A Gap Education

(It turns out that you dont always need school to learn...)

Most of you know this, but I really like to be productive. Whenever I do something, I want myself and/or someone else (preferably both!) to gain something out of it. Naturally, I tried to make sure that my gap year would be productive. And of course I was worried what I might do if it wasnt!

I have no skills working with elephants. Im not a vet or a zoologist or an animal trainer. Indeed, my work at the orphanage has been nothing that anyone else couldnt do.
And while I am an expert poop-scoop now, that knowledge is of little use to my future ( I hope). In short, my manual labor at the orphanage hasn't "produced" much of anything worthwhile.

The first week of my trip was hard (as first weeks always are): I had too little work, too much free time, I was all alone, and nothing was familiar. I was searching for a silver lining- something to make my efforts productive- then I realized: the hard part was the silver lining. The hard part was the productive part!

The most important thing I have gotten out of my trip so far is this: being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Much of what I have encountered so far has been uncomfortable:
-traveling through airports in the middle east; alone, white, and female.
-waiting around for LONG periods of time, with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
-doing tasks with no instruction on how to do them
-being surrounded by people that you dont understand
-poking your head into every single road stand, looking for a particular item, with no way to ask about it. (surely I must have looked ridiculous to everyone watching)
-being pointed to and giggled at by an entire bus stop of children, every single day.
-living in a strangers house.
-eating alone for 3 meals a day.
-wearing a bandaid on my face so that a scratch doesnt get infected with elephant poo.
-having absolutely no built-in friends, acquaintances, or safe-people; being forced to reach out to others, all of the time.

Things are still uncomfortable, but there are a lot of great things here, too. I've been learning a lot: about elephants and about life in Sri Lanka. I've seen amazing cultural sites and beautiful landscapes in Sri Lanka. I've enjoyed spending time with other volunteers. And I love being around the elephants.

This trip has been more 'life-experience' than 'fun-experience,' although the scale is beginging to level out. I haven't just mastered the art of being uncomfortable; I've really grown to love it here and I'll be sad to leave in a few days.