John Michael "J.M." Ascienzo served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 2012 to 2015. Ascienzo had experience with AmeriCorps and had been a teacher in Vietnam and South Korea prior to joining the Peace Corps. His training took place in Bangrachan, Singburi Province, where he studied the Thai language. Ascienzo was assigned to Baanluang, a small farming town in the mountains of Nan Province near the Laos border. He trained teachers in a primary and secondary school and embraced the local culture by doing what his host family and neighbors did: farming, fishing, and generally trying to lend a hand. He extended his service for a third year to teach English at Prateepsasana Islamic School near the Gulf of Thailand in Nakhon Sri Thammarat City. In the interview, Ascienzo reflects on how the form of government affects people's lives, the challenges of depending on others to get things done, the community leaders’ aversion to taking risks, and how he learned the value of small talk. Interviewed and recorded by Patricia Wand, 6 January 2017. 2 digital files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).