Those Eyes Adore You

Journal #9
Monday, September 15, 2008

When we arrived at the elephant farm, an elephant that immediately pushed its trunk towards me in search for food greeted me. I’ve never been this up close and personal to an animal this large before. It’s intimidating and exciting at the same time. In the back of my mind I know that this animal could crush me in seconds, but the minute I saw its eyes I felt a sense of peace from and felt more at ease. Its eyes were large, deep and very expressive. The texture of its trunk isn’t as soft in feeling as I had expected. It was actually rough and dry with areas covered with coarse hair. A group of us pointed out the different kinds of hairstyles on each elephant: one “emo,” one with a fauxhawk, and another with a Ceasar.

As we moved along the farm, we encountered more elephants that we fed. We watched them bathe in the river, and then the trainers and elephants showed us their tricks. It was an amazing experience, and I feel more mentally prepared for what’s to come when we actually ride the elephants at another farm in a couple of days.

Smile!

Russ feeding sugarcane to his new friend.

Art box.

The trainer dips the brush in the paint for the elephant, then elephant holds the paint brush with its trunk and is the "artist."

Final masterpiece.

Big kiss!