I am a certified mahout.

... and I have the "certificate" to prove it!
No, really. I do! They gave us a printed out certificate that says we passed the training. Then again, I am 100% that everyone gets those at the end. haha

One of my "must do's" for the Thailand trip was getting to see elephants. Whether it be just going on a small ride, or getting to learn more things, I didn't care. I just love elephants and wanted to get close to them. So, Jacqueline and I signed up for a half day elephant training and mahout course. A mahout is just someone who trains the elephants :)
We did it in the afternoon and we are SO glad we did! We were the only 2 in the course, and when we were back at the same place the next day there were so many people in the morning class! Awesome.

First off, they made us change into these ridiculous outfits with just our swimsuits underneath. Obviously they were one size fits all. I am actually glad we had to wear them though because the elephant's skin is super rough and they have very coarse, sharp hair up by their head (I discovered this when I was learning how to climb up on the elephant using their legs and then trunk and the inside of my legs got super scratched up. I could only imagine if I wasn't wearing those crazy pants :)

Next, we learned a few Thai commands of what to tell that elephant. "Yoh ka" means, "lift your leg". "Pai" means "go!" and... I honestly forget the rest... I should have kept that paper... After learning some basic words we were able to just give the elephant some sugar cane, bananas, watermelon and pineapple so she would warm up to us.

on Soo Si :)

feeding the elephant

Then, it was on to learning how to climb up. Goodness! You have to have somewhat of an athletic bone in your body or you were screwed. It was so hard to climb up! After saying "Yoh ka!" the elephant would lift its leg, you grab its skin with your left hand and behind its ear with your right, and step on the leg. Then as its lifting its leg, you basically have to throw your other leg as high as you can (a few feet, like 4!) up and over. Seriously, so hard.
We also learned how to climb up its trunk and it would lift it's trunk (with you on it!) up and over its head. I liked that one better. No climbing and jumping :)

climbing up from the front!

attempting to turn around

We also learned some commands how to "steer" the elephant which was actually very confusing. I didn't  understand most of the time and my elephant (ohhh, her name was Soo Si! i forgot that little snippet) just did as she pleased, mostly in reverse :) haha

trying to get the elephant to go left maybe? unsuccessful.

Jacqueline and I both went through all this training and were then able to lead our elephant down some trails and rivers (with a qualified guy following us). Once we went down the trails we were lead to a small watering hole where the elephant laid down in the water and we got to bathe her! It was my favorite part! We sudsed her up and had a water fight. We then mounted her again and finished the small trail back to the camp.

jacq and i down the trail

the beautiful scenery

us with Soo Si, giving her a bath

water fight!

It was honestly one of the coolest and most amazing things I have ever done in my life (tied with snorkeling which happens later in the trip). I kept thinking "Wow, a year ago i would have NEVER thought I would be learning to guide an elephant in Thailand."

Just a year ago, I felt like I was in a really hard place in my life. I honestly didnt like the direction my life was heading and was struggling with some relationship problems, feeling very neglected and not worth it.
Now, it's been a year since then and I feel like I have changed. Traveling has changed me. I am happy the direction my life is heading. I am seeing things some people will never see in their life time, I am living this adventurous life I would have never expected. This is not to say that every day is easy. That every day I am happy. I have my low points. But I am getting there, I can feel it.
I am living my dreams. I have goals that I am actually reaching.
I think that's something to be desired, don't you? :)