I survived the weekend on Standfast. I was planning to be at site regardless, so it didn't change my plans at all. I seriously left my house once on Sunday afternoon to buy eggs down the street. It's very strange to Thai people that I spend so much time inside so when I finally emerged, Grandma Next Door's face looked like "Whoa, what's wrong with you, crazy foreigner?" I promptly bought eggs and retreated back inside for more reading, GRE studying, and TV watching. I'm not sure if I can fully express how lazy I was this past weekend.
Unfortunately, the curfew, which originally was imposed through Sunday, was extended through Tuesday. Peace Corps then wants to wait 2 days after the curfew is lifted to ensure things have officially quieted down before they lift the Standfast and we can travel again. I'm assuming there will still be a travel restriction on Bangkok as it appears to be in shambles after last week's violence.
Peace Corps told us that they extended the curfew because there are still small incidents around Bangkok and the country and they don’t want people trying to sift through Central World (my favorite mall that was torched) and other burned buildings when there is no one around. If there are people rummaging at night, parts of buildings may fall on them and cause more destruction and deaths.
That all makes sense, but next weekend is a 3-day weekend and there are plans in the works to have a big volunteer meet up near me and that sounds really fantastic. I like the idea of an air conditioned hotel, Starbucks, and hanging out with friends. Here's hoping....
No comments:
Post a Comment