The End Approaches - 04/08

Don't be sad that it's over, be happy it happened.  - Tasha, my favourite sister

It's her take on the Dr. Seuss quote "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".
It's starting to sink in that my time at CCS is quickly ending.  Even though I have an awesome follow up vacation planned, I'm still too caught up in this moment.  In actual fact, I'm almost 94% sure that if I wasn't meeting a friend for the next leg of my adventure I'd probably have cancelled it by now and figured out how to stay here in Moshi longer!
Here are a few updates:
* The number lines are being used with success by more students (yayness!)
* The teacher seems to like and have embraced the phonics based method for reading English
* Snapchat filtered selfies make excellent time fillers at the end of lessons but before lunch
* I know most of the words to the National Anthem of Tanzania and thanks to the local volunteers I understand the meaning (Shout out to you guys- Keydo, Nixon, Lordy and Teddy!)
* I have given suggestions on things I would do if I were staying at the school... hopefully some are feasible and practical and can be implemented
* I have once again fallen in love with the children and people I've worked and lived with for the past three weeks...

Home of the Elephants - 24/07

Today we headed out to Tarangire National Park (the real park, not my bedroom at Home Base). From my pretrip reading I knew that this was the place to go if you wanted to see elephants - so obviously it was on my to do list!  In case I had missed that tidbit of information, there was a sign announcing we were entering the home of elephants as we approached the park. I later found out that Tarangire means River of the Warthogs and NOT elephants  (elephant is Tembo, FYI).
As a group we had a goal- spot the leopard, the final animal on our Big Five list. A few of the volunteers were also looking forward to seeing giraffes. I have to admit they weren't really on my list but they were beautiful to see. I snapped some good giraffe shots if I say so myself. 
Nixon and Hillary  (the driver for the West Point volunteers) spotted a leopard in the high grass and we could tell the giraffes were on alert but try as we may we could not find the leopard. Some of the West Pointers said they saw the tail though!  That's pretty cool. 
We had lunch in the picnic area before heading home. We were warned to watch out for the cheeky vervet monkeys.  As we were eating someone, I think it was Becky, wondered if monkeys actually like bananas or if that was just something people said. Not a minute sooner did a monkey scoot down a tree and grab Andrew's banana that was sitting on the table next to mine!  There was a brief moment of madness as we screamed, laughed and jumped out of the monkey's way! The monkey made his way to a branch near the top of the tree  and enjoyed his free snack while we continued to laugh and settle back at the table.  We were able to take a few monkey selfies before leaving the lunch area. Another cheeky monkey stole a chocolate bar from someone else's lunch as we were on our way out.  These monkeys must really enjoy the safari visitors!
After lunch we drove around by the river before heading out of the park and back home.  We didn't have any luck with the big cats, but all in all it was another beautiful day on safari.

Luck of the Maasai - 23/07

Today we departed camp just after 7:00am heading for our destination of Ngoragora Crater.  The crater was once an active volcano and is now home to many members of Tanzanian wildlife, including all of the Big 5. For those of you unfamiliar with African safaris, the Big 5 are lions, leopards, water buffalo, rhinos and last but never least, elephants. The other inhabitants of the crater are members of the Maasai as they will live peacefully with the animals without hunting them... which sadly can't be said for all humans. There are rangers patrolling the crater rim on guard for would be poachers.
When we reached the top of the crater we saw a few baboons. Nixon  (Nick) informed us that we should keep our windows closed because the baboons can be quite dangerous. While we were waiting for our park pass we also saw some ants working away at something.  They were huge!
It was quite a drive getting to the crater's rim and then driving down to enter the park but it was about to be worth it.  I felt the anticipation a child does when they're about to visit Disney for the first time - was it going to be everything I hoped?!
I'm pleased to tell you it was an AMAZING experience!!! The roaming zebras and wildebeest were abundant as well as the warthogs and gazelles. There was an enormous flock of flamingoes in a salty lake, stretching further than the reach of my fancy camera lens.  We saw an elephant on its own (guess who spotted that first?),  which seemed a bit strange to me. Nick said it's herd was probably nearby. One big highlight was seeing lions mate!  There could be 2-4 little simbas running around the park in approximately 110 days! We spotted some water buffalo and those things are huge! They were mainly relaxing, hanging out, not up and about much.
Like I said, it was an amazing day. I'm sure you can tell by my overuse of exclamation marks ;). On my first ever safari experience I saw FOUR out of the Big Five!  How cool is that? Wonderful. Seriously wonderful. The group of volunteers that safari-ed before us had told us they saw a rhino in the crater and since that I was hoping I'd get the opportunity to see it.  I know- you're surprised I didn't say elephants.  Don't get me wrong. The ellies will always be my favourites, but at the rate life/humanity/human-animal interaction is going, who knows how much longer rhinos will be found in the wild. When we entered the park I asked Nick about the chances of seeing the rhino and he said he couldn't promise any sightings but we'd need to be pretty lucky to see a rhino. I joked and said the Maasai told me my bracelet was good luck.  When we were finishing up Nicole mentioned that maybe my bracelet is in fact lucky. Either way, tonight I am thankful for this amazing opportunity to see these wonderful creatures of God's creation. Asante.

The Maasai - 22/07

This evening we stopped in a Maasai village just past Arusha. We met Lucas, son of the chief who welcomed us to the village.  We were covered in Maasai cloth for a more authentic experience! There was an initial welcome dance by some members and then we went inside the village for more dancing, a tour of the homes and chance to buy handmade his goods to support the village. A few of the girls were donned in beaded neck pieces when we joined in on the dancing and the guys had a chance to jump with the warriors.
We learned that Maasai diet consists mainly of cow, goat and sheep milk, blood and meat.  Some Maasai eat fruits and vegetables but this particular group do not. 
The variety of beaded jewellery and other items were amazing. I wanted so many things but I ended up choosing two bracelets for myself and coasters for my mom. I had picked up a necklace made from a giraffe hoof that I loved but it was a bit out of my budget. Lucas said because they liked me they wanted me to have it and so he gave it to me!  I was touched by their generosity. All in all it was another great experience!

Candle Ceremony

Hello again, my dear Reader. 
I'm not sure if I've already told you that all schools in Thailand are affiliated with a neighbourhood temple. This stems from a time when monks were the teachers.  I think it is a lovely aspect of the Thai culture.
Friday will mark the beginning of Buddhist Lent here in Thailand. School will be closed on Thursday and Friday. In preparation for the holiday, community members have been preparing candles to present to the monks in the temples. At our school each class has had a turn adding wax to the candle mold. I also saw candle making outside the temple on our trip to Ayutthaya.
This morning I went to school earlier than normal so I could witness the candle ceremony celebrations. The children with special roles were dressed in traditional Thai clothing while the other students had on their school scout uniforms.  Some of my kindergarten cuties had the privilege of riding in the truck with the candle. There were a group of girls doing traditional Thai dance led by the school's dance teacher and a group of students providing the music and song for the march. I was not happy when I realised I had rushed out of the house without my phone to record all of this.  Pitsuda was great about allowing me to use her iPad to take a few photos. She's so kind!
There were also students carrying alms buckets and donation boxes.  Members of the community made donations in the boxes as we paraded through the neighbourhood. My heart raced a few times when some of the older students were playing around as we were walking on the main road. I had visions of preteens being hit by the crazy busy Bangkok traffic but it was all fine (sigh of relief).
We made our way back to the school yard and then in groups the children proceeded to the temple.  Carrying flowers and incense the students and teachers walked slowly around the main hall of the temple three times before going back to school.
It was a beautiful day and I am so grateful to have taken part in this special occasion.

Falling in Love

I am in love with this experience. I'm surrounded by beauty found in the places I've visited, the people I volunteer with and of course the teachers and children I interact with daily. 
I am so grateful for this experience.

Best Day Ever cont.

Chai Lai Café had something for everyone;  Sam had his favourite dish, French fries. Ada and Amanda had Thai dishes, Ryan had a drink and Heather and I went with dessert. After lunch we were told the local group had not informed Chai Lai that they had planned a tour with the elephants so we would have to wait for our turn. We were bummed to find out that the elephants were shared between both companies knowing that the other group uses harnesses. One of the partners of Chai Lai explained to us that the elephants are shared but they all sleep freely under the pavilions at Chai Lai. The local, family-run elephant business doesn't see the harnesses as bad things because elephants are so strong but both groups treat the elephants well.  It put a slight downer on the feeling of the day but after getting to know everyone at Chai Lai all morning I decided that I would still ride the elephants. My hope is that as more tourists use companies like Chai Lai that provide only bareback rides,  other companies will see that you do not need to provide a harness for tourist rides. I'm sure it will take a while but fingers crossed. Heather, Amanda and I went to feed the elephants while we waited.
When the elephants came back they removed their harnesses so we could head out on our bareback ride. Ada decided she was too sad about the fact the elephants are harnessed and she did not want to ride so she stayed at the café. I respect her choice and conviction but because I had good feeling about the practices at Chai Lai I went ahead with the ride.
Four of us headed out to meet our elephants.  I had the largest elephant in the herd who is actually the mama of the cute baby elephant. Heather had the older, bigger sister of the baby. Our elephants wandered away to munch on the vegetation while Amanda and Sam got on their elephants.  The atmosphere is very laid back at Chai Lai  (so much so that I hadn't actually paid for any of my food yet). The mahouts were a little too calm with the fact our elephants were doing their own thing for my comfort!  Heather and I had no idea if this grassy patch was even on the right route!  Reader, I'm not sure if you've ever ridden an elephant. If you have, you may know the nerve wrecking feeling that you might fall off as your elephant heads down a steep, muddy hill. If you haven't... think about how it would feel not knowing if you're about to fall off an animal that's almost as tall as a small building and not knowing where you'll land in relation to its very large and powerful feet. I think you get the picture.
Anyways, it turns out our elephants were right which I should have known.  They probably walk this same route every time and an elephant never forgets. It also turns out that we had the hungriest elephants. Thanks to the 'stop and snack' philosophy of our elephants, Amanda and Sam overtook us in no time.  My mama elephant wouldn't go too far ahead of her baby, Tom Po. If Tom Po stopped for a snack we waited. Such dedicated parenting.  
Despite their bulky build, elephants are amazingly graceful creatures.  At one point I witnessed Heather's elephant walk up a muddy bank by balancing on tree roots!  Tom Po hasn't quite mastered the art of gracefulness. One of the mahouts had to help her up the bank with a push!  It was funny to watch. Tom Po often sat on her bottom to scoot down small hills as if they were slides. 
As we approached the river I realised what was about to happen. I can't speak Thai mahout orders but I understood - they told the elephants to sit!  I tried my best to stay dry and I actually did a pretty good job.  Perhaps it was too good of a job because my mahout came over and splashed me until I looked like I had fallen in the water. Oh well, so much for the dry part of the day. After the elephants had cooled off we rode them back up to the pavilion. Our songtaew driver was waiting; my time with the elephants was up.  We cleaned up and checked our bills before heading back to the city. The internet was down for the moment so Chai Lai couldn't process payment with cards but the lady gave our driver a list of who owed what and instructions to stop at a bank atm. That worked out fine. As the mountains faded from our view, we talked about our day and looked at each other's photos.
All in all, I could not think of a better way to spend my day in Chiang Mai. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know the gentle giants I have always loved from afar. After today, elephants will forever hold a bigger place in my heart.

Gratitude

Last night I spent a nice chunk of time talking to Rebecka, a volunteer in her third week of the CCS Bangkok programme. She was part of our welcoming committee at the airport.
During our conversation it was eerie how many things we had in common, beginning with our love of elephants and tattoos. Rebecca was writing a postcard to a friend which reminded me that I was going to send a postcard to myself each day.  When I told her she said she had thought about that too until her mom gave her a gratitude journal.  The idea is to write something you're thankful for everyday and on days when you are feeling down you can look back in the journal to pick yourself up again.  I loved it!  I explained that I had purchased a journal for this trip but hadn't been using it because I was attempting to keep up with the blog.  I think my journal just met its new purpose.
This morning I found myself having breakfast alone due to the difference in schedules of the various volunteer placements. As I sat there enjoying the peacefulness of the empty house, listening to the chirping birds, I added a little extra to my grace. Today I am thankful for this incredible opportunity.