I am excited to be writing my first blog. This has been coming for quite some time, but I just never got myself down to it. I am excited to now be an official blogger. And what a better topic to start blogging about than some exciting political turmoil... read on, friend, read on!

I am officially a "real" Peace Corps volunteer now. Two nights ago, in the middle of the night I was awakened by a phone call from the administration of Peace Corps. After shaking myself out of sleep and slipping out of the room I was sharing with a Thai teacher and several students (we were at a drama camp) I registered what was being said.

Coup d'etat!

Fortunately, this coup has been non-violent. Prime Minister Thaksin was in New York at the time that the military took over Bangkok. Several days ago he made a statement claiming that he was still fully in charge of the country (despite many protests and demonstrations several months ago after which he promised to step down) and that when he returned he would remove one of the "higher-ups" in the army.

Well, the general would have none of that, so (apparently) with the blessing of the King the military staged a coup. This is not unusual here - there have been many in the last 50 years. The last one, I believe, was in 1992, but before that they were regular and often quite bloody. Democracy seems to be difficult here - so corrupt. So, each time there is a new leader, it seems like there has to be a coup to replace him. The passive nature of Thai culture also makes it more difficult to deal with sticky situations, as direct action is often frowned upon. Here the king is widely respected (rightly so, for he is a wonderful leader), but is legally outside of the democratic system. People respect his opinions and suggestions and he does not take that power lightly. He is reluctant to directly step into government dealings or make public statements regarding political 'situations'. Because of this, when he does speak, it is highly respected. He had not publicly condemned Prime Minister Thaksin, but he had made some subtle comments indicating that change was needed.

Most people here seemed to have expected this. Yesterday was declared a national holiday - schools and banks were closed. But, today everything is back to normal and the situation has settled down even in Bangkok. The process has begun to set up a new government. I can only hope and pray this one will be less corrupt than the last!

Peace Corps issued a high alert in the phone call(s) that woke me up two nights ago. The drama camp where I was sleeping with my counterparts was canceled and we were sent home. This was a great disappointment, especially because today the alert was reduced to restricted travel to Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but regular business otherwise. The camp has been rescheduled and, hopefully, will happen yet. Only time will tell.