Natalie Garro, TESS 129 I’d cried. I’d cried regularly for months, for weeks. I’d cried nearly all day every day for three days before we got the email. I’d cried so much, […]
On the “Great Peace Corps Evacuation of 2020” (Named by Khun Michelle)
Heartbreak
Alison Reenock, TESS 131 It started 15 months ago when our flight touched down in Bangkok on that January 5th afternoon. We were all hot, fatigued, walking through the motions, a little […]
Still There
Moises Puentes, TESS 131 Its been almost three weeks since I was forced to leave the mountains I had begun to call home, and after a few days of traveling, as soon […]
COVID-19 Personified
The smell of alcohol pierces my nostrils. My co-workers frantically disperse hand sanitizer in pocket-sized tubes to prevent the spread of you. I live in the Land of Smiles, which your suffocating masks have smothered. You not only incited hysteria, you robbed us all of the intimacy of touch.
The Silent Homecoming
Emily Maginnis, TESS 131 It’s 5 am and I’m wide awake. Could be from the jet lag from Saturday’s flight, or just the unanswered questions building up in my head. Probably both. […]
Mae Dang
I did not know it at the time, but over the next weeks and months, this smile and the lovely woman who bears it would make this place my home.
Here
Sierra Drummond, TESS 131 I’ve recently enjoyed the comfort of other noise in my home Not directed at me but through me, an inescapable reminder of company, that I’m not alone I […]
International Women’s Day Photo Competition
A Poem by women To be a woman is to have superpowers. To create life. To be soft and strong. To be a woman is to be resilient. To have tenacity. To […]
Bees?!
Emily Maginnis, TESS 131 Yes, you read correctly. No, Paw Aw, they were not flies. No, host mother, they were not over sized moths will a strangely organized system of government. I […]
Group 130 Yearbook: We Loved and We Learned
As their service comes to a close, Peace Corps Thailand volunteers from Group 130 reflect and answer the question, “What’s one thing you loved and one thing learned during service?” Loved and […]
Snapshots of a Day
Bianca Henao, 131 TESS Giggles, screams and K-Pop dance moves. Holes in their socks, cute little shoes. Sweat trickles down their brows and smiling faces. This is really my home? […]
Being Dolittle
Shannon Murphy-Berrios, 131 TESS I believe in looking at nature for a lot of answers. My grandpa and I would watch the birds flying and the lizards climbing in Puerto Rico and […]
What I’ll Miss
Tim Connors, TESS 130 I’ll miss waking up on a one inch mattress laid on the floor beneath a mosquito net I’ll miss the lizards, spiders, ants, and cockroaches skittering across my […]
“Happy Three Years in Thailand?”
Natalie Garro, 129 TESS “Happy 3 years in Thailand?” Andy wishes our group chat with classic Andy wit. The question mark makes a bit more sense given the context of our conversation […]
To My Students..
Ali Talwar, 130 TESS To my students (a letter you’ll likely never read but one that needed to be written), Thank you! You don’t know how integral you’ve been to my service. […]
