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Hello and welcome [music] back to my
Slow English podcast.
[music]
Learn
comprehensible
English with me. Today
I want to tell you
about my trip to the elephant sanctuary
in Chiang Mai,
Thailand.
All in slow English
with intermediate
level
vocabulary.
Repeat
any new words or phrases that you hear
and comment an example sentence with
that word or phrase.
I have always dreamed
of traveling to Thailand
someday
to see the elephants.
Ever since
I was a little girl,
I have loved elephants.
Elephant stuffed animals,
elephant drawings,
elephant shower curtains.
I absolutely
adored
elephants.
Then
when I grew up
and I realized
you could see elephants,
hang out with elephants
and feed them
in Thailand.
I dreamed of meeting one. I dreamed of
interacting
close up
with an elephant.
Elephant sanctuaries
are facilities
that provide elephants
with a safe and
natural environment for them to stay.
These facilities
rescue elephants
from being exploited.
Exploited by situations
like tourism, entertainment,
and logging.
And by visiting these elephant
sanctuaries,
you can support these organizations
and help these elephants to live a
better and happier life. So,
a couple years ago,
I visited Thailand
for the first time,
and I intended
on visiting an elephant sanctuary
where I could see one close up.
and maybe even interact with one. But
that last year,
I never got around to it.
I never got around to doing it.
But this year, I had planned to visit
Thailand
with my sister,
and I knew
for sure
I had to visit an elephant sanctuary.
This time
I had to interact with an elephant
close up
this time.
Is there any animal
that you've always dreamed of seeing?
So I booked my trip to Chili Orchid.
The ride from Chiang Mai to Chilai
Orchid was rough to say the least.
It was super bumpy
and the roads
were super windy.
lots of winding
and bumpy
roads.
It made me feel a little bit
dizzy.
But we eventually
made it to our bungalow, a super sweet
bungalow
where you could see the garden
[snorts] from the balcony.
And it had the cutest little window
where you could see the elephants from.
We just dropped our things off at our
bungalow
and we took the shuttle
up to the cafe.
The restaurant at Shilai Orchid was so
lovely, full of plants
in the middle of a garden and where you
could eat with elephants
right next to you. There was the mama
elephant
called Mo.
Mama name,
>> she was very
imposing.
She had an impressive way of standing
out from all the other elephants.
Even the very big elephants
didn't stand out as much as she did. She
was so strong and
imposing,
impressive and admirable.
Then there was her first calath
called Moi.
And then there was a baby calf
called Dea.
You could feed the elephants bananas.
But they were all super
greedy.
The big mama especially
was so greedy.
She would eat all the bananas
and she wouldn't even leave any for her
babies.
Moipo and Mo wouldn't leave any bananas
for poor little baby Desa.
He was so sad. You could tell everyone
would try to feed baby Dea, but Mo and
Mipo were so greedy. It was a wonderful
first day at the elephant sanctuary.
My sister and I ate some pad thai
and drank some cute drinks. And then we
head back to our bungalow
to get [sighs and gasps] some rest
before our big day with the elephants.
The next morning,
we woke up at 7 a.m.
We woke up with elephants at our door.
Three huge elephants
cruised past our window.
They passed by our window and said
hello.
And then he started to scratch
himself
with the tree.
It was so sweet seeing his huge body
scratching against a small tree.
I think he was itchy
because he also scratched his feet. And
we got to feed them
a sweet treat.
Bamboo.
Elephants stomachs are infinite.
They could eat all day long.
They just never seem to get full.
And I get it, too.
They are huge.
And they eat nothing but plants.
So they must be hungry
all the time.
Do you know anyone who is hungry all the
time?
We ate breakfast on the balcony.
Pancakes and sticky rice.
And then we took the shuttle to
reception. We had an elephant tour
scheduled and our tour guide took us to
the grounds.
The grounds where they take care of the
elephants.
He explained
that elephants eat all day. They spend
nearly
80%
of their day eating.
We saw how they ate the leaves,
the bamboo,
and the tree barks.
how they peeled off
all the rusty leaves
to get to eat the good stuff inside.
They wouldn't stop flapping their ears.
Elephants flap their ears when they are
happy. And these elephants were very
happy.
It was so compelling to see how their
trunks are so strong,
flexible,
and incredibly
sensitive.
Their noses
are super sensitive. They have 10 times
more nerve endings
than a human finger.
They can feel a lot
on their noses.
Our tour guide also explained the type
of foods they use as medicine. We mixed
all the ingredients into one bowl
and we mashed it all up.
Then we fed them these little yummy
balls of nutrition.
Then for
dessert,
they got to eat bamboo.
and we got to feed them. I loved feeding
the elephants.
But I think my favorite part
was looking into their eyes.
Their eyes were so complex.
The wrinkles around their eyes
were so beautiful and detailed.
It was my favorite part of interacting
with the elephants.
What animal do you think has the most
complex eyes?
and tell me why in the comments.
And don't forget to like this video so I
can make more videos like these. The
elephant keepers
were so playful
with the elephants.
You can tell
this is an organization
that really cares
about the elephants
and the workers.
It's a very heartwarming
thing to see. To see how happy the
elephants were
and how happy the workers were to be
with the elephants.
Everyone was incredibly kind during my
whole stay.
Like here.
This is tu.
It means watermelon.
So cute. I know. And he was like a
watermelon.
So sweet.
He was always trying to steal the bamboo
from anyone who had or maybe looked like
they had bamboo.
He also loved eating oranges and corn.
Finally,
we bathed and swam with the elephants
in the river.
This interaction
was super close up with the elephants
and it was probably
my favorite interaction with them.
But it was even more touching
to see the elephants playing on their
own in the river.
Just enjoying their bath time,
unbothered by any humans,
just being happy elephants together.
This was an unforgettable
experience
that I will cherish in my heart forever.
And I'm so happy I can share this with
you. Hopefully you enjoyed listening to
my story and you learned some new words
while listening
and you can be a part of protecting
animals environments and giving them a
better life. Check out the foundation
linked in this video. Every little bit
helps a lot.
Now, if you want more from these videos,
PDF transcripts,
feedback from me, and extra little
videos where you can practice English
every day, then check out my English
course. The link is in my bio now.
Reflect on this for one moment.
Where is a place you have always wanted
to visit?
A place you have always felt connected
to for some reason.
Let me know in the comments. I'll see
you next Wednesday. [music] Bye.
>> [music]
>> Oh,
[music]
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