THAILAND – The Elephant Village Initiative – July 5 – July 18, 2015

(Alia Giolitti and Thomas Slocumb)

Today we all met for the first time, we all got to know each other behind computer screens and text messages, but we came together in Thailand. This mystical land of Buddhism, wide smiles, and spicy food. The day started off with an awkward circle of held hands and name games, it felt like starting kindergarten again and to be honest I think I was panicking so much on what to say that I forgot everyone else’s name. After the ‘chow’ circle we finally got to eat breakfast which was rapidly followed with a brief lesson in Thai (we are all pretty much fluent now), the rules of the road, and what was expected of us in our brief yet exciting visit to this foreign country. But I guess here we are considered the foreigners, ‘farang’ as they call us. After our debriefing we dispersed back to our shared rooms to don appropriate clothing for the Buddhist Temples, which according to our local mentors, included long pants and shirts (exactly the clothes you want in this frigid climate). Once we were properly clothed, we were quickly loaded into vans and drove off to start our day in Chiang Mai.

We began our busy day by wandering around a collection of stunningly beautiful Buddhist temples, or Wats, as they say in Thai. We removed our shoes and sandals, stepped quietly into the golden, dragon patterned room and faced the Buddha before us. It’s safe to say that we were all speechless. There is something wonderfully undefinable about the atmosphere in a 700 year old temple; imagining the thousands of people who have entered before you, the monks, the artists, the tourists, the years that have come and gone while the temple remained. My head was flooded with thoughts as we learned to properly “wai” or bow to the grand shrine of Buddha that found it self in front of us. It was wonderfully silent and it was so special to get to experience such an intimate part of Thai and Buddhist culture. After entering the temple, we were free to roam around the surrounding gardens and ground where we saw beautiful trees and flowers, many a stray dog and pools of small fish that are used to give manicures and pedicures other

We continued on to view two more temples, both equally as grand and breathtaking as the others. Our thai staff educated us about the royal family, specifically the princess who is associated with the colour purple and adored by the entirety of the nation. We left the last of the temples to go enjoy a massive and delicious  Thai lunch, where we stuffed our faces with pad thai, pizza, rice (lots of rice), and green tea ice cream. Thus far, the food here is one of the best parts  ( kidding, but moderately serious ).

After we stuffed ourselves we were transferred to a small boutique filled to the brim of beautifully decorated elephant figurines, where we were all given the task to paint our very own elephants in some mimicry of the world famous art that surrounded us. But we displayed our mediocre art skills for a good reason; all funds raised at the boutique are spread among elephant hospitals and conservation projects, so although we weren’t able to walk among the elephants today we were still able to help them. Then it was time for dinner. Oh dinner.

We were taken to a food market and let loose upon the stands, all with an allowance of 100baht. We indulged in delectable foodstuffs all the way from chicken skewers with sticky rice to crepes with banana and nutella, I can honestly say I gained about 5 lbs and am proud of it. Street food in Thailand gets 5 gold stars, two thumbs up, whatever scale you want to use it scores perfectly. Sure you wouldn’t want a team of health department agents here, but if you are feeling a little bit risky and a whole lot of lucky, street food is the only way to go. Then only once we could no longer stay on our feet, we were carted off to the hotel to prepare for Day Song (day 2).

So sorry about the previous blog. Their extensive and unnecessary detail must have taken 5 years off of your life. This new and improved blog, created by Ali Costley and Jared Sinewitz, will be brief and to the point. Today, the students went to the first ever elephant hospital and met the world famous founder, Soreida. She taught us about her efforts to save the elephant population. We had the honor of seeing some of the most famous elephants in the world.  Motara, stepped on a land mine left from the Vietnam War which forced doctors to amputate her leg. She was fitted for a custom prosthetic that she wears to replace the leg that was amputated. This siting caused us to realize the atrocities that these elephants have faced.

7/7/2015

Check out these new program photos below!

7/7/2015

This morning, we visited a Christian Thai school in Chiang Mai. Four high schoolers performed a traditional Thai dance to Thai music. We showed a PowerPoint and talked about life in the US and Canada, before singing both National Anthems and dancing the ChaCha Slide. The Thai students showed us around the school in small groups; we got to know all the boys and girls in our groups and took a ton of pictures. Back in the Church we learned about a special Thai holiday called Loi Krathong; we sang a song about it and danced around in a big circle. Then the students helped us make paper decorations that kind of look like jellyfish. The school fed us Koi (pronounced “cow”) Soy, which is a local Chiang Mai meal. After the school visit, we drove up a mountain and then walked up 330 steps to reach a very famous temple. Some of us got blessed bracelets from a monk inside the temple. At night, we went to the market, where we ate dinner and shopped wherever we wanted. It was awesome to barter with the salespeople, even though the prices are already so cheap! The market was so big and overwhelming, but so much fun! The busy day drained us all, and by the time we got back to the hotel, we were all ready for bed!

Tara Boyd and Katelynn Briere

7/8/2015

At 8:30 am, our bags had been packed, and we set off for the Thai Elephant Home in the mountains. Before we left we were instructed which elephants were our own and informed about what they looked like and their unique traits and personalities. When we arrived, we were greeted by some of our new best friends and gave them some treats. We settled into our new rooms, dressed in mahout clothing and prepared to set off on our first adventure with the elephants. We walked down the elephant pen where we were paired with our elephants. We were able to practice with them for the first time ever and shortly after we began our first long trek up the mountain with the elephants. We were surprised when we stopped at a mud spa at the top of the mountain for a Pad Thai lunch. After we finished eating we each got elephant kisses and were given a quick mud spa. After each of us got our own mud spa facials and our arms were completely covered, we found out we were able to bathe one of the elephants in mud as well. One of the mahouts surprised us by starting a mud fight, we all cleaned off and mounted our elephants and trekked to the river. The elephants played with us while we all washed the mud off of ourselves. Some elephants sprayed us and some splashed in the water. The mahouts had fun too by giving the elephants commands and doing flips off of the elephants. About twenty minutes later, we all headed back to home base. Once we returned our elephants, we gave them food, cleaned the pen, changed our clothes, showered and prepared for dinner. Our first day at the Thai Elephant Home was completed and everyone was exhausted. A good night’s rest served each and every one of us.

– Zoe Wolf and Conor Quinn

7/9/2015