I'm happy to announce that there is finally some movement on the cafeteria project. Things definitely move at their own pace here, which can be frustrating, but finally we are moving in the right direction.
This morning we had a meeting to kick off the cafeteria construction. More than 15 people were there, including the mayor, deputy major, various village leaders, councilmen, teachers, and the head monk to discuss the project. Of course the meeting started over an hour late once everyone trickled in, but that's how it goes. I'm honestly not sure of all the details because the meeting was all in Isaan (a dialect of Laos), but everything is under control and they are ready to get rolling. They said it should only take 1 month to complete, which is great since I'm leaving at the beginning of March and I really want to see this project through to completion.
It was a surreal experience to look around the room and see all of these village leaders and counterparts engaged, excited, and so appreciative. I thought to myself "I'm doing this! This is going to happen!" At points in my service over the past 2 years, it seemed like projects were nearly impossible and I was failing at being a Peace Corps volunteer, but today it felt like everything came together. I have amazing Thai counterparts who have become great friends and it's so exciting to be able to work together to help out the preschool.
And truly, for those of you who supported this project, thank you! It's so cool to be able to connect all of you in the States with what I'm doing here.
Life is really good in the rice field.
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