My love affair with a mahout and his elephant

    Wow, 6 weeks has flown by. What a world MEF and Sri Lanka have opened my eyes to, and this adventure has only just begun. My experience here has been incredible and more than I had hoped for. The people I met, the places I saw and the friends I made are things and memories I will carry with me. I will leave behind some things I did not enjoy, people I encountered that I could've done without, but chalk it all up as a big part of my learning.

    My time at MEF had its pros and cons, as will most things I do. Any time I got to spend with Pooja, I considered a dream. The fact I saw her every morning at the exact same time, to do the exact same things, didn't matter. It felt new everytime. She is a massive (well, technically quite small comparitively), sweet, gentle ELEPHANT that I got to touch, feed, treat, wash and have fun with every single day....for 6 weeks. I am going to miss her, and that routine, the most as I leave. I felt lucky to have formed the bond I did with Roshan as well,  and I know that added to my enjoyment here. He trusted me, and we got along well, which gave me more freedom in how I interacted with Pooja. As I had said in one of my first entries, Roshan treats Pooja very well and I can't imagine having to have worked with a mahout I didn't get on well with or who enforced treatment I didn't agree with. He and I became very good friends and I think I am going to miss him almost as much as The Pooj. One of Roshan's favorite things are 'photos' and taking pictures. So, as a bit of a farewell, we took some time the other evening to take a bunch, with the help of Lilly, the photographer. I have since printed a collection off and put them in an album to give him when I leave Saturday morning. A lot of laughs were had taking these! A little glimpse into my love affair with these two.

    More information/true information about the amount of time spent with the elephants and what the elephants do everyday, is something I wish had been made more clear before I came. Again, I lived on the same property as 9 elephants for 6 weeks and I had 'my time' with Pooja everyday - dream - but, the afternoon that has always been dedicated to 'Elephant Enrichment' and will be in the future,  has been taken out of the daily routine for the last few months due to construction. This means the amount of free roaming time the elephants actually get right now is close to nothing, which is hard to see, and the time we spend with the elephants is cut in half. I understand as is the way here, things move very slowly, but I only once actually saw construction workers in the enrichment field. It's not fair to the elephants to be tied up so much in a day. And unfortunately,  there's nothing we could physically do to help the process along. 

  I hope when I leave tomorrow that I will be leaving a positive mark at MEF and that I have made a small difference somewhere. Whether it be in Pooja's heart, in another volunteer I met, in the boys who tried teaching my cricket or in anyone I've come into contact with over the last 6 weeks.

    I am going to miss this place, these people and this country a great deal, but I will be back! After all,  elephants live as long as we do, and I'd like to personally test the theory that elephants have incredible memories.

   
    Now, Singapore, one of my best friends and 2 weeks of sisterly backpacking awaits!

XOXO Nicky

P.s. got a birthday treat from these two today!....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4h266158EI

PLUS a glimpse into my last vet check...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LAxA3o8yTc