In March 2020, the Peace Corps evacuated over 7,000 volunteers worldwide. On April 3, 2023 the first full group of volunteers in Thailand since then was sworn in.

The smell of alcohol pierces my nostrils. My co-workers frantically disperse hand sanitizer in pocket-sized tubes to prevent the spread of you. I live in the Land of Smiles, which your suffocating masks have smothered. You not only incited hysteria, you robbed us all of the intimacy of touch.

RPCV Neil Pickus is interviewed by his brother, a correspondent for WAMC News, about the recent Peace Corps Evacuation. Listen to the podcast here.

I did not know it at the time, but over the next weeks and months, this smile and the lovely woman who bears it would make this place my home.