A Glamorous Beginning

Only a couple days until I board my flight to the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean!' Although I have some idea of what awaits me, I feel as though I am jumping into the unknown - which is exactly what I want. For those of you out of the loop on my upcoming travels, I am headed off to begin a 2 month volunteer position in Uda Walawe National Park in Sri Lanka, where I will be joining a group of elephant researchers. I will be brainstorming (and eventually implementing I hope!) sustainable agriculture alternatives in an effort to reduce human-elephant conflicts that frequently occur in rural villages surrounding the park. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain habitat for the elephants without sacrificing the livelihoods of the farmers. I can only hope to begin laying the groundwork for such a cause in the two months I am away - perhaps I will be returning more permanently in the future!

In preparation for my travels, I have packed copious amounts of sunscreen, bug repellent, and toilet paper (I hear it may be hard to come by in Sri Lanka). For those of you concerned with my safety, I unfortunately had to leave the bull whip that accompanied me throughout Texas at home. However, my Dad has armed me with a 2 foot long plastic-coated metal cable that should serve as an adequate substitute. I am hoping that the hefty volume, "The Fountainhead," will sustain me during my 25 hour flight to Colombo. En route, I will have a chance to explore both London and Bahrain's airports, which should break up the monotony of the plane ride well enough. I was relieved to learn that a car will be waiting for me at the airport in Colombo and that I will not have to navigate the four hour commute to Uda Walawe by myself at 4AM.

I am spending my last few days in the U.S. in New Hampshire with my brother and his family. Soaking up a little more time with my three adorable nephews, hiking around the White Mountains, and lazing around on the Dartmouth green. As I was sitting on the couch writing my blog, Scott read me my surprisingly apropos horoscope from 'Glamour' magazine (sorry Patrick, I had to find some substitute for your Cosmo read alouds :) According to the acclaimed Tracy Allen, astrologer/ author of Glamourscope: "You're dying for a change of scenery, so make your move!" Well, I am certainly not one to argue with the infallible advice offered by Glamour, so I'm off!