adventure awaits: BTF, Phu Kradung and the one year mark

January has somehow flown by as I’ve now passed the one year mark of arriving in Thailand. This month has included one of the most memorable activities I’ve participated in so far during my Peace Corps service – a BTF camp. BTF (Brighter Thailand Foundation) is a non-profit organization based out of the University of Missouri that supports leadership camps for youth in Thailand. The six day camp includes local University students, global ambassadors (such as PC volunteers and in the case of this camp, a few University students from Korea), and local high school and primary school students. They’ve done several camps throughout Thailand, and this one was held in Nong Khai, the northernmost province in northeast Thailand. The first few days serve as a ‘train the trainer’ model of working with 15 high school students on various games and activities, preparing them to facilitate camp activities for the primary school students who arrive on the 4^th day of the camp. Each day includes activities, songs, and games that run all day and through the evening. Evenings provided opportunities for many games of mafia and a few open question/answer sessions for the campers to get to know the University students and global ambassadors. The students were great, each day was full of smiles and laughs and by the end of the week none of the kids wanted to leave (I didn’t really, either). It was a great experience for all and I was really happy to be a part of it.

Group work: 5 most important things in life

Human knot

Act it out: each person acts out a word for the next person with no words; the person at the end has to try to guess the original word - usually wound up in laughs

Primary school campers arrive!

Blindfold obstacle course: practicing directions in English

Campfire night

Teamwork

Who can make the longest line?

Team Free Style

Capture the flag

Jumping pictures: always a must

Global Ambassadors and High School students

Me with a few of the campers

Korean University students

Last day goodbyes

Last weekend I took a couple buses a couple hours away to climb a mountain and go camping. Four of us (a fellow PCV friend, his sister and her fiancée) hiked up the winding paths and after about 4 hours, reached the top where we walked almost another hour to the campsite. After setting up my newly purchased mini-tent for myself we all set out for another 9k hike to see some cliffs and the sunset. A long walk and a few short runs later, we made it to the sunset cliff just after sunset, but just in time to see the beautiful view against the evening glow. After a brief rest, many pictures and a few snacks, we headed out for another 9k hike back to the campsite. Being at the top of a mountain during cold season proved to be pretty cold, though I’m trying to appreciate the chill as I know the sweaty days of hot season are creeping closer. The next day we packed up and headed back down the mountain and back to site.