And then there were none

The past few evenings have been spent fighting off an army of tiny Thai gnats that have attempted to take over my bedroom.  There are so many that they cover my bedsheets, bounce off my face, my computer screen, and swarm the curtains.  There is not much I can do, save spraying my entire bed and all of my clothes with bug spray, turn off the ceiling lamp they are so obsessed with, and hope they try to find some other source of light and leave me alone.   Alas, I've woken up twice now only to have to sweep up piles of their little dead bodies.  And it looks like tomorrow morning will be the same.

Much like these little bugs, things in Thailand seem to come in waves.  Whether it is bugs (first it was ants, now it's gnats), food, location, or anything else, it all seems to run its course.  Today was my last day of training and on Monday I swear in as a volunteer.  This should be a big moment in my life and I'm excited to take this next step of my Peace Corps journey.  But, I'm also really nervous because for the second time in 10 weeks my life will change dramatically.

It strikes me as funny that I have already been here 10 weeks.  Some days it feels like I just got off the plane, but on nights when I'm constantly sweeping bugs off of my bed, computer screen, and my face, and drowning in my own sweat and NOT complaining, it feels like I have been here for a lifetime.  I have gotten so used to the creepy crawlies, that, while I still find myself jumping at my own shadow in anticipation of a spider as big as my hand, I am no longer intimidated by the little things in life...you know like ants, and lizards, and... people.

Anyway, I think I'm ready for the next wave Thailand has in store.  By Wednesday I will be in my new home, in my new tambon, with my new host family.  Hopefully, I'll have better stories for this blog (or at least more time to write better stories for this blog).  I plan on applying to write for the PCV Thailand publication "Sticky Rice" (adorable name, huh?)  and am looking forward to being more myself and less of an anxious, exhausted mess.