun to talk things through. It is cultural exchange. With work, he really takes it seriously. He always plans things well and asks for clarification.

Michael Martinez, 130 YinD

Skip is very friendly and very well-integrated with teachers and students. He has a great manner and behavior. He’s always on time or even early for school, meetings or any school events (much earlier that our Thai teachers at the school). He is easy going and can eat anything. He makes people happy as we always see a smile on his face.

Skip Leonard, 130 TESS

Skyler- He is a good role model for our kids. He’s very punctual and very focused on his work. Our community and the youth are lucky to have him. If our youth follow his behavior, they will be so much better. There’s so much he can offer.

Skyler Matthias, 130 YinD

There are so many things we have learned from Ben. He’s a very hard working Volunteer and adjusted so well. He can eat anything just like us. For work, he’s always at the school even when we tell him he can go home after a long day. He is such an active teacher in the classroom and I looked up to that. He has so many new teaching techniques that I continue to learn from every single day.

Benjamin Lordi, 130 TESS

Alice is a very cheerful person. Sometimes she is very funny. We would like to have 2-3 more PCVs like Alice in our community if it is possible. Alice is very flexible and she makes our kids love to study English!

Alice McGown, 130 YinD

Teacher Bethany is a very nice person. She loves walking with us at the end of the day. We don’t want her to leave. We can see a big progress on the two co-teachers and students since teacher Bethany has been here with us.

Bethany McHugh, 130 TESS

She can get along well with anyone and she is very approachable and well integrated into the community. The SAO is lucky to have Atefeh here and all of us are proud of her and know her as the Hairdresser in the school. She is a unique person like sweet basil and a Thai chilli pepper – sweet and super strong. She likes to meditate and staff in the SAO also learn how to be calm like her.

Alix Metanat, 130 YinD

The school is lucky to have Nicholas here. It is going to be very beneficial to the kids in the school and village. He is very kind, he always looks professional and is very polite with people in his work and in his community. He is a very easy-going person – “always happy.”

Nicholas Melrose, 130 TESS

He is more than what we expected from our first Peace Corps Volunteer.  He takes his job seriously. He is really focused on youth and our community. He is friendly and smiles a lot. He is not just a tourist or an English teacher. He shows us that he can do more as a Volunteer.

Matthew Mikrut, 130 YinD

We have had so much fun working with Eric. He is very funny and “Jai Dee”. He is so self reliant with his bike! We would like to show how much we care for him.

Eric Mills, 130 TESS

It’s good to have her here. She is very determined and willing to work hard and she is working with us well. She always observes and listens and integrates with us. She just started working with many schools and they all wanted to have her go to their school even more days. I think she will do a wonderful work here and it will be so great for the youth to get this opportunity with Caitlin here.

Caitlin Orgon, 130 YinD

It’s really nice to see that Monique is happy to share her time with the students not only in class but also after class she plays the guitar with them.  She is like my eldest daughter.

Monique Ogunsusi, 130 TESS

Yaneth is very easy going. She always smiles and she eats everything! She has shown her respect to all colleagues.

Janet Peña, 130 YinD

Kru Gabe is very diligent. He spent most of the time with  co-teachers working on lesson plans during school break. He always listens to his co-teachers’ inputs. He has always encouraged the kids by saying “GOOD JOB”, “YOU’RE DOING GREAT”,”DEE MAK”…the kids get familiar with him. They are very happy and cheerful when he does his morning walk to greet every single room in the morning.

Gabe Reid, 130 TESS

I appreciate Chelsea a lot as she always says “yes” when we ask her to help with the community events. We feel like she is one of the community members.

Chelsea Pritchard, 130 YinD

Ashley is creative and energetic. She integrates well with people and works well with everyone in the school. People in the community know Ashley as she always walks around and talks to people. She comes to school very early, earlier than me. I still can’t beat her!

Ashley Resurreccion, 130 TESS

Triveni is very nice and polite. She is easy going and had tried everything that we have offered her. We are very fortunate to have her here. At some point, we thought she is really Thai!

Triveni Rao, 130 YinD

Jenny is very friendly and nice to everyone. She is eager to learn new things and she’s a fast learner. She has great interpersonal skills and is never afraid to take an interest in people. She is like my sister and her host parents also love her as a real daughter. They want their real son to marry Jenny in the future.

Jenny Samuelson, 130 TESS

Abigail (Mali) is helpful and positive. She is full of energy, she even has basic knowledge of first aid which is very helpful and benefits the community. Her attitude and willingness to learn new things makes her become a close part of the SAO and school.

Abby Raver, 130 YinD

Julia is very kind and so sweet. She’s such a good role model on time and punctuality for our school staff and we are glad to have her here. She’s so neat and rieproy and she has so many talents that she brought with her. Right now, apart from teaching, she also has a ballet class that students really enjoy. It’s so exciting for students. She’s worked hard and she is always very sweet to the students.

Julia Wolf, 130 TESS

TAWAN is very friendly and funny. His Thai is amazing! We are so fortunate to have him here. We never expected that an American PCV can bike such a long distance.

Keegan Small, 130 YinD

Andrey worked very hard. We learned so many things from him. The kids scream and shout with joy when they know they will learn English with Kru Andrey. He is also fasting during the Ramadan even when it’s not required of him, but I think it shows he cares. He integrates so well with us and the community he lives in. We are glad he’s here.

Andrey Shumshurin, 130 TESS

She is eager to learn and always asks questions. She is easy going, down to earth and puts people around her at ease. When she is with youth, she exhibits great techniques to integrate with them. Kids in the school love her games and activities.

Liz Steering, 130 YinD

Ali is energetic, easygoing and super friendly. She always says yes to whatever we asked her to do. We both learn a lot from Ali not only the teaching techniques but also effective working styles and lesson planning.

Ali Talwar, 130 TESS

Hannah brings color to our community -especially the schools. She is friendly and RIAP-ROI. Students like her a lot and so do we. She takes care of herself very well which we really appreciate.

Hannah Steffe, 130 YinD

Tim is very mature and well adapted with different cultures, people, and dialects. He blends in well with anyone. He integrates with people both at the school and in the community very well. He is very well organized and clean. We can see that the students had more confidence in speaking English. Thank you PC for sending us a great PCV.

Tim Van Sickle, 130 TESS

Spencer is easy going and friendly. He can eat anything like the locals. He works well with people at the SAO and schools. He always smiles and integrates well with the community. We want him to stay for the 3rd year here.

Spencer Swansen, 130 YinD

Tatiana is an adaptable person. She always smiles and offers to help colleagues. Everyone loves her because she is a very nice, Riap-roi and kind.

Tatiana Velez, 130 TESS

Lucy is easy-going and friendly. People in the community, teachers and students love her. She memorizes the names of staff and teachers which demonstrates that she values us. She is well behaved and has a good manner.

Lucy Zhao, 130 YinD

Michael is very fun, but when it comes to work, he takes it seriously. The whole school loves him. He keeps practicing Thai and enjoys Thai foods, even though sometimes he asked for bread or hamburger.

Michael Wade, 130 TESS