Welcome to the “What We’re Reading” ongoing series where Volunteers talk about the books they’ve been reading at site. Here you’ll find PCVs sharing their thoughts, reflections, and reviews on books of any genre. Leave us a comment below if you’ve also read any of these books!

Noah Albanese, 136 TESS

As the novelty of my service faded and the class cancellations came like clock-work, an issue had come up.

BOREDOM.

I’ve been struggling with this. I consider myself to be a hard worker and I desire to be

constantly productive, but that has not served me well here. I have seen volunteers who pick up knitting, drawing, and farming—very Peace Corps of them. Unfortunately, that’s not me.

I’ve scrolled on Instagram for hours during these times.

Many months ago, I hit this boredom wall again and I needed a new project.

This was a reading list; a list of books that I always wanted to read but was afraid to

pick up. These included classics, history novels, and very long biographies (having an e-book meant the thickness of the book was no longer visible; therefore no longer a fear-factor).

Here are some of the effects: I enjoyed myself, I can say I have read them, and they were good time killers. However, there was something else more profound.

I am discovering that, as volunteers, we are in a very strange position; we are the rare

Americans who are observing our country from the outside-in. We are not simply absorbing American media either; we are the ambassadors who our Thai neighbors use to access the U.S. There is some responsibility that comes with that. Some responsibility to be honest with our Thai neighbors on what America looks like from our points of view.

In addition, the unique nature of our job, of working with Thai people, allows us to

observe problems up close. We actively engage with issues like educational inequality, power, rural poverty, nationalism, and economic inequality. These problems aren’t unique to Thailand. In fact, they are familiar to us. Seeing these problems from a different cultural lens is a valuable experience.

Reading can enrich this lens.

Reading during service allows us to upgrade our ability to think for ourselves. Classics allow you to think about issues more philosophically, while history and biographical novels give you nuance and context to specific issues.

I recently read The Message, a book by Ta-Nahisi Coates that explores how various cultures tell narratives that distort reality to push a certain political narrative. I was reading this book during the Thai-Cambodian conflict last year. I guess that timing was impeccable. During that time, I remember my coworkers telling me a certain narrative of how horrible Cambodia was. In the classroom, I still have students who ask me all the time: “Teacher! Do you like Cambodia or Thailand more?” Today, we observe narratives spun by the U.S. government justifying various wars they are undertaking without the consent of Congress. Similar issues, different lenses; reading gives you context or a new perspective.

With the unique position we are in, and a certain responsibility to understand what we are dealing with (both within Thailand and the U.S.), it might be a good time to stop by the Peace Corps lounge for a new book during break.