Caitlin Navratil

Published first in Peace Corps Thailand Magazine I’ve already tried it and I don’t like it I say, as I scoot away From this drunken...

“Do you know what I think is funny?” My mom’s voice bounces around my too-small-for-four-people blue house that we’re crammed in for this...

With an attention-grabber of a title like that, you could imagine that I would have the cliché, recycled list of reasons to join the...

I remember standing in my Minnesotan kitchen and thinking about my next two years, dreading the solitude. I remember worrying how I would...

When adversity is external, I think it’s easier to handle. When it’s a bad storm, a too-friendly community member, a miscommunication,...

In the style of Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” Do you like mold, sweat, and bugs? I do not like mold, sweat, and bugs! Would you like...

I stand, sweating (as ususal), as my counterpart loads the car. Our drive was going to be an absurd twelve hours from Reconnect back to...

I don’t know if you can tell from the title, but I’ve been watching a lot of Friends recently. The silence in my blue house is punctuated...

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for six months. It seems like yesterday that I was quitting my job at home and preparing my life...

I don't know if it's the start of the rainy season, the start of the school year, or just general introspection, but when I tried to...

I am sweaty. I am always sweaty. I try to apply sunscreen, but the perpetual sheen of sweat on my face makes it impossible to rub in. I...

I should have known. I should have known when it took a group of 15 trainees 45 minutes to determine who was going to visit which school....

The first few weeks at site have been wild, to say the least. It already feels like I’ve been here so long just because so much has...

I sit in the relative silence of this new bedroom to reflect on my first few weeks at site. Chickens clucking, my three-year old host...

I wrote and re-wrote this post three different times. The first time, it was too wordy – a novel, not an ode. The second time, it didn’t...

The days during PST have seemed to simultaneously fly by and absolutely stand still. Some days, it feels like we’ve been in Don Chedi...

I’m officially halfway through Pre-Service Training (PST)!! Long weeks and hot bike rides have added up to some significant changes in my...

Disclaimer: that's probably not how to spell the phrase I'm trying to reference. It sounds like "Ben Heung" to me, and it means both to...

When I was brainstorming names for my blog with friends back in November, this pun was at the top of the list. If it's still unclear, I'm...

Musings on a year and a half at Thrivent, learning how to adult. As my time at Thrivent came to a close, I had the chance to reflect on...

It can be a process to be invited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Here is a quick timeline of my experience - from applying to...

Have you ever looked around and thought "how did I get here?" Welcome to my life right now. As I've been announcing my impending...

How long is 27 months, really? This month leading up to departure has consisted of coffee connects in the morning, lunches out around...