It’s now been over 6 months since group 134 volunteers arrived in Thailand. We thought it would be fun to pull a prompt from the Sticky Rice archives and see what our staff thought they’d never be into before joining the Peace Corps.
Bianca Palese, 134 TESS
I never thought I’d be into tea! I have always been a coffee person, no matter the time of day. Even being from the South I hated sweet tea and didn’t understand why anyone would drink it over soda with their lunch. My partner in the States has tried to get me hooked on his annoyingly diverse collection of tea packets with no avail. However, I adore the cafes found anywhere and everywhere in Thailand and have been experimenting lately. Chaa kiaao (green tea), a drink I once remember dumping in the bushes when no one was looking as a child, is now my standard go to order. I also enjoy a good chaa ma-naao yen (cold lemon tea) at school at least once a week. I guess now I’ll have to admit I’ve been converted.
Bradford Reszel, 134 TESS
Before Peace Corps Thailand I Never Thought I’d be into…using a spoon as my main eating utensil. Here, regardless of what kind of food one is eating, it goes into your mouth on a spoon (or straight from your hand). At first, it was difficult to adjust putting the fork in my left hand – the fork is used for picking food from the communal plate and putting it on the spoon – and the spoon in my right. But after about a month I really embraced the concept and appreciate eating this way. It ensures that all flavors from sauces, marinades, and juices stay with whatever one is eating. Whether it’s a piece of fish, plenty or rice, or cutting off a piece of watermelon I use a spoon and am happy for it!
Cadi Duncan Reszel, 134 TESS
Before joining the Peace Corps, I never thought it would be into cold showers. Stateside, I knew those weirdos who preferred to take cold showers due to all of the health and beauty benefits, but living most recently in Chicago, I never wanted cold water to touch my body, ever. Since moving to an ungodly hot country, I have fully embraced the cold shower as a way to not only wash the day away, but also as a quick refresh and reprieve from the heat whenever I can. Honestly, a warm shower simply feels wrong in this hot, hot place. Three cheers for cold showers!
Cloé Fortier-King, 134 YinD
Something I never thought I’d be into is…eating alone. Although I consider myself an introvert and thrive with a certain level of isolation, my mentality surrounding meals in the US was that they are a social endeavor. I find such joy in sharing a meal with others. I thought cooking meals for one person and eating alone was reserved for those dismal occasions when my friends and family were all otherwise occupied. Most Thai people would likely agree; sharing food is common practice for families and is fertile ground for sprouting friendships.
I’ve shared many meals with community members and my fellow volunteers, and as wonderful as elaborate, family style meals are, they are not the norm for me. At this point, my typical routine involves one, two, and sometimes three meals a day that I prepare and eat entirely alone. At first I struggled finding joy in my quiet solo meals, but I’m beginning to savor the time to sit with my thoughts and check in with myself. Not to mention the liberation of preparing any food I desire (within the constraints of available ingredients, of course—there is a noteworthy shortage of cheese here). I still jump at the opportunity to eat at a cafe or friend’s house, but at home my table is perfectly set for one.
Dano Nissen, 134 TESS
I’d never thought I’d be into wiping my ass with my hands.
Plumbing in Thailand cannot handle toilet paper. Most bathrooms in my village do not have toilet paper at all. Instead, you take a bucket of water and wipe manually. It’s efficient and waste free.
Dito Montaña, 134 YinD
I never thought I’d be into changing flat tires on my bike until I joined the Peace Corps.
Back when we were all together for Pre-Service Training, I’d often joke with other volunteers that my bike wouldn’t get a flat for the entirety of our two years of service. Pretty unrealistic, I know, but every day I’d hear stories of volunteers patching flats on their way to training, and since I had yet to have any problems with my bike, I was starting to like my chances.
I’d soon come to eat those words. During my first month at site I got 10 flat tires and decimated my stock of spare bike tubes. Most of them were a result of goat’s heads– pesky little burrs commonly scattered around dirt paths or the side of the road that will puncture your tires when you least expect it. I’ve been fixing so many flats lately my host dad jokes that I should open up a 24-hour bike repair shop.
The weird thing is, I’ve really come to enjoy fixing flat tires. In some ways it feels like one of those quintessential Peace Corps experiences. When I see my bike with a flat, I see an opportunity to practice resilience and positivity. I see a challenge that needs immediate solving in order to continue with my day. I see my training come to life as I swiftly swap out the old punctured tube with a spare, already covered in patches from previous repairs. It’s also just fun and makes me feel like a mechanic! Sometimes in Peace Corps service, you feel like you don’t always know what you’re doing, but that’s not how I feel when changing a flat. I feel like if I can fix my bike, I’m capable of overcoming any challenge thrown my way as a volunteer.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go patch a flat.
Kayla Kawalec, 134 YinD
Truly never thought that I would be into instant coffee until I came to Thailand. On one hand, I could bore a person to death discussing the merits of various brewing methods or the environmental sustainability of shade-grown, single-origin beans; and I’m a complete sucker for an overpriced oat-milk latte. But, like a true addict, I’ll take my supply wherever I can get it – gas stations, road-side stands, and these days, in a pinch, a slender, green Nescafe packet.
Kyra O’Connell, 134 TESS
I never thought I’d be into…
1) … bplaa sai naam prik (aka fish with spicy sauce)
Classic case of person goes to a new country and falls in love with the food. It took some getting used to though for sure. I definitely was following my host family monkey see, monkey do style pulling the meat off the bone. And yes I still find myself pulling tiny little bones out of my mouth from time to time. But it’s really grown on me and now when I see this and a bit of rice I’m ready to chow down.
2) … the “bum gun”
The little hose attached to the wall next to the toilet shoots water and functionally acts like a bidet, as the name might imply. Now, you might be thinking, this is definitely related to that aforementioned spicy water, isn’t it. I will say it’s not NOT related. In Peace Corps, it’s pretty commonly accepted that “shit happens” has more than one interpretation. I know this isn’t a new concept for most people and not at all exclusive to Thailand, but before coming here I thought it seemed bizarre and kind of gross, to be honest. Now I’m wondering why America has been sleeping on these and strategizing how I can get one installed in my bathroom back in the states.
3) … frogs in the bathroom
As you can see this is referring to actual frogs and not a euphemism for anything. This may only be specific to my experience and the specific bathrooms of the houses I happened to live in, but these little guys sure do bring me joy. My current record for number of frogs found in my bathroom at one time: 9
Morgan Shupsky, 134 YinD
Sticky rice!! Before coming to Isan I never understood the appeal of sticky rice. I’d eaten it before and thought it was flavorless and weird to eat, do you use a spoon? A fork? What do you eat it with? But upon my move to Udon Thani I realized that sticky rice, or kao niao (ข้าวเหนียว), would be a big part of my diet whether I liked it or not, as people here eat it with just about every meal. My questions were answered – you eat it with your hands and with everything. My host family and I have really bonded over the fact that I LOVE sticky rice and now that I live alone neighbors are breaking into my house to bring me a ga-dtip (กะติ๊บ), the bamboo basket that stores the cooked rice, so I can eat it with my weird fa-rang (foreigner) meals.
Teresa Derr, 134 YinD
Peace Corps Thailand things
I never thought I would like
Surprise me sometimes.
Classes are canceled
I wonder when students learn
And when do I teach?
But Mom always said
Don’t let school get in the way
Of education.
Kids want to hang out
They ask me for games and songs
I try to comply.
We end up playing
Uno and Hokey Pokey
Again and again.
After a long day
Full of games, singing, and food,
I’m very sweaty.
Cold showers at night
Refresh both mind and body
A blessing for sure!
Thailand is awesome,
Even with its ups and downs.
I am into it!
Sticky Rice 