This month, we took a different approach with our Sticky Rice Staff group article. It’s about time our new Group 135 writers introduced themselves — but you already know and love our Group 134 regulars, so they decided to tell you a story. Interspersed between our new writer’s introductions you’ll find stories from our more “seasoned” PCVs — a story that comes to mind when they think about their time in Thailand, one they’re sure to tell again and again when they’re no longer here, one our readers haven’t heard yet.
I love the juxtaposition this created — the new batch, bright-eyed and eager for the next two years on one end, and their timeworn predecessors, illuminating the humorous, the strange, the frustrating, and everything else in between that turns Volunteers from bright-eyed to wide-eyed, on the other. This transformation is one of the intangible wonders of being a Volunteer, in my mind. I chose to close with a story that I think bridges that divide between what brought many of us here and what keeps us over our 27 months of service.
So, for the first time, we’re introducing…
Morgan Shupsky, 134 YinD
I’ve told this story many times in my attempts to describe how huge the cultural differences can be between two countries and it still never gets old. Last year I went to a funeral with my host family, and funerals here are not the somber affairs that they are in America. In Thailand they’re more like community gatherings, like a neighborhood picnic around a crematorium.
So we’re at the funeral listening to the monks chant and they announce that the community’s Elderly School has prepared a performance for the occasion. About 30 elderly people come out, arrange themselves, and the music starts playing… and it’s the chicken dance song. The American chicken dance, “duh duh duhduhduhduh duh duh duhduhduhduh clapclapclapclap,” you know the song, and all of these senior citizens started flapping their arms and shaking their hips in tune. They finished the whole four minutes of the song, everyone clapped as they sat back down, and the ceremony continued.
A lot of bizarre things have happened over the past two years but this one was definitely a highlight.
Mack Devoto, 135 YinD | Northeastern (Isaan Region) Thailand
Since I was a young Mack, I have wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. PCVs always seemed to pop up in my life: family, friends, peers, so many people telling me about their incredible and unique experiences through service abroad. Coming out of university, the Peace Corps seemed to symbolize various aspects of myself that I wanted to deepen going forward: volunteerism, language and cultural immersion, independence and resiliency. Despite volunteering being a childhood goal of mine, I had no idea where I wanted to serve, so I decided to leave that bit up to fate, leading me to Thailand! I am beyond grateful that the process brought me here. Serving in Thailand has already brought me countless unforgettable memories and relationships. I truly believe that young Mack would be beyond proud to see where we are now.
That being said: Hello! My name is Mack, and I am currently serving as a Youth in Development Volunteer in the Ubon Ratchathani province in the Northeastern region, also known as Isaan. Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, I am a true Midwesterner at heart. Prior to service, I had spent the last 5-or-so years in Washington, DC completing my undergraduate degree. And now, I live in rural Thailand! I am thrilled to begin writing and sharing my experiences — as well as reanimating past volunteers’ stories — with Sticky Rice, over the next two years of service.
Kiera Hurley, 135 YinD | Central Thailand
Hi readers! My name is Kiera, or you can call me by my Thai nickname, Kai Mook! I am a Youth in Development volunteer serving in the city of Lopburi in central Thailand. I joined the Peace Corps a couple months after graduating from college at CU Boulder! I was drawn to the organization because I wanted to immerse myself in another culture and dedicate my energy to helping others! I have always loved working with and being around kids so serving in the Youth Development sector has been extremely rewarding. I feel so lucky to get to serve in Thailand and I’m so excited to get to share the amazing, the not so good, the interesting, and the funny experiences I will have as a volunteer with Sticky Rice!
Cadi Duncan, 134 TESS
On our second day at site, our host father called us to the dinner table promptly at 6pm. I was surprised at the number of dishes he prepared, probably 6 things total, including a soup, multiple stir fries, and a full fish. We filled our plates with the obligatory rice and started sampling the spread when our host dad sat down beside me. He, of course, had his rice and put a few things on his plate when he produced a plastic bag filled with a liquid unknown to us. He proceeded to open the bag and dump the contents on his rice. He then informed us that the bag contained fresh cow’s blood.
I remember turning my head slowly to look at Bradford to prevent our host dad from seeing the horror registered on my face. I asked our host dad if he liked it, and he said, “aroi, aroi, protein yuh.” While he replied, I noticed his teeth were stained with blood and a dribble of it dripped down his chin. I will never forget sitting at the table and questioning every motivation I ever had to join the Peace Corps. After that night, our host father never ate dinner with us again.
K.D. Norris, 135 TESS | “The” South Thailand
Since retirement does not mean a BarcaLounger for me or my beautiful wife of 30 years, TJ, it was either space flight or the Peace Corps — and thank God we didn’t pick the Boeing Starliner seats. (And, yes, the football watcher’s chair of choice is a proper name…)
After a 40-year career calling myself a journalist and writing just about everything somebody would pay me to write, including a novel I had to publish myself, I felt the need to bleed onto the pages of Sticky Rice and to help push the magazine along as best I am able.
I hale from the Palouse city of Spokane, Washington… if any of that confused you, ask Mr. Googlies. But after six years in the U.S. Navy, more than one newspaper beat and getting a college degree (in journalism), I met TJ in Portland, Oregon and we began a life’s journey and an endless roadtrip across America and the world.
And so here I am and we are.
Samantha Stolworthy, 135 TESS | Northern Thailand
This is my second time in Thailand, having previously lived with my husband in Khon Kaen province, located in the Isaan region, and taught Mathayom (secondary school) 3-5 students for a year. Now, I’m a TESS volunteer in Chiang Mai province, teaching Prathom (primary) 1-6 at a local government school. It’s a big change from my previous role at an international-hybrid school, but it’s a fun and rewarding challenge. My site is nestled in the mountains, about 2.5 hours north of Chiang Mai and 2.5 hours west of Chiang Rai. I also have the unique opportunity to work with students from a local Chinese village, where we exchange language skills—Thai for Chinese, and English for both.
This is also my second Peace Corps service. My first was as a Community Economic Development (CED) volunteer in Kenya, working on a food security program in the Nyanza region. I have always considered doing a second service, and after some life changes (and 10 years later), I applied for Thailand in May 2023, when the timing was finally right. I’m grateful to be back in Thailand, experiencing it now as a PCV and older volunteer in what I consider a more “posh corps” service. It’s wild to think that what began as just a passing thought about serving again is now reality—with over a quarter of Peace Corps 2.0 in Thailand completed and Bpit Term (school break) 1 already just around the corner.
Teresa Derr, 134 YinD
To be honest, as much as I wish I had an uplifting, wholesome, positive story to tell the rest of my life, what will likely come up much more in the years following my service are the stories that have resulted in me sending a weird text home to one of my siblings. These are the stories that I’ve invited my family back home in on, to laugh at or advise me on. If they’re strange or stupid enough, they inevitably get shared around with my other siblings. (As I’m sure anyone with siblings knows, you jump on any chance to mock your brothers and sisters.)
And those, unfortunately, are much more likely to be things I’m complaining about or seeking help on. So, stories about me dealing with ants in my computer and electrical outlets, learning a new bad word in Thai by mispronouncing something, or bemoaning the lack of engagement from the teenage boys at site – these are likely the stories that I will be stuck telling and retelling my entire life, if only to defend my actions against my siblings’ mockery!
Alyssa Strong, 135 YinD | Northeastern (Isaan Region) Thailand
Hi readers! My name is Alyssa, and I’m a Group 135 TESS volunteer serving in the Kalasin province located in the heart of Isan. I love living in Isan because it’s perfectly acceptable for me to eat som tam (spicy papaya salad) every single day! The teachers at my school believe eating som tam at lunch is what gives us the energy to teach in the afternoon, and the spice definitely lights up all of the cells in my body.
I’m one of the youngest volunteers currently serving in Thailand. I’m fresh out of undergrad, and I joined the Peace Corps because I was going back and forth on multiple career paths and needed to buy myself some time to decide. I stumbled upon the Peace Corps at some point in my college career after falling in love with volunteering abroad in the summer of 2021 and then continuing to volunteer abroad every summer since. I loved the idea of another opportunity to expand my worldview. By the time I discovered my passions and career goals, I realized I would need to take a gap year to pursue them. So I thought, “Why take one boring gap year, when I can take a gap of two (ish) years instead and live abroad?”
I knew the Peace Corps would be a challenge, so about a year ago I set up a little trial run during my last semester of undergrad. I moved to Rwanda by myself to teach English and work with a nonprofit. As Thai people like to say, my trial run in Rwanda was “same same but different”. It honestly made me not want to apply to the Peace Corps, but at that point I didn’t know what else to do, so I applied anyway to be a TESS volunteer in Thailand. And now here I am, living out the life I manifested for myself in Rwanda a year ago.
As tough as some days can be, there is truly no place I’d rather be at this point in my life. I’m super grateful to be here and can’t wait to share more about my little life in Thailand very soon!
Kyra O’Connell, 134 TESS
Since joining the Peace Corps, I’ve met my complete opposite. Now some might find some beautiful metaphor for this person, something complementary like you’re the yin to my yang, the sun to my moon, vanilla to chocolate… some other related but opposite things. But the plain and simple fact is that I’ve never met someone I’ve disagreed with more in my entire life than my dear friend and counterpart, Kate. It’s kind of impressive the amount of things we’ve disagreed on, from the big to the small: culture differences, teaching differences, food differences, communication differences, style differences, work differences, generational differences, even cleaning differences. If you can name it, we’ve probably had a disagreement about it. It’s truly laughable when it’s not vaguely irritating.
But in every disagreement we’ve ever had, we’ve had to learn how to compromise, cooperate and understand each others’ perspectives. We’ve had to learn how to get over it and continue working together — as friends, as people who care about each other — regardless. A crazy, sometimes impossible sounding concept, I know, given how sometimes it feels like we’re collectively losing this skill year by year looking at our current political climate.
It’s not always easy. Two years is a lot of time to have a lot of disagreements, and some days I come home mad, frustrated, confused, and needing space. Sometimes I just want to roll my eyes and say, yeah well I’m a “farang” so I’m not going to do it your way. But every day we show up to work together again. Sometimes we resolve these disagreements, and sometimes we don’t. One side will give way to the other and the rest will wash away like water under the bridge as we move on to the next thing.
Now I’m not saying all of this is a good thing— I would like my life to be a little easier and not have to build a bridge every time I talk to my counterpart, the person I see and work with almost every day— but I can see the good in it. It’s made me more patient, more understanding, and more flexible to go along with things that are not my ideal circumstances. It’s forced me to consider new ideas and ways of doing things even when my knee jerk instinct is opposed to them. Sometimes my feelings are validated and I’ll stand by my preferred way of doing something, but most times I come out with a better understanding of other people and the world around me.
For better and worse, this endless series of disagreements has been a primary feature of my service and I know that when I return to the states, I’ll look back fondly on my friend and miss her, even while there are days she continues to exasperate me in my present.
Michael Swerdlow, 135 YinD | Northern Thailand
Where do you see yourself in five years? I have always been a planner of everything, especially about my future. Joining the Peace Corps and living in a different country was certainly not on my list five years ago. However, it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
I have always enjoyed working with kids, but never knew what career path I wanted to follow. After college, I had to reevaluate my plan for what the future could hold for me. Once I became interested in doing foreign volunteer work, I began researching my options. I instantly fell in love with all things Peace Corps, and especially, all things Thailand. Joining the Peace Corps and living in Thailand is allowing me to experience all the beauty the world has to offer. I can’t wait to see what more adventures, relationships, and projects my service brings me!
Emily Hoffmeister, 135 YinD | Northeastern (Isaan Region) Thailand
Hi everyone! I’m Emily, a Group 135, Youth in Development Volunteer, serving deep in the rice fields of the Mukdahan province. I grew up in Winter Park, Colorado, under the purple mountain majesty. I went to Whitman college in Walla Walla, Washington, Class of 2023 and I have my BA in Philosophy! I enjoy swimming, art, wine pairings, tracking moon cycles, and discovering new music.
I found myself drawn towards the Peace Corps as I’ve always had a thirst to learn about different cultures. I really loved the idea of learning the language, and fully integrating into a community. So far my service has definitely had some challenges, but has also been incredibly rewarding. Without a doubt my favorite part of my experience so far has to be my students. I’m so excited to see how my remaining 18 months play out!
Lilly Hromadka, 135 TESS | Northeastern (Isaan Region) Thailand
Hey y’all! My name is Lilly and I’m a TESS volunteer serving in Bueng Kan, the tiny, newest province tucked in the northeastern-most corner of Northeast Thailand, right against the river separating the country from Laos. With my village only 40 minutes from the border, I hear more of the Laos and Isan languages than Thai, and there’s always at least one dish served at meals that someone excitedly identifies as “aa-haan Laos”, or “Laos food”. Every day is an adventure, and I’m honored to have this opportunity to explore a blend of cultures as beautiful as the area they thrive in.
The only knowledge of the Peace Corps I had before applying came from two conversations (buried deep within the excitement of my freshman year at university and then my first time living abroad), which lasted about 10 minutes total and were consequently forgotten. After two years of teaching in Spain (also about two years after the last time PC was mentioned), I knew that I was ready to move on but I was at a loss for where to go and what to do. The only direction I had was that I wanted to keep teaching English, traveling, and exploring the world. I realized that I wanted more of an impact, more of a connection, more of a challenge, than what could be found in jobs at private English academies in big cities around the world.
While the goal was always Thailand, “Peace Corps” came to me suddenly, startlingly – as clearly as the first strike of lightning in a Texas summer storm. I jumped in head first and with eight months of service behind me already (although the water has been anything but smooth), I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, and look forward to the way ahead.
Bradford Reszel, 134 TESS
It’s easy to forget that our relative ‘celebrity status’ as Peace Corps Volunteers in our communities can mean that people know us and what we do, but not how and why we do it. Often, I’ve been told by other teachers in the area that they wish their school could afford a foreign teacher like me, and I make sure to tell them that as a Peace Corps Volunteer, the school does not pay us! Community members may or may not know this and last Christmas I realized how much of an impact that piece of knowledge can have on one person and their home.
At my school, I have a student whose mother is very active in the community and is always present at school meetings and events. She has spoken to me many times wanting to improve her already impressive level of English. Her second husband, my student’s father, is from Denmark and spends about half the year here in rural Thailand and travels back to work the other part of the year.
Throughout the year, we had spoken about her student and his progress in English as well as his overall demeanor at school – he is a smart kid that seems to be coming out of his shell and taking on leadership roles in the class. Eventually, a conversation happened where she talked about how fortunate the school and community were to be able to afford me as a foreign English teacher. When I told her I was a Volunteer and paid only a stipend through the US government, not by the school, she was shocked! While she expressed even more gratitude for my volunteerism, I didn’t think it would go beyond that.
My co-teacher and I were in charge of a “Speed English Camp” on Christmas Day that also included gifts and prizes for students, and even a surprise visit from Santa Claus (yours truly)! Then, to my surprise, I was told a family wanted to give notebooks, pens, pencils, and colored pencils to all the students – 300+ total! This is a big gift from anyone in my community and the students were all excited.
It turned out to be the mother and father of the student in my third grade class and they asked to take a picture with me. She then told me that she grew up in our same community and attended the same school. She was a student council leader and appreciated her teachers and education there. She said our previous conversation made her realize that she was in a place to give back and how she talked with her husband about helping the community that raised her. She said, “If you can come all the way from America to help people in Thailand, I should also help if I can.” This amazing gift reminded me of the power of the Peace Corps beyond the day-to-day technical service in the classroom. We, Volunteers, are able to be ambassadors for peace and friendship in our communities and are privileged to be welcomed. It is humbling to know that my service sparked this woman to serve as well. I will always appreciate her sharing with me and her gift to the students in our community – it’s a story I will tell the rest of my life.
Sticky Rice 
Share your thoughts