Sticky Rice

Bradford Reszel, 134 TESS

I have always loved the color green. When I was a kid, I think I picked green as my favorite color because it was not as often chosen by my peers. Though today green has been eclipsed on the favorite list by one very particular shade of orange (PMS 151), the overall green hue still gives me a sense of calm and curiosity. 

As Americans, we often use the word green in our daily vernacular for many reasons – green spaces, going green, greener pastures, green, as in money, etc. And while “green spaces” and “going green” give us images of beautification projects and environmental sustainability, we often do not get a look at what green looks like on an expansive or frequent basis. 

Here in Thailand, and at my site in particular, I am often struck by how much of my world is green. Walking around my neighborhood and school, I see just how vital the land is to the community. Vibrant shades span from the smallest blade of grass to the top of the highest tree each proving the strength and subtlety of the natural landscape. The same is true out in the fields near my home. A friend asked on the phone recently how to describe it and the best I could come up with was, “Green that stretches beyond what you can see.”

While the horizon does get cut off from view, it is by lush green trees that separate rice fields from banana and date trees. And while I know that somewhere past what I see there are homes, and roads, and of course 7/11s, it looks as if the green could stretch out forever. 

Another meaning of green, for us Americans at least, is “new”, “inexperienced”, even “naive”. Thinking on that as I look at all the green in my community makes it even more of a welcome sight. For we, the Peace Corps Volunteers back in Thailand, are green. We have been in country for all of six months, and I appreciate the reminder from nature that I am still new. At points, I would have taken being called “green” as an insult to my age or my experience. Now, as I see the vibrancy and vitality of the green around me, I relish in remembering that “green” means I have a lot of time left and that the green will continue being here when I am gone.

This post was originally published on Bradford’s personal blog. To read it there, and more of his personal writing about his service in Thailand, please visit https://momentsinthaiblog.wordpress.com/

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Read Bradford’s previous articles and contributions.