That’s me, 23-year old Peace Corps Trainee, working on an ESL lesson plan during practice teaching at a school in the northernmost Thai province of Chiang Rai. It was March of 1975, the beginning of my time in Thailand.
I returned in 1989 to do research for my first cookbook. Now I am heading to Thailand again, this time to to join festivities for the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps. RPCV and Human Dynamo-Genius Carolyn Nickels-Cox and Friends of Thailand, a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers, have organized grand array of celebrations. For the scoop, click HERE:
I will begin and end my journey in Bangkok. In between I will go to the Northeastern Provinces of Surin and Burirum to visit my students, colleagues, neighbors and friends. I am so excited, eager, grateful, and happy to have this privilege of nearly two weeks in the Kingdom of Thailand.
For a peek at my Thai Peace Corps days, you can visit the Nancie in Thailand page on my website by clicking HERE.
To see photos of my Thai student, Mr. Riat Prombut, and a public health project at the school in Burirum Province where he is teacher, click HERE.
Below is a map of Thailand from my book, Real Vegetarian Thai. (I will revise this post to credit the artist asap.) To locate my Peace Corps site, look in the Northeastern region, near the Cambodian border, for the town of Thatoom on the Mun River in Surin Province.
I’ll return home with abundant photos and stories to share. Recipes, too! Check back here, and on my Facebook Author Page HERE and Friends page, starting toward the end of July, for an on-going buffet tales and pictures. Must close now, as I just thought of 3 more additions to my ever-growing list of must-eat foods and essential ingredients and kitchen tools to find while in Thailand.

What a wonderful pic of you. So glad you thought to post it. Hope your trip is all that you dream it will be.
Peace Corps? Man you are one cool chick. Have a great time. GREG
We’re glad to meet you in Thailand.
And we hope to welcome you to our house next time and stay more than this time.
It’s never too early to think about the Third Goal. Check out Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir. Oh! If you want a good laugh about what PC service was like in a Spanish-speaking country back in the 1970’s, read South of the Frontera: A Peace Corps Memoir.
I love this photo! So excited for your journey. Treasure every moment.
How wonderful, Nancie! A fascinating blog post about what I am sure will be a fabulous trip.