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jared's creation
to my friends in SA
This past week I was at Burn Camp. Since 2005 I have been spending the 3rd week of July in Union, CT at an overnight summer camp for children with burn injuries. The staff are made up of mostly firefighters. The rest of us are burn nurses, therapists, and burn survivors, to name a few. For one week we come together from Boston, New York, Connecticut, and DC to provide a fun, supportive and safe place for children to be children. Even though it's only one week a year, it is such a big part of my life. That place and those people are incredibly special.
Ropes is probably my favorite camp activity. The ropes staff are not only highly skilled, but absolutely great with the kids. Watching them work with them is truly inspiring. They promote teamwork and encouragement like no other. My most moving and memorable moments at camp have been on the ropes course. Children face their fears and overcome tremendous feats with the undying support and encouragement from the staff and their peers. Watching a child accomplish something that challenges them is not only humbling, but a true testament that anything is possible, teamwork can move mountains, and that limitations are only in our heads.
What a wonderful time to return to the U.S. I must admit, however, that the 4th is seriously down played. Granted, I didn't have much chance for exposure given that I returned only two days before and was operating as only half of a human, but I was hoping to be deeply moved or maybe even caused to shed a tear or two. I was neither. In fact, it never even really felt like the 4th. I think the recent weather had a lot to do with it. It's hard to get exited for a summery holiday when the weather is less than cooperative. I've got high hopes for July!
We spent the weekend boating, hiking, BBQing, playing Blokus and relaxing in the sun. It felt amazing to feel the sting of summer on my cheeks, nose, and shoulders. My dad and I hiked Bald Knob on Sunday. My dad is familiar with many of the trails in the neighborhood and he led me on an 8 mile trek through the woods and along some waterfalls. We had an amazing view of the entire lake from the peak and we mapped out the surrounding land, islands, and our neighborhood. We also found wild blueberries which we took home for pancakes! The waterfalls on the way down were gushing from the recent rains. With the sun coming in through the trees, the sight was magnificent. 
Spending time with my dad and family helped me to appreciate my return home. I enjoyed sharing my South African experiences with them and I always enjoy the company of people I care so much about. Anyone who knows me would appreciate my behaviors after only 10 minutes with my dad's family. We spent the entire weekend sporatically in search for someone's keys, wallet, or cell phone. When we weren't doing that, we were reminding each other to remember them. My family is also good for laughs...most often at the expense of someone else (and their missing or forgotten item). The bad news: my dad turned 49 this week and he is in the process of recieving his replacement cards and IDs from the wallet he lost last week-so I guess it's not something I can expect to 'grow out of'. The good news: I'm a Surprenant!!
kyla, my puppy
cape town
6/29/09
6/27/09
We finally arrived in Knysna a little after 4pm (after over 6 hours of driving). Knysna is home to 15 orphaned and rescued ellies. The elephants are well looked after, trained, and cared for around the clock. At night, the elephants are led into a massive warehouse type of building which houses a giant pen for each of them. To our surprise, our room was a loft above these pens!! Our room was amazing. It had an almost ski lodge feel to it, with (classy) elephant décor and paraphernalia throughout. Our door opened directly onto the loft which overlooked the ellies. There was comfy furniture, tea, and the most fantastic view of the elephants. We dropped our things and headed out to the field with our guide. We had been told that the newest addition to the herd was only 7 days old! 7 days!! As we walked onto the field we could see the elephants tramping along. I noticed a very small ellie and asked if THAT was the baby. The guide laughed and said, “No, no. He is 2 years old.” It already seemed so tiny! He instructed me to look closer at the herd. As we got closer and the elephants continued to move around I saw the tiniest little figure underneath a massive elephant. It reached up to about just above her knee and never stayed more than 2 feet away from it’s mother. It actually spent the majority of the time directly underneath her. It was the most precious scene. The ellies were led over to u where we were able to feed and interact with them. We were instructed to hold the food (which was ¼ pieces of carrot, pineapple, and squash) in an open palm. The elephants would then lift it our of our hand. Or they would present their trunks to us and we would drop the food in. Their breath was incredibly warm. It was amazing to watch them maneuver their trunks so closely. What a fantastic appendage! The trunks literally mimick an arm (fully equipped with fingers!). The ellies lift, twist, pull, search, sniff, and discover with them. I’ve never been so close to so many elephants. They are MASSIVE. And they love affection. I was getting poked and explored with trunks from every angle. The little ones came up to about my chest and the tiniest little baby, Bibi, which means little girl, came up to my waist. She was about the size of my on all fours. That sounds big for 7 days but when you compare her to full grown elephants, its super tiny! It was a joy to watch her move around and explore the world. She reminded me a lot of a human toddler; fumbling with her steps and learning how to use her trunk, even almost loosing her balance a few times. It was ADORABLE and I was instantly in love. We then walked back to the pens with the elephants. The field experience was overwhelming, awesome, a little scary and deeply moving.
After dinner we showered and got comfy. I needed to grab something from the car and when I did, I was invited down to get a closer encounter with the ellies. After taking some pictures of Bibi, the keeper asked me if I wanted to feed the other (older) babies. I, of course, was happy to. He handed me a 2 liter coke bottle with a massive nipple on the top. It was filled with a milk formula similar to one given to human toddlers. The babies used their trunks to hold the bottle up and guzzled the entire thing in about 10 seconds. Afterwards, we sat out on our loft with tea and chocolate to watch our new friends settle in for the night. The elephants were either eating or sleeping. I was surprised at how graceful elephants lay themselves down. The go first on their back knees, then down on their elbows before slowly lowering their heads and backs to the ground beside them. The baby was actually the least graceful, plopping herself down whenever she got tired. SO CUTE!
2 year old ellie
