One Drop - 02/08

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. -Mother Teresa

Today Lewis completed his addition sums using his number line! 

You might be thinking that isn't a blog-worthy post, but it was a huge deal for me. 
It was the only thing I was holding on to about today because as a teacher it can get you down when things don't go as planned- with a little pep talk from my sister friend Jasmine, I was reminded that no matter the outcome in regards to my goals, I'm still doing a great thing by being here.
{{Photo of Lewis to come soon!}}

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.

Here

On our descent for landing I admired how all I could see was grass and trees. So simple yet so beautiful. I thought to myself that I've never seen anything quite like it and a smile grew across my face as I realised - I haven't set for on this continent before; Welcome to Africa!

Safe and Sound

After almost 24 hours of traveling I've settled into the Home Base in Moshi, Tanzania. It's one of those places off the beaten track you'd never randomly decide to come for vacation but already I think I'm going to love it here - provided the mosquitos and lizards leave me alone!
I had a short tour of the main parts of the house, claimed my bunk and unpacked some of my belongings. I've met two roommates so far.
It's almost time for dinner then I'm going to try and have an early night so I can be rested for tomorrow morning.  We gave breakfast at 8:00am followed by orientation.
I look forward to sharing more information with you tomorrow! 

Thankful

I am thankful for:

• Little arms giving big hugs 
• The smiles triggered by thumbs up
• Friendly teachers that make me feel like I'm part of their team
• I love you signs from students
• High fives 
• Smiles that melt my heart
• Giggles when my Thai is failing 
• Giggles when my English is incomprehensible 
• The loving nature of the Thai people 
• Did I mention those smiles?!

Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

I do believe I've mentioned the heat prior to this post, but this post is not about the infamous Bangkok heat. This post is actually to say thank you to my darling not-so-little cousin, Brittany.  You might be wondering why she gets a special thank you post and I'll quickly get to the point.  Back in May, Brittany and I took part in the cancer fundraiser, Relay for Life.  At this event a local cellular company was selling handy hot weather items like fans, cell phone carry cases and flip flops.  The fan reminded me of an updated version of something my Grandma would have used in church before the air-conditioning was installed. I wasn't completely convinced I needed it though, I was pretty sure I needed all of my money for the cake pops that were being sold at another tent! My stomach almost always gets priority. :-) 
Back to the matter at hand, Brittany decided to buy me a fan seeing as I would be travelling to a very hot country during the summer. 

Pop-up Fan from Brittany

THANKS, BRE!!!
I've carried my fan almost daily and I have almost always regretted it whenever I haven't.  It folds up to a size that conveniently tucks into the pocket of my bag and produces a pretty refreshing breeze when needed.  I am glad that Brittany had the foresight to provide me with such a handy gift. 

This is my "I'm so over this heat" face

Meet the Roommates

Roomie Roundup 

Allison - Allison comes from North Carolina. Much like me, Allison was drawn to CCS by the opportunity to experience a different culture and influence the lives of other people.  We bonded quickly and our two weeks together flew by even faster. Although it was only a short time we had a ton of fun.
Delainey & Dana - The Dynamic Duo
Dana and Delainey are here with a group from the United States Military Academy at West Point.  The girls are extremely friendly and easy-going.  They signed up to volunteer in Thailand through their school and then later found out they would be joining CCS. I'm glad they did.
The four of us settled in perfectly as roommates.  Even though our schedules are different, the time we have spent together has been full of laughs. The memories we are building will last a lifetime. 

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.

Rest in Peace

This afternoon we had the privilege  of listening to the Venerable Phra Shakyavongsvisuddhi (Anil Sakya) speak at Wat Bovoranives Vihara, a Royal Monastery. The well known monk, who is a descendant of Buddha, told us the impressive history of the monastery which dates back to the reign of King Rama III. The crown prince, and future King Rama IV, was a monk during that time. He was well educated having studied Latin, English and astronomy with missionaries and sailors. As the abbot of Wat Bovoranives he became friends with the Royal Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok and allowed the Christian missionaries to use the temple.
After the death of King Rama III, Prince Mongkut then called Vajirañāno Bhikkhu, disrobed to take his place as King Rama IV. This was a very important time during Thai history because of the threat of colonisation. Fun fact: Thailand was never colonised. 

The history lesson was followed by a Q and A session which was equally informative.  I regretted not having brought a pencil to take notes! Like I told you already, I can be such a nerd. 
You can imagine that the questions ranged and I can assure you that the answers were very detailed.  One of the points that Anil Sakya touched on was the importance of living in the moment.  Buddhists do not focus on the past or future because it can cause suffering. As an example he said that the Western way to say R.I.P. is too late.  Instead of waiting until someone is dead to say rest in peace we should all be aiming to rest in peace during every moment.  How beautiful would life be if our main focus was peace in each moment? He went on to say that it doesn't mean you can't think about the future, but we shouldn't put too much thought into it and hold on to our plans for the future. I like that.  It reminded me of my Grandma always telling me to never make plans without adding "God spares life" to your thought.  Obviously that is a Christian view on a similar idea.
Here are a few points I found interesting during our session:
Seek to be the knower.
Monks are not there to tell you what to do or convert you. Buddhists do not believe in a higher deity. They tell you the teachings of Buddha and it's up to you to learn from that.  There are 84,000 teachings in 45 volumes all about improving your life to be a quality human being, changing your life to be more beneficial, helpful, happy and compassionate. It's not only about learning the teachings but practising them in your life. Practising will allow you to know the results of living this way rather than relying on the monk's words.
Compassion for its own sake.
Who you are is defined by another human being - "I" is only relevant when there is a "you, he, she, they". Compassion is accepting your influence on others.
Many times people give with the intention of being noticed or appreciated for their deeds. We should aim to be compassionate only to help others, not to feel good about ourselves.
Buddhists monks don't pray.

They chant and recite the teachings of Buddha to use as guidance. The Buddha statue is not a sacred object for them in the sense they are not praying to it but more along the lines of viewing it as a mirror. Buddhists meditation is quite different from the Western idea of meditation. Buddhists use meditation to reflect on life and make sure you take the steps to correct the things you are doing wrong.  It's all about cause and effect.
The four noble truths of Buddhism:
Realisation that life includes suffering,
Attachment is the cause of suffering,
Ceasing suffering can be attained and
the Eightfold Path to cessation of suffering.
All males in Thailand will become a monk at some point during their life.

By law, you are entitled to four months of paid leave to study as a monk. You can go in and out of your time as a monk. Some people will do a month or so before disrobing. In order to get married a man must have completed his four months of Buddhist learning so that he is prepared to care for another life.
Interesting note: I read a passage about the life of Buddha to a grade 6 class last week which provided an excellent schema for this evening's talk. Isn't it fantastic how reading can be so helpful?
Fun fact: Female monks do exist and they are called nunks. Their robes are slightly different to accommodate for necessary undergarments. 

I am thankful that we had this opportunity to hear Anil Sakya speak. I think I could have spent the entire day listening to him.  He travels often, teaching at Oxford and Santa Clara, speaking at events such as the World Economic Forum and addressing the UN headquarters in New York.  As I previously mentioned it was truly a privilege to have the chance to listen to him today.

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.