Greetings From Thailand

Hello there,

My name is Alec and I'm a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer living in Chiang Rai Province in Thailand. I am excited to get a chance to share my experience working and living in a small village in Northern Thailand with you all.

As I share my experiences I want to make sure you all get a chance to ask questions and be involved. Anytime you have a question or want to send me a message, click on the 'comment' button on the bottom of the post and type your message in the box that pops up. Go ahead and click the 'anonymous' button, I'll know who you are. Also, make sure to include your first name so I know who I'm talking too. You can also email me at PeaceCorpsAlec@gmail.com. I will email Ms. Teres my address if you would like to send me snail-mail, but it does takes three to four weeks to get a letter from America.

All I know so far is that you are a grade school classroom from Mercer Island, I don't even know how old you are yet! So let me know all about yourselves, and send me a class picture if you can!

If you are wondering about who I am, let me take a minute to introduce myself. I am 25 years old and I grew up in Mount Vernon, Washington. I graduated from Western Washington University in 2005 and I was living and working in San Francisco for two years before joining the Peace Corps eight months ago. The first two months I was in Thailand, I was trained to speak Thai and how to do community development, which is my job while I'm here. I really enjoy my job and I have spent the last eight months learning about the culture and language, which I can share with you.

You might wonder why this space is called 'ban nawk' or บ้านนอก in Thai. It means 'away from the city,' or 'countryside,' which is exactly where I live!

Send me questions and I'll talk to you soon,

-Alec