The Adventures of Session #4

Session #4 has come to a close. These shorter sessions fly by like no ones business. I try to troubleshoot each session, before it starts, to think of any possible situations that could arise so that I can be somewhat prepared if it does. I was a little worried that with two families within the group that there could be some clicks and then the other single travels may feel left out, etc. but they came no where close to that. Like not even in the same universe. Everyone in the session got along great—the single travelers meshed right in with the families and it was kind of just like one big family reunion. There were some funny connections within the group as well—like the father of the Jones family, Mike Jones, is an OBGYN in Pocatello and he knows Paige, my cousin Natalie’s hubby. They have even gone hunting together.  What a small world huh? 

I'm pretty sure Emily wore this tunic top every. single. day haha She was one of four total Emileys' in the elephant house this session. When in doubt, go with Emily.

These two were so cute together. They created this big brother/little brother bond even though they came to the session separately. It was really cute to watch.

Sara and her group literally had every single bad thing happen to them on the way to India. They were pretty resilient. 

I'm going to miss these guys, but most of all I'm going to miss the constant laughing and kicking of the soccer ball in the elephant house courtyard. Things are going to be so quiet now that they are gone. They all left in different groups so we started this thing where we did the banana song when each van was leaving. The best was when we did it the first time and Shankar joined in. He had the biggest smile on his face. It was pretty epic.

There were some other things that have happened during this session that didn’t have anything to do with the volunteers themselves or myself, but definitely added to my load for several days. It’s all fine, things happen, that’s just how life works sometimes. What was really surprising to me though was how it all worked out. For the first times in my life, I experienced healthy conflict and healthy conflict resolution on a large scale in the working environment. It was a little foreign to me, not having the prior experience of ever having that work in the past made it a little intimidating to lead out on this situation but I am so grateful for the experience because I personally grew and learned a lot. It was hard, but I for one feel like it was necessary for the greater good in the long run and although it isn’t something that can be fixed over night, the dialogue has started now and it is being worked on. I personally feel like we conquered what could have been left to fester into a potentially hugely detrimental situation. The Jones family was so sweet about all of it though. Of course they didn't know details, they were just really receptive and could just tell I was a little stressed. They were so sweet about it though by always checking on me and offering their help with this and that. They even gave me some American freeze dried meals before they left—which is equivalent to liquid gold around these parts.

I don’t think I can put into words how much I love what I am doing right now. There are highs and lows and of course it isn’t a piece of cake but I feel so alive, like my life has a purpose now. I’m no longer stagnantly rotting away my life while stumbling upon dead-end after dead-end.