BY JOELLEN COLLINS
A few days ago, I traveled to Pennsylvania for a reunion of Peace Corps volunteers. It was held at a beautiful place in the Cotswolds, the Shawnee Resort by the Delaware River, a part of the country I have missed, despite my world travels. At JFK airport I was met by my close friend, a lovely woman who was like a surrogate daughter to me so long ago. It’s been 35 years since we started our training in Bangkok, and my young friends then are now the age I was when I volunteered. We joined another friend who lives in Brooklyn and has served in education, eventually as a principal in a local school. Now she works with an organization helping create better curricula in poorly financed or remote schools in the USA.
Naturally, the number of attendees from our group was fewer than the 65 participants in the 1989 Thailand corps. Nonetheless, it was delightful to hear the stories of these good people—still idealistic, now grownups. Since serving in Thailand, most have lived positive and meaningful lives, working for education, wildlife preservation, organizations creating medical resources, or other charitable efforts—in short, aiming to better the world they inherited. Our visit was filled with laughter, wisdom and humility. They were gentle, loving and inclusive to me, an older woman lucky to live long enough to see them and recall when, 35 years ago, the Peace Corps considered me a “senior.” My site was relatively close to Bangkok, in case I needed medical help, due to being “aged.” I never needed that, but when lonely, a bit homesick, or missing my daughters, far away in college, I received support and comfort from my young pals. I could don a backpack, take a bus by myself to some faraway province, and spend the weekend living a rather youthful existence listening to music, sharing confidences, and talking until the wee hours of night. Here at Shawnee, we played together again, with a golf cart “parade,” and roared with laughter during our final campfire, sharing our funniest or most unique experiences in Thailand. What a way to feel rejuvenated!
When looking back, I have two main reasons I cherish that experience. One, obviously, was putting away my fears of growing older and realizing that I could still have exciting and challenging experiences at any age. The second was the confirmation that I could probably adjust to travel or living in difficult circumstances almost anywhere and not only survive, but even flourish.
From earlier travels, I learned to honor other cultures, but was truly blessed with my Thai neighbors. Tawatchi, the father in my next-door family, told me that I would always be welcome to spend part or all my life with them. Several years ago, I revisited them at his mother’s home, and Tawatchi led me to a new area constructed when they relocated. At the end of a hall was a room with a hand-carved sign over its door noting “Mama Jo’s Room.”
How fortunate I’ve been, and how grateful I am!