Life changing

This was the most amazing experience of my life. Not only did I immediately fall in love with Thailand, but I fell in love with the people, the culture, the language, and the elephants. I was greeted at the airport by Joon, who was super funny and was so welcoming. He gave me this flower necklace that smelled amazing. That day at the airport I met my forever best friend. From the 3 days we stayed in Chiang Mai in the Imm Hotel, I knew I wanted to come back with all of my friends and family. We got to experience some of the culture first hand. We went to authentic Thai restaurants, holy temples, and even the schools. We got to interact with the people and the children and they are always just so happy and friendly and welcoming. I have never felt safer or more at home in my life! The staff did an awesome job at making us all feel super comfortable and made sure we were always happy and learning new things. When we went to the first elephant hospital in the world and got to meet elephants for the first time, we were all silenced. These animals are so breathtaking and have such beautiful souls. This is when I first discovered that I want to be a large exotic wildlife vet, and work with elephants and other endangered species like them. Our group bonded extremely well and we were always so eager to go out and learn and experience Thailand and the culture. At the Thai Elephant Home, my life was changed. My elephant changed my life. She was so kindhearted and we formed an extremely unique and beautiful bond. Her mahout didn't speak a word of English, but we still managed to become the best of friends and we learned so much from each other. Being able to care for your own elephant was just the most extraordinary experience. Our service, which was cutting and planting grass and building dams was so incredibly rewarding. We were all more than happy to give a little back to the Thai people and the elephants. There was never a dull moment in Thailand, no matter how tired we were, we were ALWAYS having fun and learning so much from each other. It's so important to get different perspectives of other people from other places in the world, and we did just that. We learned a lot about elephant conservation and we got to all form our own opinions about it, which was awesome. I learned more Thai than I know in the language that I have been taking for 7 years. This was just the most incredible experience and I am forever thankful for it.