By Charlie Moreno-Romero – 1 week intern

It’s been almost a week since I landed to the sanctuary. The first impressions were positive: our homestay family and the team were very friendly and ready to help us. We settled in in a humble but comfortable room and cooked with our host family. They were very sensitive to our dietary needs and taught us some cool recipes that we will try at home.

Next day, we woke up early, had a good breakfast and started our hike to the forest. After around an hour we met the elephants for the first time! It was an amazing experience, they were very close and it felt like they were also curious about us! We spent the morning contemplating them, enjoying the good weather and exchanging impressions with the other interns. After that, we went back to base, had a delicious lunch prepared by our homestay family and engaged in various activities: Karen language learning, getting to know more about the project and the individual histories of each one of the elephants.

For dinner, we gathered with the other interns and a staff member and shared various dishes, all very tasty and nutricious! Finally, we played cards and went to bed early in order to be ready to wake up early to go and see the elephants!

Next day (and the following days), we woke up early, hiked to the elephants and helped with data collection: who were they next to, what kind of food they ate, what was baby Junior doing, etc. After that, lunch at the base and various activities, such as building plastic bricks, helping at the nursery and preparing English lessons for the loval commumity.

Overall, this was a wonderful experience that allowed us to learn more about the elephants, sustainability and the local community: The Karen people are very welcoming and kind!

Thank you, dear people at the Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary! 🙏🏽