June 18, 2004: Headlines: COS - Thailand: Older Volunteers: Arizona Daily Star: Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Thailand: Peace Corps Thailand: The Peace Corps in Thailand: June 18, 2004: Headlines: COS - Thailand: Older Volunteers: Arizona Daily Star: Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

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Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

Peace Corps Volunteer Jean Spencer, 80, built ties with Thais in bridge of two cultures

by Bonnie Henry, Arizona Daily Star

Sometimes the food was deep-fried bugs. Sometimes the toilet was a hole in the ground.

Sometimes she got no respect.

"They wanted me to go home and sleep like all the other old people," says Jean Spencer. "I said, 'I'm not doing that.' "

No, indeedy.

Which is how Spencer, who just turned 80, stuck it out as one of the world's oldest Peace Corps volunteers.

Just returned from a two-year stint in Thailand, Spencer, who lives in Green Valley, set up health-care programs and taught English and teaching methods to Thai teachers.

More than enthusiasm was on her side when she left for Thailand in January 2002. A teacher by training, Spencer raised seven kids on her own, then joined Volunteers for America, which provides human- services programs.

Even so, her first three months of training in a Thai village were tough, she acknowledges.

"I had to learn how to squat and kneel," says Spencer, referring to use of the "toilet."

"The Peace Corps brought in this little stool on legs for me. I said, no, I wanted no preferential treatment."

There, in the village, she lived with a teacher's family, ate what the family ate, and helped serve the monks at the nearby temple.

She also struggled to learn the Thai language. "It's very difficult, very tonal. And each tone has a different meaning."

Next came figuring out the culture. "They never say 'no.' You have to figure out when they mean 'no,' " says Spencer.

Then there was the matter of time. "Things happen when they happen. They don't understand our preoccupation with time," says Spencer. "I finally decided to take off my wristwatch and just let it roll."

Though women get little respect there, says Spencer, her age did grant her some deference. "They would not let me cross the street alone. They fed me from their plates."

After training, Spencer spent the rest of her "hitch" in the town of Udon Thani, where she found her own little house - one with a toilet.

Her salary was $225 a month, which went for utilities, food and clothing. "The first thing they tell you is to go native," says Spencer, who wound up mainly wearing uniforms at school, long skirts everywhere else.

As for her task of teaching English, she soon persuaded the teacher to toss out his outdated book, filled with quaint sayings.

"I taught them phrases they could use, like 'Give me the ball,' 'Your sister's ugly,' 'It's my turn,' " says Spencer.

But the best education, she says, came from the cultural exchange - on both sides.

"I taught them Americans are not all like they see on TV. They think Americans are fast, loose and rich, and neglect their children. Once they learned to trust me, they hugged me all the time."

And what did she learn from the Thai people? "Cultural understanding," says Spencer. "We've got to respect the difference in other countries' cultures."

Toward the end of her stay, Spencer became seriously ill and wound up at a Bangkok hospital. She was not allowed to return to say goodbye to those she had come to know so well. But her son, Scott, was there to gather her things - and her accolades.

"They sang all the songs I had taught them and gave me this," says Spencer, showing off an exquisite picture that depicts two worlds - one the United States, the other Thailand - with a bridge between.

"I get e-mail every week from the teacher I worked with," says Spencer.

And she has yet to strap on her wristwatch.

Bonnie Henry's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach her at 434-4074 or at bhenry@azstarnet.com, or write to 3295 W. Ina Road, Suite 125, Tucson, AZ 85741.




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Story Source: Arizona Daily Star

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Thailand; Older Volunteers

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