DIARY OF MY GAP YEAR

"Time out from that routine existence they call reality is something everyone should experience. [A voluntary project] will change your perceptions, and you never know… it might even change your life. It certainly changed mine."

Letitia Hardy

I take a deep breath… my mum is waiting downstairs for me, to take me to the airport, a tearful farewell, a few steps and then I am off. I take a final look around my room, haul my bag onto my back and feel a surge of extreme excitement, or is it pure fear?! Either way I feel alive and it is time for the journey to begin.

From the many appealing options from teaching to conservation to work experience placements, I was particularly drawn to two projects. An ‘Ocean Safari’ project in South Africa, monitoring dolphins and marine life, and an ‘Elephant Experience’ in Sri Lanka’s famous Pinawala Elephant Orphanage. Heart pounding, I immediately phoned them for a brochure and more information. They were really friendly on the phone and understood my nerves, and my excitement. I eventually opted for the Sri Lankan placement. It was the appeal of deserted beaches, washing elephants in a river at sunset, ripe fruit, big smiles and a destination so different to England in every way that seduced me. This was the experience I yearned for!

I was met at the airport by the Travellers Sri Lankan Manager who was friendly and warm and kept up a running commentary of Sri Lanka as he drove me the bumpy road to the Elephant Orphanage, 2 and a half hours north of the airport. In my jet-lagged haze I felt relaxed and delighted, the air smelt moist with humidity and heavy with lotus flowers and big leaved plants. As I sat back to enjoy the journey and my first impressions of this extraordinary country I realised that the hardest part had been getting here, the bravery required to book the ticket and go it alone. Now I was here I could simply enjoy it and I was going to!

It was dark when I arrived and I began my work the following day. We were to help the mahouts look after the elephants. This involved cleaning and mucking out in the mornings and washing the baby elephants in the river in the afternoons. I also got to know the vets on site and would occasionally observe their work around the orphanage.

My first day was hot, tiring and exhilarating. After a delicious dinner of traditional rice and curry (eaten in culture, with the fingers of my right hand) and some nice chats with my fellow volunteers I fell into a deep and dream fuelled sleep. After the first few days, the days began to melt into each other, they were slow, which was just how I wanted them. There is just no rush in Sri Lanka and I gradually got to know my new environment, the animals and became a familiar face in the local community.

Twice a day the entire elephant herd, including Sama, the three legged elephant and the three playful babies, trundle together down the narrow orange track to the river for their 2 hour bathe. This is one spectacular sight. It made my heart miss a beat and even at the time I knew this was a memory that will stay forever vivid. For two months I watched this scene twice each day.

I did get sick once, from the change in the diet, but the support offered by the organisation and the Travellers Manager was brilliant - on an emotional level as well. I was taken straight to a doctor and given medicine and I felt better within a few days.

The bus journeys there were always interesting. We would choose to travel the cheapest way, which meant the ‘local’ way. The perception of personal space in Sri Lanka is different to home. A bus is not full until it is literally impossible for yet another lunatic to hang out of its doors.

I was due to leave Sri Lanka on Valentines Day. My next destination was Thailand. Despite trying to extend my flight ticket and time in this country that had grown to feel like home, I had to say my goodbyes. Life in Sri Lanka was good and as the end drew closer I felt an extreme range of emotions. Sadness at having to say goodbye, mixed with a comforting certainty that I would be returning here one day. Excitement about the next phase of my journey tinged with nostalgia at the ending of such a wonderful chapter. The overwhelming emotion however, was a proud and positive one. Personally I had accomplished so much in my short time here. I was ready to take on anything now. I was no longer scared of the unknown, but quite addicted to it! My confidence had grown as had my self-reliance, patience and empathy.

One year and many adventures later, I returned home to London, Heathrow. My mum was waiting there with a big hug in the spot I had left her before, all those lifetimes ago. I had grown up in the intervening months and I felt ready to take on the biggest challenge of them all - my future!

I subsequently learnt that Travellers only employ ex-volunteers and that my experiences gained through travelling was in fact a pre-requisite to the job. I moved down to Brighton, to live again by the sea.

The achievements of a gap year away cannot be measured. It looks good on your CV, certainly, but the real accomplishment is internal. The first hand experience of seeing the world offers the opportunity to break boundaries and test your limits. You come back stronger for it and with a bank of special memories and life-long friends.

Letty Hardy
Travellers
letitia@travellersworldwide.com